Teardown of New Mid-2013 MacBook Air Reveals Smaller SSD, Increased Battery Capacity

The teardown experts at iFixit have just taken apart the new 13-inch Mid-2013 MacBook Air that was announced at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote yesterday, and while there aren't too many drastic changes in the internals there are a few differences that are worth noting.

The team found that the PCIe-based SSD module from Samsung is smaller than the previous model's Toshiba SATA module, which also means that the drive is not compatible with previous MacBook Air models. As noted earlier by AnandTech, the read/write speeds of the flash storage approach 800 MB/s.

samsungssdmacbookairSamsung SSD in Mid-2013 MacBook Air 

When Apple announced the Haswell-based MacBook Airs yesterday, perhaps the main highlight of the introduction was the "all-day" battery life topping out at 12 hours for the 13-inch model. And while the processors are a large part of the claimed all-day battery life, iFixit found that the new Airs also sport batteries with increased capacity driven by higher voltages: increasing from a 7.3 V, 6700 mAh power battery to a 7.6 V 7150 mAh power battery.

Other changes that the iFixit team found include a redesigned AirPort card that provides 802.11ac Wi-Fi and an expanded heat sink covering both the CPU and platform controller hub (PCH), although the PCH does not have any thermal compound applied to assist with transferring heat to the heat sink.

The 11-inch MacBook Air starts at $999 with a 128 GB hard drive, while the 13-inch MacBook Air starts at $1099 with a 128 GB hard drive. Both lines are available at Apple's Online Store and at the company's retail outlets.

Related Roundup: MacBook Air
Related Forum: MacBook Air

Popular Stories

wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Tim Cook Teases Plans for Apple's Upcoming 50th Anniversary

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026. "I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...

Top Rated Comments

subsonix Avatar
165 months ago
No thanks. I need something with hard drive capacity. Casual System would be fine, but I have a HUGE iTunes Library of just under 400 GB, mostly movies.
There is a 512GB version.

All though I agree with others that it seems a bit odd to carry 400GB of movies around in an Air.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kenboy127 Avatar
165 months ago
No thanks. I need something with hard drive capacity. Casual System would be fine, but I have a HUGE iTunes Library of just under 400 GB, mostly movies.

Let me have an Air with a large capacity HDD or SSD then we will talk :D
Do you really need ALL of your movies with you at all times? The Macbook Air is built for portability. Why don't you put your media on an external HD and transfer a few movies over to the Macbook beforehand when you know you'll be watching?

Crazy to lug extra pounds for movies that you probably won't watch again.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
blahblah100 Avatar
165 months ago
...
The team found that the PCIe-based SSD module from Samsung is smaller than the previous model's Toshiba SATA module, which also means that the drive is not compatible with previous MacBook Air models.
:eek: What are the people on this forum who have said they will not buy Samsung products going to do??? Hopefully they are not in the market for the new Macbook Air.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
subsonix Avatar
165 months ago
All day to me is 24 hours but hey, 12 is still pretty darn good even though real world will most likely be 9+ hours.

24 hours is all day and night. :D
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
akadmon Avatar
165 months ago
No thanks. I need something with hard drive capacity. Casual System would be fine, but I have a HUGE iTunes Library of just under 400 GB, mostly movies.

Let me have an Air with a large capacity HDD or SSD then we will talk :D
First off, there is no HDD that will fit into an MBA. Second, you have the option to upgrade to a 500 GB SSD. Not enough? What -- you need constant access to your collection of Seinfeld reruns and Star Trek wherever you are? As one of my virtual gfs used to say, back in the usenet days: puhleeze!!!
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
commander.data Avatar
165 months ago
Other changes that the iFixit team found include a redesigned AirPort card that provides 802.11ac Wi-Fi and an expanded heat sink covering both the CPU and GPU, although the GPU does not have any thermal compound applied to assist with transferring heat to the heat sink.
If I'm not mistaken the GPU is integrated on the same die as the CPU which is why it's so rectangular. The second smaller die is the platform controller hub which has been brought on package and doesn't have a high thermal output which is why it doesn't need thermal paste.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)