Earlier this week Apple launched the new MacBook Air with scissor-switch keyboard and 10th Generation Intel Core processor. The MacBook Air can be had in various configurations and you can choose between 1.1GHz dual-core Core i3, 1.1GHz quad-core i5, and 1.2GHz quad-core Core i7.

Jason Snell from Six Colors put the mid-range MacBook Air with 1.1GHz dual-core Core i5 processor to test and the results were impressive. To begin with, the new MacBook Air took a clear lead with a 1,047 single-core score and a multi-core score of 2,658. Even when we look at the average Geekbench scores the numbers remain almost the same.

The previous MacBook Air scores 790 in the single-core test and 1628 in the Multi-Core test. In other words, the new MacBook Air with 1.1GHz Intel quad-core i5 is up to 76 percent faster than its predecessor. It is worth noting that 2018 MacBook Air is powered by an 8th-generation 1.6GHz quad-core Core i5 chip as opposed to the 10th Gen quad-core Core i5 chip on the latest model.

With a starting price of $999, the MacBook Air seems like a great value for money. However, it is worth spending an extra $100 and opting for the Core i5 model since the entry-level model comes with Core i3. The performance gain is around 10% when we compare entry-level 2018 MacBook Air with the base 2020 MacBook Air model.

The top-end MacBook Air is powered 10th gen. Core i7 processor from Intel runs at 1.2GHz but can Turbo Boost to speeds of up to 3.8GHz. Meanwhile, the graphics performance is also said to be improved with the new Intel Iris Plus GPU. Most importantly, Apple has replaced the troublesome butterfly keyboard with a much more reliable Magic Keyboard on the new MacBook Air.

So if you are planning to buy a 2020 MacBook Air go for the 1.1GHz Intel quad-core Core i5 variant or the top of the line quad-core Core i7 model.