Is the original MacBook Air usable in 2021? 

What do you think? Is this thing still good in 2021? Or was it even good to begin with? Also, check out Dashlane for free on your first device! head to www.dashlane.com/miani

I just remember the envelope shot... truly epic!

"So you basically spent 3500 bucks on an iPod with a furnace in it" I literally spilled my coffee when you said that. LOL.

I worked at the Apple Store when this thing came out. I agree that it was very much like a beta test or proof of concept. We all knew it sucked but we all loved it and some customers would come to the store just to see it. So in that respect I'd say it was a success. Sucks for those that actually bought it though what with all the hinge issues and throttling.

Wait, isn't this the MacBook Air that you bought by accident? Edit: 4:21 love how you edit in the Mac boot Chime

I remember having the option to go from a 500GB HDD to a 120GB SSD on my 2011 MacBook for $500.

I can't imagine the disappointment some people had after dropping $3000 on this machine back in the day.

It's really interesting to compare this to my 2015 macbook air, cuz you can really see how they kept the good things from this original one (basically just the overall design) but then updated everything else to make it an actually decent computer with ports and a good hard drive and processor and stuff. In this way, this first one really was like beta and then they were able to iron out the kinks in future generations of MacBook airs.

I've got a 2010 MBA, which I used a lot for around 6 years. It was my first ever Mac, and I was impressed with how much that tiny machine could do. I could run multiple Linux VirtualBox instances which I used for doing demos and presentations at the office. It currently lives on the garage workbench, running Xununtu Linux and is handy for googling stuff and watching the occasional youtube video.

RU-vid is getting too comfortable with those unskippable ads, next year its prolly gonna get up to 3 bruh

The geekbench graph at 10:00 is labeled "Late 2008 MacBook Pro" instead of "MacBook Air" in the left column. Not sure the two top labels were needed here.

“To quote top gear” Oh yeah, it’s all coming together now. I knew I caught references in past videos.

hey luke, been following you for about a year and thought i'd finally drop a comment :) when the first gen mac book air launched, i totally wanted one and still do to this day!!! for me at the time the size was the most appealing thing to me and just made me want it even more... and totally loved the commercial you reference and the fact that it fit in that envelope made me fall head over heels for it!!! living in canada i could never afford one as the cost up here was going for about $3000 at the time... i knew the specs and performance was not that great but for the size and looks alone just made me want it even more!!! keep up the good work mang!!!

It’s easy to dump on the original MacBook Air, especially when you assess it based upon innovations and trends that the device itself spurred. It was definitely as much a device of compromise as it was innovation. I think the device is best considered in the fashion you start to allude to later in the video-it was a proof of concept piece and definitely a first revision offering (though ridiculously lust worthy and visionary). The point wasn’t to build a laptop that was still crushing it 13 years later, but rather devise an almost fantasy showpiece that became pretty exceptional within just a couple years-the 2010 model was a fantastic device that was my workhorse for several years (and still serves a family member that I handed it down to when I picked up my 2013 MBP). We have to remember that 4,200 RPM drives weren’t altogether uncommon at the time-especially in Apple hardware-and that booting and using Snow Leopard on a device like this is surprisingly fast. I have a 2007 iMac that I still have running Snow Leopard with a 5,400 RPM laptop drive (the original drive failed long ago) that rivals some of my modern SSD boot times.

That was a great video luke. Funny, informative, and very interesting. Most youtubers would have spent the 12 minutes drooling over how it performed in 2008 but you weren't afraid to say how bad it was then and now.

I still remember how steve said on the stage that the SSD was "a little pricey" A LITTLE?!

I remember the first time I ever saw a MBA in 2008 and thinking it looked like a really high quality piece of jewelry or something. There was nothing on the market at that point that was even close.

My 2010 2nd gen MacBook Air just died and the battery bloated suddenly when I was doing an emergency backup that the keyboard warped. So I'm impressed you still have a mint 1st gen.

