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The MacBook Air is the first of two new laptops with Apple’s first proprietary M1 processor, which represents a huge leap in performance and battery life.
The M1-chip MacBook Air starts at £ 999 and is Apple’s entry-level laptop, sitting below the M1-powered MacBook Pro that starts at £ 1,299. Along with the new Mac mini, they are the first models in Apple’s wholesale transition from traditional Intel x86 processors to Apple’s Arm-based chips similar to those used in iPhones and iPads.
From the outside, almost nothing on the MacBook Air M1 has changed since April. They match in size and weight, the number of ports, microphones and speakers.
The 13.3-inch display supports the widest DCI-P3 color space, a feature previously reserved for the more expensive MacBook Pro. The 720p webcam is a bit better too, but it’s still poor compared to those on iPads, iPhones, and some rival laptops, which is a real shame.
All in all, the physical design and operation of the MacBook Air is almost perfect for a standard consumer laptop, and its rivals only beat it with slightly thinner bezels around the screen.
specs
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Screen: 13.3-inch LCD (2560 x 1600, 227 dpi) True Tone
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Processor: Apple M1 with seven or eight core GPU
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RAM: 8 or 16 GB
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Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB SSD
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OS: macOS 11 Big Sur
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Camera: 720p FaceTime HD camera
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Connectivity: wifi 6, Bluetooth 5, 2x USB 4 (USB-C) / Thunderbolt 3, headphones
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Dimensions: 212.4 x 304.1 x 16.1 mm
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Weight: 1.29 kg
Big leap in performance and battery life
The interior of the Air is almost exactly the same as its predecessor, in addition to a very important part: the processor or, more exactly, the system on a chip (SoC), which combines processor, graphics and RAM all in one package.
The new M1 replaces the Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 of its predecessor. In the cheaper MacBook Air (as tested) it has an eight-core processor (CPU) and a seven-core graphics processor (GPU), with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, but a GPU option is available. eight-core.
The M1 has four high-performance CPU cores that handle the most demanding things like processing data and editing photos, while four high-efficiency CPU cores handle light tasks like sending emails. All eight cores can run simultaneously for maximum performance, but the chip is designed to be as energy efficient as possible.
The M1 is also the first desktop chip to be manufactured on the 5nm scale, with the majority being manufactured on the 10 or 14nm scale. The smaller the scale, the more energy efficient it can be.
Combined, it creates a once-in-a-generation performance and a jump in battery life. The M1 is faster than any other laptop chip, rivaling higher-powered desktop chips, while being very energy efficient.
Apple’s cheapest and lowest-powered laptop can now do things that were previously reserved only for large, high-performance machines, and with a multi-day battery to boot. If you want to edit multiple 4K video streams or other intensive tasks, Air will now do it.
In perspective, the previous MacBook Air with a Core i3 chip had solid performance and a long battery life for more than eight hours of work. The MacBook Air M1 has outstanding performance (up to 3.7 times faster on paper) and still lasts more than twice as long doing the same job with the same battery capacity. I regularly get more than 16 hours of active work from the MacBook Air between charges, which is enough for more than two full work days without having to lower the brightness or close programs to save battery life.
My workday includes using Chrome with about 10 tabs open, various chat apps, Typora text editor, Affinity Photo, Evernote, Apple Mail, and a few other tools. Just as impressive, a one-hour Google Meet video call consumes less than 3% of the battery compared to 20% of the old Air or more of the rivals.
It took two hours and 44 minutes to fully charge the Air with the included 30W USB-C power adapter, reaching 50% in 65 minutes. Using a third-party 45W adapter reduced the full charge time by 30 minutes.
Intel, Arm and Universal applications
The switch to the M1 chip means there are now three types of Mac programs to deal with. “Apple” (Arm) applications run natively on newer computers, “Intel” applications can run with the help of Apple’s Rosetta 2 translation system, and “Universal” applications contain Apple and Intel versions, so they can run on any Mac, new or old. Developers are updating their applications to the new Universal format.
