New MacBook Air or replace Battery?

[D'artagnan]

I have an Early 2104 MacBook Air that i really like.
1.7 GHz - Core i7 processor
8Gb 1600MHz DDR3
512G PCI SSD
Intel HD Graphics 5000

I don't care about having a retina display, but I really appreciate having two USB-A ports, and SD slot, a thunderbolt slot, and Magsafe battery charger. Since this rides around in my car and motorcycle quite a bit, I also really like the SSD drive. The only downside is after 4 years, the battery is lacking in endurance.

The rumor mill has it there will be a MBA upgrade coming at the end of the month. The same rumor mill says the upgraded MBA will be going USB-C. Ugh. I often do not have time or space to deal with dongles. Going to a laptop equipped with USB-C is not in the cards for me.

My choice is to replace the battery in my current MBA, or upgrade to the 2018 version. Looking at the specs between the two machines, I am not enough of an expert to know if it is worth getting the 2018 MBA or if I should just replace the battery on my current machine.

2018 MBA.
2.2GHz - Core i7 (boost up to 3.2)
8Gb 1600MHz LPDDR3
512 PCIe SSD
Intel HD Graphics 6000

So, is the latest MBA enough of a speed/technology jump to be worth a new computer, or should I just replace the battery on my current MBA? Thanks for the input

 

[IWT]

You are likely to get differing views on this, but for what it's worth, I'll give you mine.

As you seem to be very fond of your current MBA and as it still only 4 years old (and not 86 years ahead of it's time - 2014 rather than 2104 - ), Apple will replace the battery for a charge, of course. At the same time it will run a free diagnostics check. So, for a modest outlay, you will get back a fully functional Mac.

The caveat is that the battery is the only problem.

I notice that you have a well-specced iMac from which I presume the MBA gets moderate, rather than heavy, usage.

Upgrading to a new MBA or similar, will be necessary some day; but the cost and the loss of those features which you mentioned mean, in my view, that that day can safely be postponed for the moment.

Ian

 

[D'artagnan]

IWT, thanks for your thoughts. I knew when I posted this it would get varying responses, kind of like going to a car forum and asking "What is the best oil?".

If I am reading the smile signals correctly, waiting to upgrade means getting an MBA with USB-C only. I am going to avoid that as long as possible! I'm just not sure if the 2018 MBA's have enough of a performance jump over my 2014 model to push obsolescence further down the road.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Echoing what Ian said, if the ONLY issue with your 2014 MBA (welcome back from the 22nd century) is the battery not holding a decent charge and if the MBA serves every other purpose you had in mind, I would go down the battery replacement route to get a few more years out of it at which point in time either your needs will change or software you use will not work on it or more likely the OS can't be upgraded leading you down the upgrading to a new machine route.

However, you'll have to embrace the dongle-laden future one way or other since that's where all the Macbook's are going.

 

[XJ-linux]

FWIW - I have a Mid-2012 MBA that I recently replaced the battery on (OWC battery; did it myself). Runs just fine, like it always has. 8GB of RAM is the only limiting thing for me, and I may replace it once Apple gets a new MBA with 16GB of RAM out there - if they ever do.

I'd vote to replace the battery if you like your MBA. My personal opinion is there is nothing monumental to be gained with a brand new MBA-equivalent, at least right now. Take me with a grain of salt as I don't use my MBA for much heavy lifting - I have a 27" iMac 2017 for that - and I don't put much stock in small lightweight laptops really needing higher speed ports, retina displays, Touch ID, etc... At least, not enough to spend $1k+ on a new one without more memory to run more stuff at a time.

 

[pm-r]

So, is the latest MBA enough of a speed/technology jump to be worth a new computer, or should I just replace the battery on my current MBA? Thanks for the input

Maybe check out and compare the specs and speed bench scores here: https://everymac.com

Personally, it almost sounds to me like trading in your MacBook Air only because the battery died. I'd sure hate to think of doing that with any car I owned, or if the ashtray filled up as some tend to do. Even if they didn't smoke!!!


EDIT:
Maybe check this out and wait for the announcement of a MacBook Air heir on Oct 30th:
https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/28/18029658/apple-event-october-ipad-pro-macbook-what-to-expect

What to expect at Apple’s October hardware event
16
New iPad Pros, a MacBook Air heir, an updated Mac mini, and more

- Patrick
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[D'artagnan]

Thanks for the responses. Looking at the specs on the 2018 models, I kind of suspected there was not enough of a performance increase to justify the new model. Especially when a new battery is an order of magnitude cheaper. I can put that saved money towards a bigger, badder, iMac later on....

Razor, I will be dragged into the dongle laden future kicking as screaming all the way. For a company so concerned with how things look, I can't believe they find sprouting dongles so acceptable.

Thanks again for the input,
Jeff

 

[pm-r]

For a company so concerned with how things look, I can't believe they find sprouting dongles so acceptable.

+1!!! Oh so true.

But just think of all the money they can and do make from selling them, and some at rather elevated prices.





- Patrick
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