Tag: MacBook Air

A year with the M1 MacBook Air

June 22nd, 2022

I’ve been using the M1 MacBook Air for just over a year now and wanted to share some longer term thoughts on using this laptop almost daily.

I picked up the MacBook Air primarily to help me with my freelance work and job hunting back in June 2021 and I went for the basic 8GB Ram model, which at £799 was an absolute bargain. It’s cheaper than most iPhone models and is the computer for most people.

The 8GB of ram has been fine all of this time and the M1 is so fast it doesn’t matter that I went with the base spec.

I’ve used it for basic video editing, podcasting, photo editing and all of the usual daily tasks like email and browsing. In the time I’ve had it I haven’t noticed any slow down.

The battery life has been epic compared to anything I’ve used before.

The build is superb and has held up well. It still looks brand new.

I’ve been thinking about any negatives and I can’t think of any. I’m in no rush to even think about replacing it, even with a new MacBook Air on the horizon it’s still a great buy.
MacBook Air: long term review

April 26th, 2022

I’ve had my M1 MacBook Air for around 10 months and wanted to report back on how it’s going.

I’m pleased to report that I’m still loving this base 8GB model that I have. It’s still as fast as the day I got it, has mega battery and has been reliable (knock on wood).

Since getting the iPad Mini it’s taken a bit of a backseat now I’m in employment again but it comes back out when I need to do something creative or have zoom calls.

For the £800 you can pick these up at it’s one of the best buys in computing. It’ll do everything you throw at it (as long as you’re not expecting a gaming machine) and it’s small enough to go anywhere with you.

It’s definitely up there with some of my favourite Mac’s of all time.
The 2022 MacBook Air

January 3rd, 2022

I’ve been using the M1 MacBook Air for six months now and coming into 2022 with the rumours of a new MacBook Air I thought it would be fun to imagine what this might be.

Design: I don’t see much in the way of changes to the design of the Air given how small it already is. I can definitely see colours coming to the range (think current iMac). I feel that the MacBook Pro design isn’t being shrunken down. Traditionally the Air has always had it’s current look, I don’t see this changing.

With the current ports I get along fine with my two USB-C but could see the addition of MagSafe being added. I’d love the addition of an SD card reader but I think that’s a MacBook Pro feature.

The current M1 should be replaced with a new processor. Don’t expect a Max version of the processor.

The existing screen technology is fine to my eyes. I think that it’ll stay the same, keep the top end for the MacBook Pro.

Price needs to stay the same.

Better webcam please.

Battery life should be better but it’s already stellar.

What do you want to see?
The M1 MacBook Air is still the best machine for most people

November 6th, 2021

I’ve been looking at the reviews of the new MacBook Pro and as a completely happy M1 MacBook Air user I’m still convinced that the Air is the right machine for most people.

Don’t get me wrong the Pro looks great with it’s high refresh screen, ports and high performance chips but given the price of them they are squarely aimed at people that make money from their craft.

As a blogger, someone that enjoys editing images and records music (very occasionally these days) the base 8GB M1 MacBook Air has been perfect. It runs everything I need, including Logic Pro like a champ and I rarely see any slow down. It’s also thin and light and goes almost everywhere with me, replacing my iPad.

If you look at price vs performance the MacBook Air is hard to beat. Mine was £899 and that’s really just iPad money these days. I’ve gotten so much value out of it since June. I’m using it daily, it helped me get my full time job and has been a great creative tool.

I feel that the MacBook Pro is for a Pro, someone who is either editing video all day or making money from their work and the savings they get from extra performance is something that means they have time to make more money or take on more client work.

An Air is around £929 currently and the Pro starts at £1,899. You really need to be able to justify that extra £1000. Don’t write off the Air just because it’s not the best, it’s an amazing machine still with bags of performance.

If you’re currently on an Air don’t feel like you’re missing out, don’t throw away the Air it’s a great machine and also better for the landfill if you keep it rather than getting a Pro, just because…

If you make money as a creator and can pay for the Pro over the Air it’ll be the better choice for you.
M1 MacBook Air: longer term review

October 9th, 2021

I’ve been using my M1 MacBook Air since June and wanted to share some thoughts on how it is with some more miles on the clock. The model I’m using is the base 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage, mines in silver.

I use my MacBook Air pretty much every day. It’ll be used as a music player whilst I’m in the office working, for writing on my blog or freelance, emails and all the other productivity apps and finally making the odd video and recording guitar.

As with my impressions early on I’m still impressed with the general overall speed of the M1 chip. It fires up apps almost instantly, even on heavier apps like Logic Pro it’s been great. The only place I’ve seen it beachball is when I’ve done some video, it was on import that I saw this when selecting the clip from a large photo library.

The screen and keyboard is first class and the battery was amazing. I say was because I’m monitoring it at the moment. I’ve noticed that since the latest macOS update it’s been significantly less, maybe 30% less than normal. I’m still within warranty and have Apple Care so I’m not worried but want to make sure I haven’t got a rogue process running or anything.