I bought one of these second hand in 2009 as my very first Mac for $AU700. For the time it was pretty good, although it was extremely prone to throttling with the fan screaming. I used to carry a portable USB hub with me for additional devices. I used it for 6 months or so and sold it for more than I paid for it, upgrading to a 13” MacBook Pro. I’d have one again as a collectible if the price was right, but would rather an M1 Mac for actual use. That being said, I’m still using my 2013 13” Retina with Catalina, which does everything I ask of it despite being 7 or so years old.

I remember the keynote for this, was amazing at the time!

I got the SSD upgrade for free at launch of the late 2008 MBA because of production delays. I remember being exstatic as a student who barely afforded the MBA at all! 🙂

I watch all of your videos on a 2007 iMac; my first mac. Love the nostalgia of your videos. I coveted this Air so much back then.

This is going to sound crazy, but I use the original Air running El Capitan as my daily laptop. Granted, it is the 2009 which has a 128 Gb SSD. I’m actually able to run multiple apps at once such as the entire Office 2016 suite, safari, and Firefox.

I think you should put it in an envelope and make it a prop in the background in your videos.

I remember buying it in 2008, It was my first Apple computer and fell in love with it. I still have it somewhere tucked away. So many good memories!

I've had my Macbook Air since 2011, Christmas day I was surprised with a new M1 Air! I was able to use the old one with no problems (except battery life).

I knew Luke was a TG fan the second he used the phrase "near as makes no difference" a while ago.

I have a 2010 Air with High Sierra side loaded and I use it as a music server/streamer. Works well enough and can run it from my phone to my stereo.

I just watched your other video about this MacBook and was wondering if this would be 'usable' in 2021, then this video came up on my feed.. that timing tho

I wonder if this laptop will be a little more useable with Snow Leopard and a modern browser like Arctic Fox (Firefox fork for older macs). I assume Snow Leopard would use less resources than Catalina.

I remember literally dreaming about getting my hands on a MacBook Air back in 2008 (I was 15 so there was no way I could afford it). Funny to see how bad the experience actually was even back in the day lol. It still holds a special place in my memories though, I'm glad you made a video on it !

Worked in Mac IT at a doctor’s office for a little while and they had a 1st gen air at the reception. What was wild is that the calendar and contacts still synced with iCloud just fine, even tho it thinks it’s still MobileMe 🤣

8:24 You can also tap with two fingers on the trackpad to right click - maybe you have to configure that for using it, but i had that on my early 2008 macbook pro and it's a lot more comfortable than the control-click thing.

The MacBook Air line is 13 friggin' years old already? Holy Jeez, I feel I have one leg in the grave already.

I had the 2014 model until January and I really loved it

I'm surprised that you got it to Catalina! I think I kinda like this computer. Maybe I can get it as a secondary thing for quick things.

Came across one of these in 2016 at my eWaste job. Came in with the original box, manuals, but needed a charger. Machine booted right up w/ the SSD, got a charger, blanked out the drive to a clean install & boom $300 for a "collectors" Mac Air. Boss tried it for a few days b4 sale, but brought it back bc it was slow on web.

RU-vid just notified me that luke posted this video while I was watching it 😃

Hey ! Could you make the same 2021 usability test for the 2010 11" macbook air ?

Omg YES Luke I've been wanting this vid for 2 years lmao

I still have MB Air from 2013 with only 4GB memory. Now my daugther uses it for homeschooling~ it is slow but works. 😁

That envelope ad was crazy, I remember being stunned when I saw it. Also I like interesting videos about interesting things

It’s a great collector’s item. And it introduced us to Yael Naim :)

Will also say it. The start-up sound made the whole video even better.

I would like to see a video on the white plastic macbook, since a lot of the other macs of the era are being shown on the channel recently.

I still have 2 of the original 2008 MacBook Airs. Still work and good condition, and every few years I take them out and contemplate what I can do with them. It always ends the same way. Nothing I can do, so I just put them back in the box. I want to keep them as they are a time capsule. They do represent everything Apple was when Steve Jobs was alive. Ambition and drive to push the industry. You can see that even in 2008 they were hoping for intel to get their act together and create smaller, less power hungry silicon. Just imagine if we has ARM chips in these machines at the time. It's exactly what Apple wanted to explore.

one has to start somewhere and this was the start for apple when it came to the air models. When prices of chips and storage became less and higher capacity, Apple moved on to better air models and pricing. I remember this in 2008, was very impressive as to how a full working computer could be so thin and light. Essentially an Ipad with key board

Your videos is like a review of all my gears!

