[PhantomGremlin]

The article is wrong when it says: Absolutely nobody who knows anything about Macs – or computers of any kind – is going to recommend that they buy the old model.

Two things better on the old model: keyboard and MagSafe.

I'm glad I own an older Macbook Pro Retina. I'd always have "keyboard anxiety" with any of the new models: is this the day my keyboard fails? And: do I dare take my laptop outside? Will airborne dust get into the keyboard mechanism?

Bah!

[falcolas]

Not to mention that CPU technology hasn't advanced sufficiently to render the old model obsolete. Most, if not all, tasks you can do on the new model can still be done quite competently on the old model.

[pier25]

I bought a 2017 MBA for $800 a couple of months back for my wife and, with all its faults, I think it's a better deal than the new 2018 MBA.

Other than the outdated display, performance is perfectly adequate, and battery/trackpad/keyboard/SSD speed/ports are still doing great.

[rconti]

I'm split. I have a 2011 Air that I rarely use. The 4MB of RAM and slower CPU is the major problem with it; screen resolution is a distant third. I keep thinking of buying the most modern USB-A-and-SD-card-reader-equipped AirI can find, because it truly is the best machine I've owned. On the other hand, new and shiny! And I almost never use the SD card reader or USB port, it's just nice to have. And the keyboard is fantastic.

[pier25]

The good thing is now you should be able to find great deals on the 2017 model.

[lambda_lover]

For friends who don't care about how pretty or color accurate their display is, the old Air can't be beat.

[xoa]

>The article is wrong when it says: "Absolutely nobody who knows anything about Macs – or computers of any kind – is going to recommend that they buy the old model."

You're absolutely correct here, though I disagree with you on saying the "keyboard and MagSafe were better" is necessarily the reason. It's more fundamental, this is one of those "things everyone knows" that was a product of its time and is rapidly (or long since) obsolete but will no doubt linger for a while. When it comes to "computers" (as in traditional desktops/notebooks) that probably stopped being true at least a half a decade ago or more. It's not the 90s or 00s anymore, a decent 8 year old system can still be a solid performer (perhaps needing an SSD upgrade at that age, but SSD improvements have now slowed too). Getting an "old model" that meets ones needs at a significant discount will probably be how many people get their systems. The newest will carry a bigger premium.

Mobile systems are now going that way too. A 2-3 year old iPhone is still a fine device and can count on years more of software support from the mothership. That looks to be Apple's new plan for addressing different price points: rather then build new "entry point/midrange/high end" models each year, the "entry point" is simply "the model from 2 years ago", the midrange is "last year" and the high end is the newest.

[sys_64738]

MagSafe is very cool and given the investment in power bricks I have around here it'll be a hard habit to break.

For me the most interesting aspect here is knowing there's an upgrade path now for legacy MBA and Mini owners.

Legacy MBA owners don't generally want modern MBP laptops due to price/keyboard/etc but don't want the MB either as it looks like a toy.