About half of the apps I use are Intel apps, and they all work perfectly, including Typora, Microsoft To Do, Evernote, WhatsApp, Facebook Messages, Google Backup and Sync, and Spotify. Even Garmin Express, a fairly specialized software used to update company watches and devices, works flawlessly.
Rosetta 2 works so well that I don’t think most consumers care what kind of application they are trying to use. The only clue that you are not using an Apple application is a brief delay in launching Intel applications caused by Rosetta 2 working its magic.
But there will be some software that won’t work without an update, much of which is likely business and development software. Google’s Drive File Stream file sync app for its corporate Workspace suite is not yet compatible with Mac M1, for example.
Sustainability
The MacBook Air is one of the most sustainable laptops you can buy. It contains 100% recycled aluminum in the case, 100% recycled tin in your logic board solder, and at least 35% recycled plastic used in multiple components. Apple is also using renewable energy for the final assembly of the machine and breaks down the environmental impact of the computer in its report.
The computer is also generally repairable, although the previous iteration with which the M1 MacBook Air shares a design received only 4 out of 10 for repairability from the iFixit specialists.
Apple does not provide an expected battery life. The previous iteration has a battery that was rated for 1,000 full charge cycles before dropping to 80% capacity. It can be replaced for £ 129 by Apple.
Apple offers free and trade-in recycling schemes, even for non-Apple products.
MacOS 11 Big Sur
The new Air ships with Apple’s latest macOS Big Sur with a new iPad-like design. It works the same as on Intel Macs, except for the aforementioned Rosetta 2 system and the ability to install and run some iPhone and iPad applications.
Mobile apps can be installed through the Mac App Store, but only if their developer has intentionally or unintentionally allowed them to be available for M1 Mac.
Simply put, the apps aren’t great. The selection is slim, and the ones that are available are either awkward to use at best or corrupted at worst, with many applications apparently being abandoned by their developers. Some applications are marked as tested on Mac; others don’t.
At some point they may be worth using, but for now I wouldn’t mind; their Mac or browser-based equivalents are better.
Observations
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The M1 represents such a big leap in performance and efficiency that it will be several years before Intel, AMD and even Arm’s rival Qualcomm catch up.
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It has the same instant wake-up from standby as smartphones and tablets.
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Laptop loses 6% battery while on standby for 16 hours.
Price
The Apple MacBook Air costs £ 999 with a 7-core GPU, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Doubling the storage or RAM costs £ 200 respectively.
The model with an 8-core GPU, 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage costs £ 1,249.
For comparison, the M1 MacBook Pro starts at £ 1,299, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 starts at £ 779, the Samsung Galaxy Book S costs £ 999, and the Dell XPS starts at £ 949.
Verdict
There’s an old saying in tech that you should never buy the first generation of any new product – you’re paying to be an early adopter and fix problems. The thing is, I can’t find any problem for the average consumer with the new MacBook Air M1.
The exterior is the same winning formula since the beginning of the year. The M1 chip is truly a game changer, making the MacBook Air one of the fastest computers available in any form factor. It can do pretty much anything you ask of a massive workstation, not to mention a slim, lightweight, fanless package that lasts twice as long as its battery-powered rivals.
Of course it is not perfect. It could really work with more than two ports. The bezels could be smaller. The webcam is rubbish. It can only handle an external display, and why it doesn’t have Face ID like the iPad Pro, I don’t know.
It’s not that old Intel Macs or PC laptops were slow, it’s just that the new MacBook Air M1 is so effortlessly fast and efficient that it’s like putting a 1980s Ford Capri alongside a Tesla Model S.
Pros: super fast, super cool, extremely long battery life, fanless, great screen, great keyboard, best-in-class trackpad, good speakers, good microphones, recycled materials, Touch ID.
Cons: Poor webcam, only two USB-C ports, can only handle external display, expensive, some niche apps may have trouble running until updated, no BootCamp / Windows.
