Apple MacBook Air 13.3 Gold 2018
The 13.3-inch 2560x1600 IPS display delivers sharp detail in a fanless 1.25kg aluminum unibody, though the dual-core 8th Gen Intel i5 and 8GB of LPDDR3 RAM limit it to basic tasks. Its refurbished status offers a low entry price for macOS, backed by a warranty and a pair of legacy USB-A ports alongside Thunderbolt. This is best for students or writers needing a lightweight, high-resolution Mac for web browsing and document editing.
No current retailer price
Snapshot
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Strong reliability (98th percentile) 98th
- Strong social proof (95th percentile) 95th
- Strong portability (95th percentile) 95th
- Strong screen (83rd percentile) 83rd
Cons
- Below average cpu (3rd percentile)
- Below average ram (5th percentile)
- Below average storage (7th percentile)
What owners think
How owner sentiment changed over time
ExclusiveBased on when customers actually wrote their reviews - so you can see whether early praise held up.
- Q1 202483/100
Buyers praised the value and performance of refurbished laptops, noting minor cosmetic issues and warranty confusion.
- Great value and performance for the price.
- Warranty confusion: advertised warranty may not apply to refurbished units.
- Minor cosmetic defects like scratches on trackpad.
- Refurbished laptops work well and are a good purchase.
- Q3 202387/100
Buyers praised the MacBook's performance and value, with one noting a back-order delay but overall satisfaction.
- Excellent performance and exceeded expectations
- Back-order caused inconvenience but product condition was good
- Geek Squad provided helpful service
- Q2 202350/100
Mixed reviews: two buyers praised the laptop's quality and battery life, while two reported a defective power inlet and poor refurbishment quality.
- Laptop quality, lightweight design, and excellent battery life praised.
- Power inlet defective out of box, requiring wiggling to charge.
- Refurbished unit quality control criticized, especially for a gift.
- Overall dissatisfaction leading to vow never to purchase again.
Based on 62 dated customer reviews, grouped by calendar quarter. Period analysis is in English.
The proof
Performance
Specifications
Full Specifications
Processor
| Cores | 2 |
| Frequency | 1.6 GHz |
Graphics
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 617 |
| Type | Integrated |
| VRAM Type | Shared |
Memory & Storage
| RAM | 8 GB |
| RAM Generation | LPDDR3 |
| Storage | 128 GB |
| Storage Type | SSD |
Display
| Size | 13.3" |
| Resolution | 2560x1600 (QHD) |
| Panel | IPS |
Connectivity
| USB-C Ports | 2 |
| USB Ports | 2 |
| Thunderbolt | Thunderbolt 3 |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 5 |
| Ethernet | 10/100/1000 |
Physical
| Weight | 1.2 kg / 2.7 lbs |
| Battery | 30 Wh |
| OS | macOS |
vs Competition
| Spec | Apple MacBook Air 13.3 | ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 GA403WW-G14.R95080 | Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | HP OMEN Transcend | MSI Raider RAIDERGE6814247 | Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel 8th Generation Core i5 | AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX | Intel Core Ultra 9 285H | Intel Core i9 14900HX | Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E-84-100 |
| RAM (GB) | 8 | 32 | 64 | 32 | 32 | 64 |
| Storage (GB) | 128 | 2000 | 2048 | 1024 | 2048 | 1024 |
| Screen | 13.3" 2560x1600 | 14" 2880x1800 | 16" 2560x1600 | 14" 2880x1800 | 16" 3840x2160 | 15" 2496x1664 |
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 617 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 | Qualcomm Adreno GPU |
| OS | macOS | Windows 11 Home | Windows 11 Pro | Windows 11 Home | Windows 11 Home | Windows 11 Pro |
| Weight (kg) | 1.2 | 1.6 | 5 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 1.7 |
| Battery (Wh) | 30 | - | - | 71 | 100 | 66 |
| Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare |
| Product | CPU | GPU | RAM | Ports | Screen | Portability | Storage | Reliability | Social Proof |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple MacBook Air 13.3 | 3.1 | 36.2 | 5.2 | 65.4 | 83.4 | 94.6 | 7.4 | 97.5 | 95.2 |
| ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 GA403WW-G14.R95080 Compare | 88.6 | 94.2 | 91.5 | 90.1 | 96.2 | 74.2 | 88.9 | 59.9 | 98.3 |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 Compare | 96 | 92.3 | 98.6 | 99.7 | 95.4 | 7.2 | 97.3 | 80.8 | 87.3 |
| HP OMEN Transcend Compare | 88 | 93 | 90.2 | 90.1 | 96.2 | 72.7 | 66.6 | 32.8 | 97.3 |
| MSI Raider RAIDERGE6814247 Compare | 91.7 | 88.1 | 87 | 98.7 | 97.7 | 9.1 | 94 | 59.9 | 54.5 |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition Compare | 98.7 | 27.9 | 98.6 | 59.8 | 90.9 | 57.3 | 79.7 | 80.8 | 80 |
Usage Scores
A full written review is coming soon. The specs, scores, prices and charts above are always up to date.