Despite all these shortcomings, it still is a beautiful machine. I swear a lot of today laptops still aren't as thin as this one.

I bought the top-end one of these with the 64GB SSD. ($3300.00!!) Honestly, too me, one of the best Mac laptops I've had over the years. It was so nice to carry day-to-day and I used the heck out of it. It did all I needed at the time--mostly web, email, Word and some minor networking tools for my job. Also, that SSD was very fast for the times--think it was like the first SSD available in a consumer laptop. I did have to work to maintain available space though. When I sold it a couple years later to get the 11" Air, the next person used it for a few more years and then gave it to a relative that used it for like 4 more. So, it had a good productive life. :) Thanks for the vid.

I have a 2017 MacBook Air based on this original design and it is excellent. I split 2 user accounts, one for personal and one for work.

I'm writing this comment on a 2013 MacBook Air, It's been in storage since around 2015 and I found it about a week ago, but it booted up no issue. I even managed to update it from Mountain Lion to Big Sur (With some difficulty) and it still chugs along.

Looks like that's a late 2008 model. The real Early 2008 with GMA graphics is just like hell.

Ha, 10 minutes ago i was watching macbook for a 130$)) "air 2009 in 2019"

Can’t believe this came out in 2007 🤯 it looks so modern

What a classic machine... I remember when they came out!!

I actually just bought a 2014 macbook air today from a friend. It really sucks you cant upgrade the RAM in these things because they'd so much more useful.

I’m rocking a Mid 2012 MacBook Air that I’m finally about to retire whenever my 2021 MacBook Pro shows up. It’s still a very usable machine, it just gets too hot and isn’t as fast as it used to be. It’s served me well, and it’s a quality product, it’s just time for an upgrade after all these years.

The reverse open at 6:34 was amazing

After watching some videos, I decided to go with the Powermac G5. It sits on my desk next to it's little brother, the Dell mini tower

My very first Mac was a MacBook Air (not that one, the one with good ports and a lot of improvements), when the first one came out I though "it's cool but useless" 60GB or 80Gb was good in the 90s not in the late 2000s, still I love the design. I still have my 2013 MacBook Air, working fine.

Considering the Geekbench score it looks like a perfect mobile device to accomodate the baseline 21.5 inch iMac. 😄

I just wanted to say thank you because today I bought my first MacBook because of you

YOU LIKE TOPGEAR?!!!? Been watching the channel for like a year at least & seen a majority of your vids. Now I watch like literally every new one put out. Never knew you were a fellow petrol head! I KNEW I liked you! Also another glorious Intel ad during this vid! Bash the colors Intel! Real nice.... Also "an iPod with a furnace" 😂

My best friend has a 2011, she upgraded it to mavericks when it first came out, then she had to install 10.6 because it was too slow on newer versions. if a 2011 is slow on anything newer than 10.6/windows 7, I can't imagine 2008 model

They've been collectors items for years. I had the revised Late 2008 version in 2017 and they were collector's items then. Sure was fun trying to get macOS Sierra working on mine though.

The last gen i7 air released in 2017 is so good tho. And refurbished ones are still pricey, like £700

Truly outstanding how far the MacBook Air has come since the original!

Makes a good door stopper

I'm still on an early 2009 17"mbp. Def still useable, but only just in my case. Come ooooon M-series 16". Need that upgrade now.

Ok, great crunch! Is there a one best MacBook Air with the Intel CPU that you recommend for a student today who can't afford the M1 Air?

"Top Gear, one of my favorite shows of all time". Luke Miani you are officially my favorite youtuber

Still using a base model 11" late 2010 MBA 1.4 Core 2 Duo with 4 Gb RAM. Have upgraded the SSD to an OWC 256 Gb. It's fine, but has been used so much, it lacks any battery life. Keeping it on High Sierra. Entirely adequate, though a backlit keyboard would be nice. Really liked the 11" form factor; they'll never make that again, since the sub 12" sizes are all reserved for the iPad.

