Huge spoiler: it's the best computer I've ever bought. But what do you think to your M1 MacBook Air? Or are you excitedly waiting for one to arrive? Get involved in the comments!
I’ve just ordered a M1 MacBook Air 512gb with 16GB. Should arrive in a few weeks but I’ve been using the same spec Mac mini M1 since December and I feel the same way - it’s my best purchase.
Very clean video, no extravagant intro, no screaming, no annoying background music, ton of info, no memes, just solid focus on the product... very fresh and great work
I bought an Air two weeks ago and it has left my 2018 15ins MacBook Pro - that cost £3,400 - looking like its ten years old and dead slow. For once Apple has produced a laptop that is amazingly affordable and with great performance. Who would have thought it!
The only thing my M1 MacBook Air hasn’t blown put of the water is my top of the line 2020 27 inch iMac, and I think that is because of RAM constraints and graphics bottle necks more than anything 🤷♀️
I bought the base M1 MacBook Air about 2 months ago to replace an 8 year old iMac and I love it. The most I ever push it is with some intermediate level PS work and it's fun to use. Things that used to require processing time in PS happen instantly with the Air. Love it!
I have had my base MacBook Air M1 for 4 months now and I agree with you 100%. It is hands down the best computer I have ever owned. Since I tend to stay in the Appleverse, I have the epic battery life that got everyone excited when it launched. The standby is insane... give it a full charge and don’t worry about for a week. It is an amazing laptop. Intel and the Windows world are years behind.
I purchased a silver MacBook Air M1 just about 5 days ago, and so far I am in love with it. I haven't bought a laptop since way back in 2008 and it was a Gateway PC LOL. Needless to say, I am in heaven with this thing.
I have a 2019 MacBook Air and that has already showed a few issues, but had it repaired and my wife uses it for her main hobby of designing cards. The software she uses does get the MacBook a tad warm where as everything else is fine. My 2013 iMac will need changing later this year and based on your reviews I think it won’t be replaced with another instead I can save a lot of money by buying an M1 Mac Mini and a decent monitor. The 2017 iPad Pro has been great and is used extensively but I still need to resort to my ‘Big Macs’ for spreadsheet work and MS Office. I think we are entering an exciting time with the new architecture and look forward to seeing and using that quantum leap. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Funny thing is, the only Mac I've ever seen have SSD issues was a 2015 MBP used for testing at work that's at 97% SSD wear from years of abuse. Meanwhile, my personal 2012 MBP retina (now with my father in law) is still running like a champ and I used it for music production for 6 of those years.
Hi Mark, I think you've convinced me to go for the Mac Book Air M1 8 GB. I'm a part-time freelance writer and I would be using it for my Novel(s) and Article writing. Just need to bite the bullet and migrate over from MS now.
I ended up buying a Pro just because of battery life. This is super important for me. As you said, when using certains non optimised apps, the Air isn't that impressive. I use Parallels a lot because of legacy x86 Windows apps and battery is taxed pretty heavily. The Air is a wonderful machine but the Pro has better battery and also brighter screen for working outside. If it wasn't for the battery, I would have picked the Air.
The M1 air was my first Mac book. It's simply an amazing machine. I've got a "hard core" x86 gaming laptop and use a x390 Lenovo for work. The Mac is hand down the best laptop I own. Opted for 16gb ram and 512 hd. Not sure I need to now. Only thing I'm not so impressed with is the keyboard. The steel series on my gaming laptop is better. But the mac touch pad is just way ahead of anything on any other laptop. The instant on and battery life are amazing. The worst thing about owning this machine is trying to keep my promise to my self of both using it for work! I do so want to
I'm a sucker for longer term tech reviews. Thanks for making this and the battery call out is a good one. I think sometimes when Apple advertises certain features it's based on the perfect conditions. As someone who uses the MacBook Air for a lot of things that aren't Apple specific, appreciate you including that in your review.
Thanks for your plain and simple comments Mark. Sometimes, It’s really helpful not to have to listen to Geekbench scores or other technobabble when all you want is a straightforward review. Keep ‘em coming.
☕️ I love my M1 air, got it in Feb and it doesn't miss a beat. My wi-fi in my house is absolute trash so my battery does run a little faster than everyone else's, but when I'm away, the battery lasts for so long. My music production usage is heavy, and I just love being able to make music literally anywhere. In my bed, on a plane, so good.