In terms of wear and tear in daily use, I’ve got a couple of scratches here and there but nothing of note.

Overall I love this machine and would still recommend the base spec to anyone looking for a great laptop with plenty of performance (but don’t get if you’re looking to play graphically intensive games).
I’m still impressed with the M1 MacBook Air

July 8th, 2021

I’m almost a month in now with the M1 MacBook Air (8GB RAM, 256GB Storage) and I’m still impressed with it everyday I use it – in fact it’s risen above the 2016 12″ MacBook as my favourite machine that Apple has produced. As you may know I went from testing an M1 MacBook Pro with 16GB Ram to this base 8GB Air and I still don’t notice any difference in day to day use. I have been using it for all of my day to day writing, photo editing and even a bit of Logic Pro and it’s surpassing my expectations for an £899 machine – remember this is iPad money.

This isn’t to put down the iPad at all, I still love using my Mini every day but it’s to say that FOR ME, I see better value in the MacBook Air with it’s 13″ screen and trackpad and keyboard.

The keyboard is great and the trackpad whilst smaller than on the Pro is very satisfying to use.

Performance is still great, even on the beta of macOS Monterey it flies with everything that I do on it.

Battery is still amazing, going a few days between charges still even on the beta. I’ve even been playing Xbox Cloud Gaming with a PS4 controller on it and whilst it really drains my iPhone, the Air just carries on fine and doesn’t seem to drain much more than usual. With macOS Monterey you also get Low Power Mode, which I have started testing out.

Extend your MacBook battery life with Low Power Mode, which manages energy-intensive apps and processing. It directs power where you need it to get the most out of your battery

I can’t recommend this machine enough, if you’re after a laptop then I really think that this is the one to buy right now.
What’s it like to use the entry level M1 MacBook Air?

June 24th, 2021

I’ve been using the entry level MacBook Air now for almost 2 weeks and wanted to share what it’s like to use day to day.

The entry level comes with the new M1 chip, 8GB of ram and 256GB of storage. For some comparison previous to this machine I had some time (2 weeks) with a 16GB M1 MacBook Pro and previous to that an 8GB 12” MacBook from 2016.

I use my MacBook Air for web browsing, mail, productivity, blogging, Logic Pro, Xcode (I’m looking at learning Swift), listening to music, editing photos and well it’s my main machine. But I’m not a video producer so no heavy use in terms of this.

When I compare it to the 2016 MacBook, well there is no comparison. This Air absolutely flies and I haven’t seen it beachball or slow down in anything I’m doing.

Compared to the 16GB MacBook Pro I’m also not seeing any slowdown in what I’m doing, which was unexpected but welcome. Side by side I don’t think I’d see a difference between the two machine in what I’m doing.

The Air excels at everything I’ve thrown at it. The heaviest being running Logic Pro and recording some guitar. I experienced no stutter in app and export was quick. The M1 will handle what you throw at it and the 8GB isn’t a limiting factor.

Storage is fine at 256GB for most people. Most of what we do is in the cloud and external storage is cheap if you do want to keep photos local.

So the memory and hard drive are fine for most users, I’d say only go 16GB if you’re going to be doing video editing.

In terms of other hardware in day to day. Well the battery is mega and I can go 3 days between charges with my use of maybe 3-5 hours a day on it. The screen is bright and crisp. The function row is better (for me) than a Touch Bar and the keyboard and trackpad are excellent.

I have no trouble recommending the entry level 2020 M1 MacBook Air to about 80% of the potential user base. At £899 when I picked one up it’s one of the best value deals in computing right now.
M1 MacBook Air vs M1 MacBook Pro

June 12th, 2021

Straight off the bat the first thing I was glad to get back was my physical function row keys. I’d struggled with the Touch Bar a lot and having quick access to volume etc is great. The only thing I miss is the loss of the launchpad button, which I used to launch apps all of the time.

In terms of performance I have to say for my use (Mail, Safari, Ulysses, Todoist, Logic Pro and music) I’ve noticed no difference between this base model and the 16GB Pro that I had used previously. If I get into video at some point maybe I’ll see some but for my use I’m happy to see that the Air is still super fast in day to day.

The next difference I noticed was the smaller trackpad on the Air. It has a less glassy feel than the Pro and I think it’s less clicky sounding, which I like.

The screen is apparently dimmer looking at the specs but I don’t notice a difference in my use.

At the moment I’m finalising my writing set up and all of the background iCloud sync is taking place but like I say it’s super fast and I’m not noticing any slow down.

So far I’m loving the Air and the £600 saving I’ve made over the previously owned Pro makes the £899 (current prices) Air look like a bargain right now.

Just as an aside we’re talking iPad money here and I get a keyboard and trackpad along with it too. I can really see why these M1 Airs and Mac Minis must be selling like hot cakes.