MacBook Air 2015 Review: The Best MacBook Laptop?

MacBook Air 2015: At First Glance

Released in 2015, the MacBook Air 2015 has made its way to become one of Apple’s well-known products. Precisely, due to its compact form factor and impressive performance, this laptop is quite popular among techies.

Also, the affordable price of the laptop played a major role in making it one of the most sought-after. Speaking of price, as of the time I wrote this article (March 2022), the MacBook Air 2015 had a starting price of $305.

However, it is common knowledge that a laptop this affordable comes with certain cutbacks. Nevertheless, will its cutbacks outweigh its strengths?

To find out, you need to read this review all the way through.

MacBook Air 2015: Design, Dimension, and Weight

The MacBook Air 2015 has a sleek design with a silver finish that makes it look elegant. Furthermore, the entire body of the laptop is made of high-quality aluminum which gives it a solid look and feel.

Talking about how solid this laptop is, its lid and base are attached together by a sturdy aluminum hinge. This aluminum hinge is so rigid that the lid of the laptop hardly wobbles when nudged or pushed forcefully.

Moreover, as with most Apple laptops, the MacBook Air 2015 features a backlit Apple logo on the center of its lid. This logo beautifies the lid and adds to the overall design of the laptop.

That said, when you open this lid, the first thing you will see is the MacBook Air 2015’s 13.3-inch LCD display. This LCD display comes with a resolution of HD+ (1440 x 900).

Performance-wise, this HD+ display is not particularly great, but it delivers decent picture quality for casual video streaming and web browsing. Besides, the display features a glossy surface and is made with a TN (Twisted Nematic) panel.

Hence, due to its TN panel, this laptop’s display should offer good contrast and vivid color presentation. However, the display has poor viewing angles.

Thus, viewing the MacBook Air 2015 off-center might not be ideal because colors will appear distorted or washed out. Also, due to the glossy surface of the display, using the laptop in a bright environment isn’t advisable.

This is because direct sunlight on a glossy surface can cause sun glares and noticeable reflections. To make things worse, the MacBook Air 2015’s 13.3-inch display is surrounded by rather thick bezels.

These bezels can cause a bit of obstruction when watching movies on the laptop. However, at the center of the top bezel, you will find a FaceTime HD camera.

Surprisingly, this HD camera delivers good picture quality for video calls and regular skyping. Also, the camera offers decent performance for taking selfies.

For the keyboard, the MacBook Air 2015 still features the same chiclet-style keyboard as its predecessor, the MacBook Air 2014. This keyboard is well-spaced, and its keys are responsive and soft.

Thus, the keyboard should offer a comfortable typing experience. Besides, typing in dark areas with the MacBook Air 2015 should be very easy.

This is due to the fact that its keyboard is backlit. Seated beneath the keyboard is a glass trackpad with a set of integrated click buttons.

In terms of performance, this touchpad is smooth and responsive, allowing for easy navigation and finger-gliding.

Sadly, as with most MacBook laptops, the MacBook Air 2015 features a limited amount of ports. Specifically, you will only find a USB 3.0 port and an audio jack on the left side of the laptop.

Whereas, the right side of the laptop houses another USB 3.0 port, a Thunderbolt 2 port, and an SDXC card slot.

Measuring 325 x 227 x 3.0 – 17 mm (W x D x H) and weighing 1350 g, the MacBook Air 2015 isn’t too big or heavy. As a matter of fact, with this amount of weight, you can easily carry the laptop around in your backpack.

However, when compared with some of its closest rivals, this laptop weighs more. For example, the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro measures 330 x 228 x 12.8 mm (W x D x H) and weighs 1190 g.

In conclusion, the MacBook Air 2015 offers a sleek design and a comfortable keyboard. However, the laptop offers a limited amount of ports and its 13.3-inch display is not so impressive.

Therefore, I will rate the MacBook Air 2015 an eight out of ten in this design review section.

MacBook Air 2015: Processor (CPU) Performance

For processing data, the MacBook Air 2015 offers two CPU options to choose from. Specifically, you can get the laptop with either an Intel Core i5-5250U processor or an Intel Core i7-5650U processor.

Moreover, these processor options are both dual-core processors, meaning they feature two cores on their chips. However, the Intel Core i5-5250U CPU features 3 MB cache memory, while the Intel Core i7-5650U CPU features 4 MB cache memory.

