????3年前，我購買了第一代11英寸MacBook Air筆記本。從那時候起，我心頭就縈繞著兩大愿望：更強的性能、更給力的電池。

????蘋果（Apple）對性能問題相當關注。2011年，MacBook Air改用性能更強的英特爾（Intel）處理器和速度更快的Flash固態閃存。提升效果顯著，應用程序的啟動和運行可謂健步如飛。不過，續航時間仍然遭到許多人詬病。蘋果官方宣稱Air的續航時間可以長達5個小時。但在實際使用中，如果你打開WiFi，同時把屏幕亮度調至最高，續航時間會明顯縮水，可能只要3小時就不得不關機。如果打算在旅途中使用筆記本，那Air甚至還撐不過從舊金山飛到紐約的一次跨州旅行。（當然，大家可以選擇將屏幕調至最暗，同時關閉WiFi以獲得更長的續航時間。不過這樣一來，屏幕會烏黑一片。更重要的是，我們為什么要這么干？）

????如今，新的MacBook Air登臺亮相了。外表幾乎沒有什么變化——仍然是纖薄的鋁合金外殼，但蘋果承諾，這一次將滿足旅行家們長久以來的心愿：全天候續航。13英寸版的續航時間長達12小時，而11英寸版也有9小時之久，比上一代產品足足多了4個小時。如果一切屬實，那新款Air將輕松滿足用戶朝九晚五的需求，而且還有不少富余。

????蘋果稱，11英寸和13英寸版Air的電池尺寸沒有變化。提升續航能力的新部件是英特爾最新的Haswell處理器芯片，這個芯片也是本次硬件升級中最重大的一個變化。Air使用了超低功率版Haswell（又稱ULT），型號包括1.3GHz雙核i5和1.7GHz雙核i7等。得益于新技術，Air在保證性能的前提下極大地提升了續航時間。（確實，由于新的Flash閃存提速高達45%，用戶至少在性能方面不會覺得比上代Air差。）

????我親自評測了一把。這是一臺售價1,199美元的MacBook Air，配備1.3GHz雙核i5處理器、4G內存和256GB閃存。目前一切和蘋果的宣傳相當吻合。應用程序啟動、窗口切換、高清視頻播放都比上一代產品快了少許。在打開WiFi，屏幕調至最亮，開啟鍵盤背光燈和運行了Spotify、Evernote等若干應用的情況下，MacBook Air的電池指示器顯示還有8.5小時續航時間。如果將屏幕亮度調至3/4，則顯示還有9.5小時。當然，如果我們繼續使用，該設備顯示的續航時間可能會減少。但在實際使用中，只要MacBook Air的續航時間與上述數字相去不是太遠，對蘋果粉絲們而言，這款超薄筆記本電腦幾乎可謂是旅途中的完美裝備。（財富中文網）

????譯者：項航

????Ever since buying the first-generation 11-inch MacBook Air three years ago, my wish has been two-fold: make it faster and make it last longer between charges.

????Apple (AAPL) took care of the performance issues in 2011, when it switched to a faster Intel processor. Paired with flash-based storage, apps launched briskly and zipped along. It was fast enough. Still, battery life remained a sore point for reviewers and critics. The company claimed the Air could get 5 hours in-between charges. In reality, with features like Wi-Fi turned on and brightness near maximum, battery life sometimes fell short, running for as little as 3 hours before having to shut down. For a notebook intended as a travel companion, that's not even juice for a cross-country flight from San Francisco to New York. (And sure, you could seriously dial down the brightness and turn off the Wi-Fi to eke out more time, but doing so meant staring at a pretty dark screen. More importantly, why should users have to do that?)

????With the 2013 11-inch MacBook Air, little has changed on the outside -- it's still the same svelte aluminum body -- but Apple now promises what road warriors have wanted all along: all-day battery life. The 13-inch model is rated at 12 hours, and the 11-incher at 9. That's 4-plus hours more than the previous Airs, which if true, means users could use one of these, unplugged, from 9 to 5 and still have juice to spare.

????According to Apple, the size of the battery on both the 11-inch and 13-inch Air remains the same. The new energy-saving component, and really the biggest change in an otherwise minor hardware upgrade, is Intel's (INTC) newest Haswell processor chip. The Air uses an ultra low-power version of Haswell, ranging from a 1.3 GHz dual-core i5 to an optional 1.7 GHz dual-core i7, called "ULT." In doing so, battery life supposedly gets a major boost without performance taking a hit. (Indeed, thanks to flash storage that's up to 45% faster, users should expect performance at least on par, if not faster than last year.)

????I'm sussing out those claims for myself. My review unit is a $1,199 11-inch MacBook Air with 1.3GHz dual-core i5 processor, 4 GB of RAM, and 256 GB of flash storage. So far? It's running like advertised. Apps launch, windows churn, and high-definition video all run a bit noticeably faster. With Wi-Fi on, the display's brightness cranked all the way up, keyboard illuminated, and a few apps open like Spotify and Evernote, the MacBook Air's battery indicator read 8.5 hours of charge left; with brightness ratcheted down to 3/4, the Air predicted 9.5 hours. Chances are those numbers will dip as we continue to put the Air through its paces, but if real-world use ends up anywhere near that, Mac aficionados may have a near-ideal travel companion to consider with this pint-sized notebook.