I have an older macbook air, The new ones even with the faulty keyboard is a lot better considering the increased trackpad size, the screen alone is probably worth it.
I thought I was fine with the old screen turns out I was just used to it, the new one is such an upgrade, the tradeoff being that the processor power is about the same. Which don't matter to me that much as it's mostly text editing for me.
I can get along with my 2015 for now, but I really miss the Retina display and it is pretty slow for doing heavier stuff.