Also, the Intel Core i5-5250U has a base frequency of 1.60 GHz and a maximum frequency of 2.70 GHz. Meanwhile, the Intel Core i7-5650U has a base frequency of 2.20 GHz and a maximum frequency of 3.20 GHz.

Performance-wise, both processor options are capable of handling most computing tasks, including multitasking. However, the Intel Core i7 CPU option should be faster because it offers a higher cache memory, base frequency, and maximum frequency.

Thankfully, this review is based on the MacBook Air 2015 with the Intel Core i7-5650U CPU. With this processor, this laptop should be able to smoothly run demanding apps like Adobe Photoshop.

To further prove this laptop’s performance with this CPU, let us consider its Cinebench R15 test result. The Cinebench R15 is a benchmark test that assesses the processor performance of a computer by testing its cores.

Hence, this benchmark test involves two tests – the multi-core test and the single-core test. For clarity, the multi-core test measures the performance of the CPU when all its cores are put to use.

The single-core test, on the other hand, measures the CPU performance when just one of its cores is in use. Moreover, a high score on these tests signifies good processor performance.

So, based on the Cinebench R15 test results, the MacBook Air 2015 scored 296 points on the multi-core test. However, on the single-core test, the laptop scored 112 points.

In comparison, this laptop performed better than one of its competitors, the Dell Latitude E5250. Specifically, the Dell Latitude E5250 scored 252 points and 107 points on the Cinebench R15 multi-core and single-core tests, respectively.

Notably, the Dell Latitude E5250 features an Intel Core i7-5600U processor.

In conclusion, the MacBook Air 2015 offers two powerful processor options. Moreover, the laptop beats one of its closest competitors on a processor benchmark test.

Hence, I will rate the MacBook Air 2015 a nine out of ten in this CPU review section.

MacBook Air 2015: Memory (RAM) Performance

The MacBook Air 2015 features a single LPDDR3 1600 MHz RAM slot with a standard memory of 4 GB. Unfortunately, this standard memory is onboard, meaning it is soldered unto the motherboard.

As a result, the laptop’s memory can neither be removed nor upgraded. However, there is another model of the MacBook Air 2015 that features 8 GB RAM for those who require higher memory.

Nonetheless, if you don’t plan to carry out excessively demanding tasks on this laptop, I don’t think going for the 8 GB RAM option will be necessary. This is because 4 GB RAM should be enough for the MacBook Air 2015 to easily handle basic computing tasks.

In fact, with this amount of RAM, the laptop should be able to handle light multitasking. For example, the MacBook Air 2015 with 4 GB will perform smoothly even when it has about 10 Chrome tabs running simultaneously.

Moreover, hopping from one tab to the other should be reasonably fast and lag-free.

To back up the above statements, let us briefly discuss the laptop’s performance on a PCMark 10 test. PCMark 10 is an app-based test that simulates real-world productivity tasks to evaluate the memory performance of a computer.

An important thing to note about this test is that a high score indicates good memory performance. Thus, based on the PCMark 10 test result, the MacBook Air 2015 scored 5100 points.

Comparatively, this laptop outmatched the Dell Inspiron N5110, which was only able to score 4617 points on the same test.

Thus, I will rate the MacBook Air 2015 an eight out of ten in this memory review section. This rating is due to the laptop’s impressive performance on the benchmark test.

MacBook Air 2015: Storage Options and Performance

In terms of storage, the MacBook Air 2015 features a PCIe SSD (Solid State Drive). Moreover, this storage drive supports a maximum storage capacity of 512 GB.

In my opinion, 512 GB of storage space should be sufficient for most users to save their documents, movies, apps, and songs. However, I can’t say the same for storage-hungry users.

Thankfully, the MacBook Air 2015 comes with an SDXC card slot that allows for storage expansion. Besides, due to the fact that the laptop uses SSD, it should offer a fast transfer speed and rapid boot time.

This is because SSDs are one of the fastest, if not the fastest storage drives available. Also, thanks to its SSD, the MacBook Air 2015 should have a fast read and write speed.

To prove that, we will now highlight the laptop’s result on the CystalDiskMark test. Briefly, CrystalDiskMark is a cross-platform app-based test that measures the read and writes speed of a computer’s storage drive.