@zac east hey there! I'm considering picking one up and I also plan to get started/play around with music production a little. Do you think the 8 gb would do justice or should I get the 16 gb variant?
@@sathviksrinath8934 I think it depends on how long you want to keep your MacBook around for. My last MacBook Pro lasted me 5 years and I wanted the same longevity, so I got the 16gb ram option. I've watched a lot of reviews and a lot of people say the 8gb works great, just stick with the optimised applications and you shouldn't have any major dramas. the M1 really is brilliant.
I used the 2018 iPad Pro with the magic keyboard2 for a couple of years (which was a really good, although unhelpfully desk-bound, combination), before trying, and failing, to get to grips with last year's magic keyboard. After watching your videos, along with a host of others, I bought the MacBook Air (16/512) a few weeks ago and haven't looked back. It is an awesome machine; and combined with Big Sur it constitutes the most pleasurable, most productive piece of kit I have ever used. Thanks very much for your excellent videos. Cheers.
I took the plunge and bought the M1 Macbook Pro in February. I like it, don't LOVE IT! It has a few problems such as lagging and slowness on some apps. However, I am genuinely excited for the 14 inch M1 MacBook Pro coming this year. I am for sure going to make the switch to that.
Thanks. Most honest reveal so far. I just started making lyric music videos and my old PC just freezes after loading up the videos from my camera or phone.
Been skimming through your M1 videos. I’ve had THE hardest time figuring out if the Air or the Pro is the better option. After watching your videos, I realized the Air is the better bang for the buck. On my way to the Apple store to check one out now actually. Subscribed too!
I’ve recently bought the MacBook Air base level and I am seriously impressed with it. Also using the iPad Pro in sidecar mode for artwork and illutstration is awesome and lag free
Mark, thank you for this review. It gives me great confidence for the future with the newly ordered Air. I got the 512k SSD version, since I plan on sharing it with my wife, and also using it as a back up, and eventual replacement, for my old iMac ( 2013). Maybe you should make a video about the rationale to go with the extended Apple Care option. I bought it for two Apple products, and found it a waste of money. One would expect that an excellent product should perform without problems for at least 3 years.
I bought a 16gb M1 Air and am running it with a 27" 4k Dell monitor Apple keyboard and trackpad, and I love it! By far the best computer setup I've ever owned. regards, Chas :0)
Thank you for the honest opinions. I really appreciate the way you explained why the MacBook Air M1 base model is very much a useable laptop for 2021 and beyond.
Awesome review, I particularly love the real-life examples/anecdotes as a lot of channels will simply throw a geekbench score at you which tells you nothing about real life use. Totally subscribing :)
Best laptop on the market for the money at the moment, especially if you consider that apple was selling it in refurbished section under £900 already! And In my opinion, best value apple product of the last decade.
The price premium I paid for my M1 MacBook Pro for three extra hours of battery life, 20% brighter screen, better sounding speakers, and cooling fan (when needed) is well worth it.
Thanks for giving me advice to get the base M1 Macbook Air for my son. He loves it. Cool Gas Monkey shirt at the start of the video, as well. That's a good show.
I absolutely adored this video. So here I am, some months later (as of the posting of this video), and I'm finally considering buying a Macbook. Like so many others, I purchased the 12.9 iPad Pro with the Magic Keyboard and figured, 'Why bother with a Macbook? The iPad is basically a laptop.' Well as much as I love my iPad, I just want a real laptop and that M1 chip only sweetens the deal. When you spoke of alienating the iPad for the Macbook, I couldn't help but laugh. I totally see this happening. I think where my iPad will shine however is if I find myself someplace without wi-fi. My iPad has cellular so it's always online. So there's a plus, and a reason not to completely ditch it. Haha. Your video has really got me excited for my eventual purchase. I can't wait to get my hands on this device. Oh and I'll be watching your other videos. Again, loved this video and I subbed immediately once it was finished. Can't wait to watch more!
My M1 air full spec 16gb/2tb out for delivery with ups right now!! 🔥 🔥🔥 goodbye 2018 15 MBP you won’t be missed (I’m one of those keyboard complainers) selling my iPad with magic keyboard and the Pro 👋. Great devices but won’t need them.
