Released in January 2008 the original laptop was a curious but desirable laptop. The machine was introduced as a thin, light weight device for the mobile warrior. The claim to fame was just how light it was and the incident where a secretary accidentally put one in a mailing envelop and sent it, not realising it was a laptop.

That aside the laptop was indeed very light and thin. The problem was it was a slow laptop. 2GB of Ram Max and either came with a 80GB spinning hard drive or 64GB SSD. It also suffered from a few problems. They were prone to just switching off, the screen would also just go blank. 

Aside from these issues, the Macbook Air had a competitor in the Macbook. Apple sold both devices and while the Macbook had better specs, the average consumer wasn't looking at more ram it was the size and weight. For several years the Macbook sold along side the Air. The position of the Air was then clearer. The Macbook was to make a few cameo appearances 5 years later, but again it just muddied the waters. The last Macbook was made in 2017. 

All these things didn't deter the Air from being a success and down the years the laptop got faster and better equipped. The thinness was the winning factor.