For clarity, the read and write speed is the time it takes a storage drive to open and save files, respectively. Moreover, the higher the “MBps” value on the CrystalDiskMark, the faster the read and write speed of the storage drive.

Hence, based on the test result, the MacBook Air 2015 delivered a sequential read speed of 1286 MBps. Also, this laptop delivered a sequential write speed of 638.6 MBps.

When compared with some of its closest rivals that also use SSD, this MacBook has a faster read and write speed. For example, the HP 17z delivered a sequential read and write speed of 500.1 MBps and 325 MBps, respectively.

In conclusion, the MacBook Air 2015 offers a fast SSD and an SDXC card slot for storage expansion. Besides, the laptop outperformed most of its competitors on a storage benchmark test.

Therefore, the MacBook Air 2015 deserves a rating of nine out of ten in this storage review section.

MacBook Air 2015: Graphics Card Performance

For the graphics card, the MacBook Air 2015 employs an Intel HD Graphics 6000 GPU. In terms of speed, this graphics card offers a base frequency of 300 MHz and a maximum frequency of 1000 MHz.

However, the graphics card is an integrated GPU, meaning it is built into the laptop’s CPU. Hence, this GPU shares the system memory with the processor in order to carry out graphics-related tasks.

As a result, the graphics card might not be powerful enough to handle graphics-intensive applications and games. However, with this GPU, the MacBook Air 2015 should be able to run a few outdated games under low graphics settings.

For example, while playing Dirt Rally 2015 under low graphics settings, the laptop delivered an impressive frame rate of 93 fps.

To further verify the laptop’s graphics performance, I will now share its 3DMark test result. 3DMark is an app-based benchmark test that assesses the graphics rendering and gaming performance of a computer’s GPU.

Furthermore, like other benchmark tests in this review article, a high score on the 3DMark test implies good performance. So, based on the test results, the MacBook Air 2015 scored 6188 points.

Compared to the Apple MacBook Air 11, which uses an Intel HD Graphics 5000, the MacBook Air 2015 performed better. To be more specific, the Apple MacBook Air 11 scored 5797 points on the 3DMark test.

In summary, the MacBook Air 2015 features an integrated graphics card that offers adequate performance for basic graphics tasks. Also, with the graphics card, the laptop is able to play a few outdated games.

Besides, this laptop beats one of its competitors on a graphics benchmark test. Hence, I will rate the MacBook Air 2015 an eight out of ten in this graphics review section.

MacBook Air 2015: Battery Life and Performance

One of the major highlights of the MacBook Air 2015 is its battery life. Specifically, this laptop features a 54 Whr lithium‑polymer battery which Apple claims could last 12 hours.

However, could this claim be true? One way to find out is to discuss the laptop’s result on a video playback test.

Briefly, a video playback test involves looping an HD video on the laptop till it dies. Hence, at the end of the test, the MacBook Air 2015 delivered a battery life of 18 hours – impressive, right?

In fact, this laptop’s battery life exceeded Apple’s initial 12-hour claim. Also, when compared to some of its closest rivals, the MacBook Air 2015 has longer battery life.

For instance, on the video playback test, the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro delivered a battery life of 10 hours and 16 minutes.

All things considered, I will rate the MacBook Air 2015 a nine out of ten in this battery review section.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The MacBook Air 2015 is a sturdy aluminum laptop that features an excellent line of adequate-performing specs. To give more details, this laptop offers two impressive CPU options as well as a fast SSD.

That’s not all; the laptop also comes with an outstanding battery life that can last a full day. However, the laptop features a limited number of ports, and its display isn’t particularly impressive.

Nevertheless, the MacBook Air 2015 is quite affordable, and its overall performance outmatches its price tag. Hence, if you need an inexpensive Apple laptop with adequate performance, I strongly recommend the MacBook Air 2015.

I hope you found this MacBook Air 2015 review helpful. If you found the review helpful, we would love to hear from you.

Kindly spare two minutes to share your thoughts with our community using the comments form below.

Alternatively, simply respond to the “Was this page helpful” question below and provide us with your feedback.

Finally, for more laptop reviews, visit our Laptop Reviews page. You may also find our Laptop Specs page very helpful.