Carrying around an iPad Pro with a magic keyboard just doesn’t make sense to me either when u can just use a MacBook. But i still would prefer the iPad for its portability and touch screen for casual media consumption
Ok, for how many video reviews I watched from different bloggers about which I should buy if it’s the MBP or MBA ... I’ve finally have my decision when I watch your video .... it’s been almost 2 months like a cats and dogs in my head. Hahaha. But now I know what I will buy. Thank you! And I will subscribe your channel 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻😊
Oh mate great video!, amazing the way you explain everything, felt like I was listening to one o those mystery podcasts where you just have to keep listening until the very end, do have a question, I'm a teacher and teach online quite a bit, sometimes for 8/9 hours, thinking about getting a macbook m1, would that be a good idea?, worried about overheating issues and such
When deciding the Touchbar was a clear downside for me and I actually considered the fan a downside as well. I've been replacing the fan in my laptops almost on a yearly basis for the last decade. Even though I did clean the fan regularly, the cat hairs found their way in there and somehow wore it down. (Time and reviews have shown that maybe my fears were unwarranted though, since it seems the MBP fan rarely spins anyway). I picked the base level MBA, and I'm happy that I did. I think the SSD is on the small side, but it was hard to justify spending $300 (the price here, with Apple Tax included) to add 256GB internally when the 1GB Samsung T7 drive costs half of that. That's a pretty high price tag on convenience. I haven't noticed that I've ever been limited by the 8GB of ram. It's the best laptop I've owned and it might just be the best value laptop ever made.
Just waiting here. Don't know what to do about streaming digital audio samples. Some say that the way the M1 handles RAM makes the need for physical RAM obsolete. Others say RAM is Ram, and nothing can replace that. So, just waiting. Waiting for Apple and waiting for Mark Ellis to do a video on Logic Pro and third party samples;)
Just picked up the base model MacBook Air about two weeks ago. Most of the time, I'm not really pushing this Mac much... mostly browsing and spreadsheets. However, I am a Photographer and Videographer, so at some point, I'll probably use for that (though I usually will be using my iMac for those tasks). I was really swayed by the low cost ($999), and the fact, I'll probably use this - worry free - for the next 5-6 years. I also have the 12.9" iPad Pro (2020 version). iPad mostly for consumption - I love to read magazines / news no the iPad!
I'm not sure it's quite set in yet what a flaming revolution the M1 chip is! I've been using and supporting Intel-based PC's since the 1980's and to finally use devices that aren't trying to be a "one-size-fits-all" is liberating for us and our devices.
I just discovered your channel and it looks that it will become one of my preferred...My « to buy or not to buy » question is about MacBook Air or pro with external monitor or new 24 inches iMac. I’m retired now, I don’t need to be too mobile but sometimes it could be handy, even if I have a 10,5 iPad, it can’t replace a mac for many tasks. I’m especially blown away by the iMac monitors, I’m an occasional photographer. The all around best solution ? MacBook with a very good monitor, mouse, doc, keyboard, but 2 X the price of the iMac...Best of the two world, but for a mobile utilisation pretty occasional. Anyway thank you for reading me...😊. Gorgeous watch by the way !
Hi, yet another great video. Thanks. Will the M1 MBA drive 2 monitors? How does it handle running LightRoom Classic and Photoshop 2021 at the same time? Does it handle some basic video editing?
Awesome - thanks, Jim. I'm afraid you can only drive one monitor from it. Handles Lightroom Classic really well, and there's no issue if you throw PS into the mix, either! And it's great for video editing - 4K even.
Honestly I’m blown away with my MacBook Air. Amazing device and super impressive power. The Touch Bar is gross so I’m happy that’s not present. The Fan seems kinda null at this point
Great video. What slows me to buy this new mac is the concern about possible and probable incompatibility issues of m1 and Big Sur with softwares and plug ins.
Laptop is still so much more advanced and efficient as a productivity machine than the iPad. I myself bought an iPad Pro (with pen and keyboard..) to replace my old Windows laptop but after trying it out I couldn't and reverted back to using my less powerful laptop. My iPad Pro is now purely consumption device (rarely too) and I feel it's a waste of money..
Hi Mark. Love your videos. I’m looking at getting a MacBook Air as I am starting a tutoring business. I will be using it for web browsing, Office apps and Zoom/Teams. My son would like to use it for Minecraft (which is more CPU hungry). No video editing or photo editing. Should I upgrade to16gb? My wife says it would be good for longevity.
@@MarkEllisReviews. Thank you for the reply. I'll visit my apple store and order one with 16GB. Sadly, Amazon don't seem to have 16GB versions as they do discount them.
