Tech Specs:
- 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 2.6GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache
- 4GB of 1600MHz DDR3L on-board memory
- Intel HD Graphics 4000
- 64GB flash storage
Tech Specs:
Mostly It'd..because it runs fine on my brother's 1.6Ghz dual core Atom, but it may use up to 12gb of your flash storage.
If its not too late here's the link to set it up on your Apple MBA(5,2): http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2039799
I can confirm that the entire process went smoothly for me.
I would be surprised if performance was any sort of issue for Ubuntu on that laptop. The biggest issue I would expect you to find is installation, and maybe a few bugs such as sleep/hibernate not working quite right, maybe shortcut keys not fully functioning, etc. As I have had these sort of small bugs with hardware that is very new in the past.
Actually I found a link where someone did successfully install Ubuntu to a 2012 Macbook Air. I haven't read it through, but the first few lines stated:
It is possible to install, though there are at least a few things not working. The biggest hurdle that I encountered was the install CD halting with:
You might run into problems that your hardware is not recognized. In my case, Ubuntu did not recognize: - keyboard - trackpad - wireless - thunderbolt->ethernet
I haven't found a solution to these problems yet.
I think the retina display might impose some problem, ubuntu is not yet ready to be working with such high pixel display.