The MacBook Air: Thoroughly Reviewed

So Bright, So Screen

The MacBook Air ships with a 13" 1280 x 800 LED backlit LCD panel. It's the LED backlight that allows Apple to keep power consumption low while driving a bright screen and keeping the form factor slim.

The original CCFL backlit MacBook Pro (back) vs. the LED backlit MacBook Air (front)

A more dramatic shot, the original MBP screen only looks this dark because it's placed next to the LED backlit MBA screen

The screen is absolutely amazing, it's so bright and crisp. At its highest brightness settings, the Air's screen is too bright for my eyes indoors. The glossy screen does exhibit some glare, which works well indoors but can be a pain outdoors.

The default OS X font and icon size actually works almost perfectly on the Air's display, any smaller and you'd get more people complaining about eye strain and legibility but Apple struck a good balance. I normally prefer a higher resolution display, but I was pleasantly surprised when using the Air. The screen resolution isn't nearly as big of a problem as I expected and here's where the OS X aspect of the MacBook Air really comes into play.

Window management has always been a strength of OS X, and Leopard makes things even better thanks to its built in support for virtual desktops with Spaces. Even on a single desktop, window presentation and access isn't really a problem on the 1280 x 800 display thanks to features like Exposé and Dashboard that help access occluded windows and keep clutter off of your screen.