The base-level MacBook Air now costs US$1,099 before tax – when I bought it, in late 2018, it started at US$1,199 – that’s US$100 I’ll never see again. If you add RAM, like I did, it costs an extra US$200. I felt pretty comfortable with the CPU, and I refused to pay US$200 for a measly 128GB of extra internal storage, but I relented on the RAM upgrade.

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I wanted this computer to last at least four years, and 8GB of RAM simply wouldn't cut it. I upgraded to 16GB of RAM, and if I could've added even more, I probably would've. After tax, I paid just shy of US$1,450. That was on the high end of what I was willing to pay for a new laptop, but I'm glad I did. All that said, the base-level MacBook Air is more than capable. I got more RAM because it fits my needs. It's entirely likely you don't need to spend the extra cash.

What's so great about it? For starters, the screen is insanely impressive.

It wasn't until I handed my MacBook Air to a friend to use that I realised how impressive the updated screen is. He was sitting next to me on a couch, and I was talking to him from the side while he used the computer. Despite the fact that I was looking at the screen from the side, no matter how thin I made the viewing angle, I could see fine details on the screen.

The screen acts like a piece of paper. Instead of doing what screens normally do when you look at them from the side – become a thin field of light with no discernible details – the MacBook Air Retina screen still manages to produce crisp details regardless of the viewing angle.

It's something that doesn't feel immediately impactful. In reality, it's one of several crucial evolutions to the MacBook Air that make it feel so modern and fresh. The slightly newer MacBook Airs that launched in July have an even better display, thanks to the addition of Apple's True Tone technology that matches the screen's colour temperature to your surroundings, making it easier on the eyes.

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Let's talk about that new keyboard

No caveats necessary: the updated keyboard is a major improvement over previous MacBook Air models.

There's been a lot of back and forth over the latest version of Apple's long-running keyboard. Frankly speaking, a lot of people don't like it. Apple has even replaced the new keyboard in the latest MacBook Pro. But, in my experience, the MacBook Air keyboard is a flawless update to the best keyboard ever made.

The shallow depth of each key enables me to type faster than ever before – something I care deeply about as someone who spends most his time typing words on a computer – and I haven't run into any issues of crumbs/dust/etc getting lodged underneath keys. One subtle, nice change from the last version of Apple's laptop keyboard is how tactile and clicky the keys are. It's not so loud as to be obnoxious, but it's substantial enough to provide a solid tactile response.

Don't believe the hype: the new keyboard is, indeed, a very good keyboard.

The new speakers and trackpad are also major improvements

The trackpad and the speakers are both obvious improvements over previous MacBook Air models. They do exactly what you think they do, and they do it very well. The speakers are loud, and having one on each side of the keyboard is a really nice change. In the case of the trackpad, it's larger than ever and as responsive as ever.

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The major functional addition to the trackpad is a novelty named “force touch” that first appeared on Apple's iPhones. On the latest MacBook Air, it remains just that: a novelty. By clicking in deeper than you normally would on a mouse click, you get a few different contextual options depending on what you click. It's totally fine, but I rarely find myself thinking to use it. At the same time, it doesn't detract from the experience in any way. In my experience with force touch, it's a relatively needless gimmick that I could take or leave.

Touch ID is a game-changer

Passwords are super dumb. They feel antiquated in the modern era, like paper checks.

Every time the new MacBook asks me to enter my password – and simultaneously offers Touch ID as an option instead – I'm delighted to quickly tap my finger on the Touch ID button. It feels like the natural evolution of password entry.

Curiously, against all logic, there are times when the MacBook requires my password instead of my thumbprint. I have no idea why my password is somehow more powerful than my own fingerprint, and I kind of don't care. It appears completely illogical from a user standpoint. Thankfully, the case far more often is that the laptop allows me to use my fingerprint to skip password entry – and it feels smart every time.

It's the best-looking MacBook Air in years, and its diminutive size is a delight

My wife has an 11-inch MacBook Air from a few years ago. It's the same length as the 2018, 13-inch MacBook Air.

 Sounds weird, right? I promise it's reality. (Don’t believe me? See the pic above).

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Apple shrunk the bezels in the new MacBook Air's 13-inch screen so much that the same display fits into a far smaller laptop. Thus, the overall footprint of the MacBook Air is that much smaller – carrying it folded up feels like carrying a sturdy notepad. It's a genuinely small device, despite the large screen.

Everything about the MacBook Air feels tight and compact. The laptop is dense – no doubt a testament to the shrunken size.

The elephant in the room: Yes, the MacBook Air costs too much money

There’s no easy way to say this: at US$1,099 to start, the latest MacBook Air isn't cheap.

There are comparable Windows-based laptops with great screens and more powerful internals than the MacBook Air, and I could have bought one of those. I thought a lot about buying an HP x360 – they're pretty nice. But I've been using Apple laptops for over 10 years. I'm not buying a laptop to play games or to crunch 4K video edits – I'm buying it mostly for personal use and work. I keep a lot of tabs open in Chrome, I'm often listening to music in Spotify, and I regularly use Adobe's creative suite to edit images.

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For me, getting the new MacBook Air with additional RAM is a perfect fit for how I use laptops. But yes, no doubt, it was an overpriced choice. I have no regrets – I'm outright glad, in fact, but I can't defend the price tag. It's still too high, in my opinion, by around US$100. Entry-level laptops shouldn't be so expensive.

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This article originally appeared on Business Insider.