I will have to disagree on some points that were made. If I take the late 2008 model, starting with a core 2 Duo 1.6GHz, and with 120GB 4200RPM, it wasn’t really powerful even compared to other laptop in it’s time... the entry MacBook was a core 2 Duo 2.0GHZ, 160GB 5400RPM.... and yes, in term of ports... it was lacking (the era of adaptors really started :P ). However, I remember working at the Apple Store during the 2008-2010 time and selling a few of them, the MBAir wasn’t for people doing pro work, but really for people doing productivity suite, navigating on the internet, emails - oh and didn’t mind paying a premium for the lightweight and format! For that usage, the laptop was capable. Is it still usable in 2021... well it’s a 2008 computer....

i have this thing, i put 128gb ssd in it, installed mac os sierra, bought new battery and its doing great

I still use my 2011 macbook air occasionally. 2 yrs ago it was my daily personal laptop and fine for daily use, incl autocad 2013, latest office, with a great keyboard. I didn't use it for 6months when I was abroad and the battery went from 95% a year ago, to 5% now with no use.

I have the base 2015 air. Got in December to upgrade my 2009 Unibody MacBook that died.

Hi Luke, would be great to know what you think about a MacBook Air 13-inch 2017, the last one that had the almost same design as the original which is compatible with macOS Big Sur and currently I use for online courses and some programming light tasks.

Luke can you make a video in how to make an obsolete macbook pro usable in 2021. I got the m1 but can't seem to ever let go of my 2012 macbook pro, and i have had it since the release date. Finally got an m1 this year.

Appreciate that you're a Clarkson/May/Hammond Top Gear fan. "Ambitious but rubbish" an all time classic

The MacBook Air was mind blowing from a technical level. People were talking about it everywhere and there were rumors it would bend in your bag.

Cheapest macbook that can run lighroom easily/smoothly?

I have the 2013 version on the Air and it works great for basic tasks.

2031: *Is the 16GB RAM M1 MacBook Pro usable in 2031?*

Dude so many MacBooks! Consider giving one of them away (to me preferably). Anyways love your videos - a subscriber.

I had that one for a brief moment back then. Got it only because it was a 40% off clearance sale.

The LoFi Music intro is so awesome!

Didn't the early 2008 still have a 32 Bit EFI?

Ok that was a smooth transition

You’re officially my fav RU-vidr

Watching and typing this on an original base model MacBook Air running Lion. The original, original one: MacBookAir1,1, with the Micro DVI port. The fan is running at full throttle and the video takes a good 20 seconds to load, but once it gets settled, it plays at a constant 720p30. Windowed of course, not fullscreen. As bad as it is, at least it's not a netbook.

Make a review of the fully specced 2017 27 inch iMac!!!! It's not super super expensive on eBay at the moment.

I used to have one of those with MacOs 10.7.5 and SSD, I only was able to use Google tools like Docs, Slides, Drive, etc. and was very usable in my day by day job (copywriter), I miss my 2008 Air u_u

question, am i actually seeing the refresh rate of the screen since i'm seeing like lines passing through the display? I thought that was only possible on a crt screen?

i have the 2010 air and it's still fine, yeah I know its can be really easy overheated but like him

I use a Late 2008 MacBook (Aluminum) for school. Works great. Would love to see a video on one of those...

when it first came out i even thought about how the specs do not meet that price

I switched the thermal compound in the early 2008 and the throtteling went down, because the compound which was used sucked. Still, the ZIF-drive sucks extremly. And the hinges fail on the early 2008, it is a known bug. Original battery: Mine goes down from 99% to 30% within 10 minutes. I got mine as a cheap collectors item on ebay, just wanted one because it is the first ultrabook known...

It is equipped with MacOS El-Capitan, similar to the MacBook Early/mid 2009, but with only “2GB”of ram and can’t be upgrade higher than it was. But, anyway, it could runs on macOS Mojave Patcher since it was the final updates and could run on the 2GB ram in it..

I watch you on 2008 imac but I chicken out and put Linux in it and it is the best machine I have ever had thanks for what you do