Apple MacBook Air 13.3" MVFK2LL/A Review

This 2018 MacBook Air is a tough sell in 2024. That 128GB of storage is a deal-breaker right out of the gate. You'll fill it up with your OS, a few apps, and a photo library before you even start working. The real story here is the ancient 8th-gen dual-core Intel i5 and 8GB of RAM, which land in the 23rd and 4th percentiles for performance. It's a beautiful, reliable machine, but it's fundamentally underpowered for modern tasks.

The performance is exactly what those specs suggest: slow. The dual-core i5 struggles with more than a few browser tabs and a basic app. The Intel UHD Graphics are fine for streaming video, but that's about it. The only real surprise is how well the Retina display holds up. At 73rd percentile, it's still crisp and bright, and True Tone is a nice feature. But the screen can't make up for the sluggishness everywhere else.

At $265, it's cheap, but it's not good value. You're buying a machine that feels outdated the moment you turn it on. For the same money, a used Windows laptop from a few years ago will give you way more power and storage. This is only worth considering if you need the absolute cheapest entry into the macOS ecosystem and your computing needs are incredibly basic.

Forget the high-end competitors like the M4 MacBook Pro. The real question is whether this beats a modern budget laptop. It doesn't. A new Chromebook or a refurbished Windows laptop with a modern CPU and 256GB SSD will run circles around this Air for similar money. Even Apple's own M1 MacBook Air, which you can find used for a bit more, is a generational leap forward in speed, battery life, and usability.

Don't buy this laptop. The combination of 128GB storage and 8GB of RAM on an old Intel chip makes it a frustrating device for anyone in 2024. It's a relic. If you're on a tight budget and need macOS, save up a little more for a used M1 MacBook Air. If you just need a cheap laptop, look at the Windows or ChromeOS market. This 2018 Air's time has passed.