In line with our recent scoops, Apple has updated its MacBook Air lineup early this morning. The refresh features the slightly updated Intel’s Haswell processor and all models are now priced $100 less than the previous models. The design is exactly the same and we don’t expect any significant changes to the MacBook Air lineup until later this year.

You won’t find much different here, but the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air models have been bumped up to a 1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage in the low-end configurations and 256GB of storage in the top 11-inch and 13-inch models. These baseline models are configurable with built-to-order options up to a 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of flash storage. Apple did give one particular spec a slight boost however…

The new models also received a slight bump in battery life for iTunes movie playback, with the 11-inch model jumping from 8 hours to 9 hours and the 13-inch model from 10 hours to 12 hours. Compare the new and old below:

As mentioned above, we expect to see significant changes in this department later on in the year with the possible release of a 12-inch MacBook with Retina display that will offer the portability of he 11-inch model, but the power of the 13-inch model. As you can see from the image below outlining the last model’s specifications, there’s not much new to get excited about. That being said, the Air is at the top of the ultra-portable laptop game and any improvements, however slight, once again yield  the best ultra-portable laptop in the world.

Apple SVP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller had this to say per the company’s press release:

The baseline 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air are priced at $899 and $999, while the high end base configurations are listed at $1,099 and $1,199. All models are available today in retail locations and on Apple’s online store with expected shipping availability within 24 hours.

Full press release follows:

The Perfect Everyday Notebook Now Starts at $899

CUPERTINO, California—April 29, 2014—Apple® today updated MacBook Air® with faster processors and lower prices, making the perfect everyday notebook an even better value. Now starting at $899, MacBook Air features powerful processors, fast flash storage, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, up to 12 hours of battery life and Apple’s iLife® and iWork® apps, giving you everything you need to handle all your work, all day long.

“With MacBook Air starting at $899, there’s no reason to settle for anything less than a Mac,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Macs have never been more popular, and today we’ve boosted the performance and lowered the price of MacBook Air so even more people can experience the perfect everyday notebook.”

Power-efficient fourth generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors work in conjunction with OS X® Mavericks to give the 13-inch MacBook Air up to 12 hours of battery life and the 11-inch MacBook Air up to 9 hours of battery life. iTunes® movie playback times increase to 12 hours on the 13-inch notebook and 9 hours on the 11-inch notebook, adding up to two hours of playback time to the updated MacBook Air.* Flash storage makes MacBook Air extremely responsive, whether you are working on presentations, streaming movies and music from iTunes or organizing your photo library.

iLife and iWork come free with every new Mac®. iLife lets you edit your favorite videos with iMovie®, create new music or learn to play piano or guitar with GarageBand®, and organize, edit and share your best shots with iPhoto®. iWork productivity apps, Pages®, Numbers® and Keynote®, make it easy to create, edit and share stunning documents, spreadsheets and presentations. iWork for iCloud® beta lets you create a document on iPhone® or iPad®, edit it on your Mac and collaborate with friends, even if they are on a PC.

Every Mac comes with OS X, the world’s most advanced operating system, which is designed for ease of use even while taking full advantage of the powerful technologies built into every Mac. The latest version, OS X Mavericks, introduces more than 200 new features, including core technologies designed specifically for notebooks to boost performance and improve battery life. Mavericks introduces amazing apps like iBooks®, which gives you instant access to your iBooks library, more than two million titles in the iBooks Store™, and works seamlessly across your Apple devices. The new Maps app allows you to look up directions on your Mac and send them right to your iPhone or iPad, and with iCloud, whatever you do in apps like Mail, Contacts and Calendar also appears on your other devices.

Pricing & Availability MacBook Air is available today through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. The 11-inch MacBook Air comes with a 1.4 GHz processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.7 GHz, 4GB of memory and is available with 128GB of flash storage starting at $899 (US), and 256GB of flash storage starting at $1,099 (US). The 13-inch MacBook Air comes with a 1.4 GHz processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.7 GHz, 4GB of memory and is available with 128GB of flash storage starting at $999 (US), and 256GB of flash storage starting at $1,199 (US). Configure-to-order options include a 1.7 GHz Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.3 GHz, up to 8GB of memory and up to 512GB flash storage. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.com/macbook-air.

*The Wireless Web protocol testing was conducted by Apple in April 2014 using preproduction MacBook Air configurations. Battery life and charge cycles vary by use and settings. For more information visit www.apple.com/macbook-air.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.