Hi mark, I currently have the iPad Pro 11 inch 64gb and looking to upgrade to MacBook Air, unsure whether to go for the m1 8GB or 16GB, I’m at best an amateur landscape photographer that would literally just use Lightroom and a bit of photoshop a couple of times a week, would the 8GB be enough? I can’t seem to make a decision! Also subscribed, really well put together videos!
Thanks, Andy! And my advice for this always remains the same; if you think you _might_ need the 16GB and can stretch to it - do so. Nothing worse than buyer's remorse.
Stumbled on your channel and love your work, Mark. My love from India! I have a question. Both Pro and Air are pretty good but I've seen my 2018 13" MBP start to cry when you connect it with a 4K monitor, an external 1080p camera, and a condenser mic to join a video meeting. How has your experience been on M1 Air, with such a use case? Thanks!
Hello Mark! Great review. Convinced to get the 7GPU, 16RAM, 256GB spec based on your analysis. Contemplating on getting Gold but also want the Space Gray color. Does color have anything to do with the re-sale value of MacBook Air?
Thank you! And great choice. No, I don't think colour does, to be honest. The gold might be a little harder to sell, possibly, but there'll always be someone out there who wants one :)
The reason why we max out macs is because what we purchase is set in stone. There is no upgrade for the life of the machine. That said. I've owned an air and I've owned maxed out 16" pros. I need a new laptop now. And is the $500 difference really worth not spending and wishing later that I had spent it? When I look at it like that, I think to spend the money. But is it worth spending 50% more on the upgrade if I don't need to? I dont think it is. But how will I know I didn't need to unless I don't get the upgrade, which in that case if I later find out I need the extras it's no longer possible without purchasing the additional machine. And that's how apple makes so much of our money
Hi Mark, thank u for your absolutely straight videos and your voice!😁 1 more thing is not clear: i've been reading about the issues of the SSD swap usage (about constantly writing files) and sometimes i use PS, Lightroom. I'm architect but DO NOT want to use this for everyday work just really occasionally. I'm buying laptop for longterm. Could reduce/kill the performance of M1 Air base model if I'm using PS at times (for normal files) or if I'm dealing bigger PS/ArchiCAD files rarely? Thanks💜
Very nice review. Looking to upgrade from 2019 Macbook pro 1,4ghz i5. Is it a worthy upgrade? My concern is the audio quality is slightly inferior on air?
M1 Macbook Air base model here. Love it, Teams does drain the battery a bit. Microsoft is supposed to be making a native M1 version though which will resolve that issue. With that said I still get a day and a half of use out of the battery with Teams open all day long. I plan to get the 2021 Mac Mini with the M1x or M2 chip or whatever they call it later this year as my all around desktop workstation. Overall this has replaced my iPad Pro as well. When I finally upgrade that I believe I will just get the latest version of the iPad Air, as I really only use the iPad now for the Pencil. Maybe I'll go even cheaper and just get a paper journal. Anyway no rush now for a new iPad Pro for me. I truly am surprised how much the new M1 Air has resolved the need Which brings me to the crux of the problem. At this point, why does the MacBook Air still exist? Shouldn't the iPad Pro just run MacOS and replace the Air altogether? Especially with the Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro. Here is an idea Apple. 12.9 iPad Pro with a Magic Keyboard runs MacOS. When undocked from the Keyboard it runs iPadOS, there problem solved. We know the M1 procs can do it. Have you seen the latest reviews of Win10 Arm running games on these devices 😲 shocking it can even do it and in some cases even beat intel based laptops running Win10 natively.
What if you have the 11 inch iPad pro with the keyboard? I can still see myself using the iPad itself but I'm starting to think that the magic keyboard is going to collect dust now
I have the 11 inch iPad Pro that I was using for everything...but got the M1 MacBook Air in January because I needed a true laptop for work. It is an absolute dream. I use the iPad Pro for streaming movies & tv shows, and as a side car for the MacBook Air now when I’m in zoom meetings and want a second screen. To be honest, the accessories have gone unused since I got the MB Air.
Buying today or tomorrow. Thanks for your help! My GPU concern is that I heard that these are "failed" hardware units that were not disposed and instead one of the GPUs was disabled and they passed. Does this make it a "long term reliability" issue? Maybe get the 7GPU and use the saving to partially fund AppleCare?
