Questions About the 2020 MacBook Air

By Justin Harris, 23 April, 2020

Forum
Apple Hardware and Compatible Accessories

Hi everyone,
I am new to this forum, but not new when it comes to Apple devices. I have the iPhone xs, Apple watch, iPad pro, and even an Apple tv. I have owned macs before, but am currently in the market for a new one. I just have a few questions, that I am hoping can be answered here.
1. My last macbook was a mid 2012, non retina version. Those machines even today have great resell value and are great even today because of the ease with which they can be upgraded. However, having said that, no matter how specked out the machine may be, support is probably going to run out on them sooner rather than later. So, that one is out of the question. I have spent the last few days on both Ebay and Amazon, pricing different models. To get a decent used model of the macbook pro, you're still talking anywhere between $400 and $800, depending on year, model, and upgraded specs. I also took a look at the discontinued 12 inch macbook, and saw them going for between $500 and $750. At the high end of that spectrum, there's not much of a difference between a used 12 inch macbook and a brand new base model macbook air from this year. Plus this year's macbook air has the better keyboard, touch id, and two usb C ports, compared to just one on those 12 inch models. I've heard a lot of people talk down the base model because it comes with an i3 processor instead of an i5, but they fail to take in to account that this is a 10th gen i3, vs the 8th gen in last year's air, and last year people talked this machine up like crazy. This new 10th gen i3 is at least equal to the i5 from last year, maybe even a little bit better.
However, with that rather large intro out of the way, here are my questions.
1. How is the experience with these new force touch trackpads? With the old ones, we had trackpad commander, but I didn't find myself using it much. Has trackpad commander stayed the same on these new movdels, or have there been any improvements? Any added features for us VoiceOver users?
2. How well does this handle Windows with bootcamp? I guess my question is not specific to just this model, but any using the new t2 chip, as it helps with security and processing. But I thought I heard somewhere that other operating systems were blocked on models with said chip. Hope this is not the case. And, assuming it will still work, will Windows still be able to make decent use of that i3? My windows partition would be small, only for certain programs I use for my online radio station, to broadcast live events, etc. Also, while I know I can install teamviewer, nothing handles quite like the NVDA remote addon for being able to control my station pc from afar. Wish they could make a mac app that could interface directly with that nvda addon. At that point I might not even need a Windows installation on the macbook.
Thanks for your feedback.
Justin

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Comments

By GeorgeStark on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 - 18:58

i have a same questions: btw Justin you can buy second base line whitch has i5, 512 gb ssd and same ram. Now: guys will bootcamp run good on those newer macs? as i know they don't have cool fan system. Well i will use my mac in these things: bootcamp, skype, audiogames, youtube, browsing websites. Thanks, wish you nice day!

By Justin Harris on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 - 18:58

Yes, I am well aware of these upgrades, but they are beyond what I can afford. Normally I wouldn't just go for the bare minimum. I try to stay pretty informed about these things. But, it is what I can afford.

By GeorgeStark on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 - 18:58

well since here noone answered your question, i will send this topic in audiogames forum, maiby they will help you.

By Justin Harris on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 - 18:58

Well, I did do some more research about the T2 chip, and what it does. Apparently in Bootcamp, you can still install Windows 10, and the restriction I had previously heard about was for earlier versions of Windows and other operating systems. Also, because the T2 chip does control so much, (access to the ssd and even audio), the process for how bootcamp does the install has changed a bit. Before, one would have to install the drivers after Windows was finished installing. Thus, even though Windows does now have a talking installer, you would still need sighted help. But now, the drivers are injected much earlier, because otherwise the ssd would be inaccessible. When I read this line about the drivers being injected much earlier, the thing that came to mind is that perhaps we would then have sound much earlier, and be able to access that talking installer. I suppose it depends on exactly when drivers are injected. Very interesting. Probably wouldn't hurt to still have a sighted person around just in case during said install.

By GeorgeStark on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 - 18:58

you can install it out sighted help. You can connect your headphones in 3.5 mm jack, or usb soundcard, or usb headset. Bootcamp updated so much so