MacBook Air 11: The once the smallest Mac is obsolete

Users who are interested in a particularly compact MacBook are still waiting for Apple to restore its 12-inch MacBook in one way or another. But before the time has come, the group cleans up in its offer: This week the 11-inch MacBook Air, which was produced until 2015, was officially put on the leak list. The device is now “obsolete” worldwide, it is said In Apple’s appropriate support documentin which even the Lisa occurs.

Popular form factor

Even if the MacBook Air looks like a “normal” notebook – and with 13 and 15 inches no longer really described as compact – there was already a variant with 11 inch – more precisely in 2010: 11.6 inches. It ran with an Intel chip (Core 2 Duo) and had an integrated SSD, by Apple as “flash memory”. The module was available from 64 GB, unimaginable today. Faster processors were added later, more memory and more interfaces.

The last version now referred to by Apple as “obsolete” (German term: “abused”) was much more modern. 128 or 256 GB PCIe memory (a maximum of 512 GB), Core i5 with 1.6 GHz (turbo boost up to 2.7 GHz) and a maximum of 8 GB RAM. However, the display still had the same resolution of the first series – 1366 by 766 pixels. The weight was 1.08 kilograms and thus 0.02 kilograms heavier than the first model from 2010. The built-in Intel HD-Graphics 6000 Onboard GPU was never suitable for games. Instead, Apple saw a device for everyday work in the small MacBook. The company promised up to nine hours of “wireless web” use, and a standby period of 30 days was also advertised. Two USB 3 ports and a Thunderbolt-2 port were installed, loaded via Magsafe 2.

What “can be” abandoned “at Apple

Apple generally classifies its products five years after the end of sales as “vintage”. The company, as well as service partners, continues to offer repair services and original spare parts – but only when available. In some countries like France, however, the group must ensure that services are still available for up to seven years after the end of sales.

At Apple, vintage is the preliminary stage for the obsolete status, which actually applies seven years after the end of sales. Then the hardware is deemed to have been dismissed, there are no more parts and repairs by the manufacturer. At the MacBook Air 11 inch from 2015, Apple took the time compared comparatively long with the “decided” status. The last operating system version that runs with the machine (without hacks) is by the way MacOS 12 alias Monterey from 2021.