Hi Mark - just bought the base model MacBook Air for general use such as web browsing and email usages - will also use for Microsoft Office such as spreadsheets to manage finances and word processing etc. I immediately had buyers remorse due to the RAM not being upgradable (went for 8GB). I know apple do a 14 day out of box refund policy but was wondering if you think I'll ever really need the upgraded 16GB model? Thanks!
The reason I didn't get an 12.9 in iPad Pro is because I knew I'd be getting the MacBook Air M1. Instead I got a iPad mini Gen 6 for my tablet consumption.
Thanks for this review. I need a lightweight laptop for photo editing as a nature photographer. My 2012 15" MacBook Pro upgraded so many times still working is so big and heavy and the screen is outdated. I was looking at MacBook Pro's at high cost and held back, I use LrC and PhotoMachanic for my editing and back up and work from external SSD drives. From your review it is clear that the Air is the way to go?
Just bought baseline air. I do video editing as well as after effects as well as web design. Short on cash however, and got it for £900! Hope I've made the right choice. I have Mac mini 16gb tho. So maybe I can use air for lighter stuff. Anyone else used it for this type of work?
I mean most reviewers just typing and that say "hey great battery" It is not so easy. I don't have M1 but I've made a test MS Office vs Apple's Apps. Pages vs Word and Numbers vs Excel. I opened monitor activity to look at the energy consumption. I found out that when I use them Apple's apps use much more energy. It sounds ridiculous but it is true. Maybe it has changed on native apple's chip. Typing and and adding charts to Excel mens something around 70-100 of energy load. When I do the same in Number energy load goes much above 150. I didn't expect that. The only thing where Apple's apps are better it is idle. Then they use less energy but still it is like 0,4 vs 0,1 or sometimes equal 0 so it is not a big factor. So once again standby is great but we want to use laptops
What do you think? mac mini 16 gb ram or the air 16 gb ram as a working machine? mainly for home use and intensive audiorecording/editing. I am worried about the absence of fans in the laptop... may be shorter life with intense working? Mac mini with accessories happens to be at the same price, so i thought why not to take the laptop instead for more mobility...
Hi Mark, liked your videos but I am confused which to buy between refurbished M1 air 16/1TB and M1 pro 16/512GB priced at 1400$. My use case : Normal user , once in a week 4K video editing, not a gamer , Web development and Windows as VM. I want to future proof my decision for at least 5-6yrs. M1 Air is fanless so does heat will be the enemy for longevity ? Is the pro model a balanced laptop for that price? Buying refurbished M1 is a good decision ?
I agree with the video to go with the Air although I returned my new 8 GB Air for the 16BG. I keep a lot of Safari and Chrome tabs open at all times even when using FCP. At times the 8GB struggled. The good thing about Apple is you can easily return the computer for a full refund if you are unhappy with spec performance once home.
Standby battery life is good...wouldn't call it great though. I can charge my M1 MacBook Air to 100% and leave it on standby for several days and then open it up to find about 60% batter remaining...without ever having used it since charging it to 100%. Agreed that RU-vidrs were overhyping the battery. If I'm using my M1 MacBook Air all day for work, I can get a day... maybe a day and a quarter out of a fully charged battery, but nothing like the initial hype. Still... waaay better than my Windows laptop!
Hi! Loved the video. I use photoshop and illustrator as a hobby and I do not work with huge files. Do you think I would be fine with Macbook Air M1 8gb ram and 256gb? Thank you!
Someone mentioned something about you leaving it on. You don't have to shut it off as the system will power down itself and go into a sleep mode kind of and then when you open the screen it's ready to go. Is that right? I shutdown my Chromebook when I'm through for the night, so I won't have to do that with the MacBook? What's your take on this?
Hi Mark! I use my m1 laptop for non-work related stuff so I tend to keep it on sleep mode for a couple days. Have you observed how much battery it drains when not in use for days? because mine drains significantly
What i worry about Is the fan. I still use my 11'inch Macbook air from 2013. Right now the m1 Macbook air works amazing, but will it need a fan 5 years down the line? Will it still perform well for people who don’t change their devices as often?
im worried about this too. but based on my experience with apple products, they have all been long lasting and durable. I don't see why the M1 would be any different.
Would the base Macbook Air work for 4K video editing for youtube (sony a7iii)? Basically I'm on a budget and looking to spend the extra on upgrading the storage (if upgrading from 8GB to 16GB won't make too big of a difference on my workflow).
