If you are on the fence about buying the M1 MacBook Air, or any M1 device then this is the review for you, I’m going to try and help you make a good decision! spoiler alert, I love the M1 MacBook Air very much but its not for everyone and there is other options, so today we will also be exploring the option for the users that won’t be satisfied with the M1 MacBook Air, but I will say this, the majority of you reading this review will be more than ok the M1 MacBook Air, it has amazing value staring at £999 with a beautiful thin design, a 13.3” 2.5k retina display, and most importantly Apple’s new M1 chip!
Why the M1 MacBook Air is enough fo most people…
The M1 chip is fast. It has no problem with any tasks I’ve tried to throw at it. Even though the Air does not have a fan, I’ve never had it heat up, not once, even while sitting outside in the sun, which is amazing. But if you do want a fan then you can opt for the M1 MacBook Pro. I would definitely say that the M1 is more than enough power for most people, apple silicon is truly amazing and has defiantly revived the MacBook Air, as when it had intel inside it used to have heat issues and the fan would come on for simple tasks even if you were just browsing the web. Personally I use it for school work, light video and photo editing, and watching videos. As I came from an intel MacBook Pro there was a few things I noticed right of the bat, my favourite being that as soon as you open the lid of the MacBook, the screen comes on instantly! Obviously there is a small amount of people that the M1 is just not enough for and if that is you, you will want to wait for Apples next generation high end MacBook Pros.
Which specification is best for you?
The only downside of the M1 is that you can’t upgrade it once you have it, so you must make sure you buy the configuration you will need for years to come. You can upgrade the MacBook Air from a 7 core GPU to an 8 core GPU and you can also upgrade the memory to 16GB from 8GB and you can configure the storage up to 2TB of storage. Personally I have the base £999 MacBook Air which is more than enough for me as I down use much storage, even the 128GB SSD was enough for me on my last MacBook, but it all depends on your use case and how long you plan to keep the laptop for, I would recommend buying a little but more than what you need, for example, if you currently use 200GB I would recommend buying the 512GB SSD just so that you have more than enough storage to last you.
Using the M1 MacBook Air as my main computer.
Since switching to the MacBook Air I haven’t looked back! My old MacBook pro (2019) use to heat up with games and light video editing all of which this computer has no problem with and has never heated up once. When ink at home I connect it to my external monitor and I have a magic keyboard the m1 Satcehi mouse to use with it, and I love it. When I’m on the go I use the MacBook Air trackpad and keyboard, and I love them, coming from the horrible butterfly keyboard on my pervious MacBook, the new magic keyboard is a pleasure to use, the trackpad is huge and feels so nice, if you’ve used a MacBook before you will know what I mean. One of the most important things to me on a laptop is battery life, which this laptop definitely delivers in that department, its rated at 18 hours, and its amazing, I never worry about plugging it in, with light usage it can go a week without a charging it which is amazing! Overall I will continue using this laptop, for many years to come, or at least until Apple releases another MacBook I want to review.
Should you buy the M1 Air or the Pro instead or another M1 device?
Picking the right device for you could prove difficult. Apple now has the M1 chip inside the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, 24” iMac, Mac mini and iPad Pro, I will be forgetting about the iPad Pro for now as a lot of people still can’t use it as a laptop or desktop replacement. If you want a desktop you have two options, the Mac mini or the 24” iMac, I personal think that you get a really good value with the iMac as you are getting a 4.5K beautiful screen with speakers and a microphone. You also get everything you need in order to use it and its all colour matched, so if you want to be able to use it straight out of the box and you don’t want a laptop, I would pick the 24’ iMac, but if you want to pick your keyboard , or your monitor and you want more customisability, then the Mac mini is the one for you! So that leaves the people who want a laptop, they want a portable device, but they can also connect it to an external monitor while at their desk, for them there is the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro, and I will say this, most people should just buy the MacBook Air, it is amazing device and packs a lot of power in a nice slim design, but if you do want that extra power then the pro is the one for you.
Why you should buy the M1 MacBook Air!
At the end of the day when buying a laptop, you should buy for your needs and for you future needs, always think about how long you’re going to keep it for and what you want it to do. I personally think that for a lot people the M1 MacBook Air is the MacBook to get as it powerful, slim and packs an amazing battery life to. You can also buy an external monitor and use it as a desktop set up which is amazing, you can shut the lid if you have it connected to power. If you are a student and want a reliable laptop for school with an amazing battery life, then the MacBook Air is the laptop for you. If you have any questions regarding the MacBook Air then feel free to drop me a message on Instagram, I hope you enjoyed this review, see you all next month!
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