The Thunderbolt port on the right is faster, but the universe of compatible devices is still quite small. The Air was more than twice as loud as the UX31A, and everything sounded much richer and fuller.Ĭlick to EnlargeIt's nice to see that the MacBook Air now houses two USB 3.0 ports (one on each side) to accommodate high-speed peripherals. When we played Van Morrison's 'Brown Eyed Girl' on both the Air and the UX31A at their top volume, the difference couldn't be more stark. The notebook filled a room with plenty of bass and treble, lacking any distortion even when cranked to the max. They may be hidden underneath the keyboard, but the speakers in the Air delivered impressively loud and clear sound. Even the $898 Vizio Ultrabook offers a higher-resolution 1600 x 900-pixel screen. By comparison, the MacBook Air's display has an average brightness of 268 lux, which is better than average (239 lux). The ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A has a resolution of 1920 x 1080, and an average brightness of 423 lux.

A 1080p YouTube Trailer for 'The Avengers' showed excellent contrast, deep, true blacks and fiery red explosions.Īgain, though, others have caught up. The MacBook Air's 13.3-inch screen has a resolution of 1440 x 900, which, while not the Retina display some were hoping for, still provides the same wide viewing angles and bright colors as last year.

Macbook pro 2012 price 13 inch