Neither one nor the other (whilst typing this tears are falling onto the butterfly keyboard of my 2019 MBP - my worst purchase ever - this particular model was really a scam by Apple). But I'd prefer the M2 for all the little extras that make it the slightly better machine in many aspects (and probably two more years of macOS support) - but the M1 is definitely still the better bang for the buck.
I just bought an m1 macbook air this week. I was waiting for the m2 macbook air, but the $200 difference really was a dealbreaker for me. If it had been $999, I would have picked it up instantly, but for $200 more I wouldn't even be able to notice the difference based on my use case. The difference between my 2017 macbook pro and the 2020 air is amazing, never looking back and no regrets at all.
@@grantr2279 Great idea! I also did the same on July 7th. I bought an M1 Macbook Air 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD. I'd rather go with something that's tried and true rather than the M2 version.
@@ahmadfarooq7009 yeah, i have to admit that apple is pretty good at that, i used my macbook pro 2010 for 11 years before upgrading to the m1 macbook air last month
To me, the M1 Macbook Air is perfect for users who are new to Mac OS like myself. In the past, Macbook have been relatively expensive until the M1 Macbook Air was released. That got me interested in purchasing one myself and until now, I used the Macbook Air so much that I abandoned my iPad Pro.
I was waiting for the m2 but then I just grew impatient and bought a m1 and honestly i don’t regret it , I saved money and was able to get the larger ssd with the money I saved
Had my heart set on the new M2 but because of the stock being out almost everywhere and a time crunch I decided to pick up the M1 and I am IN LOVE. I saved money and I absolutely love the gold color. Starlight was also pretty in person but seemed a lot closer to white than a golden hue. Thank you for this video!
Dude the M1 air is the best value for the money in all of Apple’s lineup. IMO. It’s a relative bargain for the performance you get. Also have the M1 Mini for my desktop. Solid setup great value- which I thought I’d never say about a Mac.
Mark, We have 3 M1 MacBook Airs in the family and it is a heck of a machine. I edit and render all my 4K video on mine and I love it. Still a great buy! Great channel, enjoy all of your videos.
The only thing I would change with my M1 MacBook Air is the screen size. I would love it to have been 14" or 15". If you honestly feel the M1 Air isn't powerful enough for you, you will also most likely feel that the M2 Air isn't powerful enough. The M2 Air is also going to throttle when performing really demanding workloads for extended periods (due to the absence of a fan). Those who want as much power as they can get should be looking at the 14" or 16" M1 MacBook Pro.
I have the M1 MacBook Air 16gb/512gb as my daily driver as a developer. It is fast and quiet. The only thing that would have me upgrade to a new MacBook, were the need for a second external display. The M2 MB Air wouldn't be an option. Before I had the 16" MacBook Pro with intel I9, three times the price of the M1. A simple Teams meeting with screen sharing got the fans go crazy. My colleagues asked me, if I was driving in a car.
The M1 MacBook Air has been the best thing that I have ever purchased for the money I paid. It does more than I expected of it, lasts longer than I expected it to, and still runs like it’s new more than a year after I bought it. Just go buy one already :-)
I’m running an Mac Studio in my errrr music studio. This video for me is on the money. I’ve just bought a M1 MB air just to do work from home. It handles multi channel Logic Pro projects with ease with A LOT of plugins. The MBA M1 is a great machine. Great content mark!
I was looking at one primarily for running presonus studio one so I can record guitar away from my desk. Sounds like the m1 should cover me so I’d save a bit of money. Hoping the 8gb ram is enough for this, and the 256gb drive enough space (cheaper to buy an external drive or cloud storage if I did run out of space).
Just purchased an Macbook Air M1 , was £880 for the base. I`m a windows user, still use it for work but wanted something for around the house. Tried the Mac Mini after watching your videos. It was good but i felt that when i was at my desk i found the windows PC took over as i was usually doing a bit of work. I wanted away from the desk. Have to say i`m so impressed with the Macbook Air. I`ve done some 24mp photo and 2k video editing on it, and didnt miss a beat. Whilst having about 5-6 other programs open. Will try 4k video today. Pros battery life is crazy, can use it for 5-6 hours and i`ve only used half a battery. Fingerprint key is a god send. With 1Password instead of having to keep enter the main password i can just press the fingerprint and it unlocks my password. Trackpad, i`ve never like trackpads but this has actually made me rethink. Its so accurate and easy to use. Screen quality is spot on, colours and vibrancy look great, Instantly on, just lift the lid and its on. Its quicker than my ipad air. Talking of Ipad, the way you can just move off the screen onto your ipad with the mouse is such a nice feature. I`m still trying to get video and photo editing to display full screen on the ipad and edit on the macbook air. Almost got it to work. But its great for watching tutorial videos and then i can just move across and pause the playback with my trackpad. Cons Cant use dual monitors like i had on the Mac mini No touch screen. I have a 7 and 5 year old windows laptops (acer/dell) and they both have touch screen. I keep wanting to touch the Macbook Air screen. Why Apple! Its 2022!! Bluetooth music was cutting out on my jabra ear buds.
I just purchased a certified ebay refurb M1 MacBook Pro 13 inch 16gb RAM, 512gb storage for 960usd few days after the M2 announcement. Definitely no regrets.
Thank you so much! Exactly the situation I’m in.. agonizing over the M1 vs M2. Maybe I’ll wait till M2 is launched to snag a great M1 deal somewhere :)
Absolute phenomenal video! I've watched loads of MacBook Air videos and started to realize that all said things started to get repetitive, but you still managed to give us more newinformation. And I especially like how you really try to take the viewers perspective!
I am not convinced. M2 Air is for me. Better webcam, Magsafe, Midnight (closest to black), and faster chip, better display. Sure it is extra (200ish)... but IMHO worth it.
I bought my M1 MacBook Air last November and It has never let me down as it's snappy and responsive even with the VoiceOver screen turned on as I use this machine without any useful vision. I am not a power user as I tend to message and respond to emails as well as watching RUclips videos.
Mahalo for all the humour today! I really needed and appreciated it. I hope you are in as good a spirit and mood as this video suggests. Cheers! Oh, yeah, forgot... I'm still enjoying my M1 Mac Mini 8GB/256GB. Somehow... it's still much faster than the 2011 Mac Mini it replaces! Thanks for the advice that even choosing the least powerful variant would a superb decision!
Great video and remarks on this. I purchased my M1 MBA soon after the M2 MBAs were announced. The cost justification just didn't make sense. I spent £1100 for a refurbished M1 Air with 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD, which would equate to £1,850 for the equivalent M2 MBA, doesn't make financial sense! Since receiving the M1 Air, I am personified in your video as someone who feels this was money well spent.
@@Richard_Barnes Hi Richard, I got mine from HoxtonMacs, think I may have picked up their last one of this configuration but it comes back in stock from what i’ve seen. So far so good!
If you can find a good sale or a second hand in good condition, it seems like a great deal. A friend sold his year old M1 air for only 600 to get the M2.
this video is literally made for me. I got my mbpro stolen a couple years ago and wanted to wait to see how the M1 stood the test of time....now I'm in the weird spot where I want the M2 but don't want to wait months to receive it. I do not need it for anything other than editing pics of my daughter/family and drone footage editing as I want to really dig into that world. That said, sadly I'm the guy that wants the latest and greatest(wants, not needs). Because of this video, I'm seriously considering going to get a M1 macbook after work.
I bough a M1 MacBook Air yesterday 16Gb ram 512GB ssd for traveling it cost £1048 plus VAT, it was a no brainer, when at home I can use my MacBook Pro 14inch or my iMac Pro.
@@sunitjoshi3573 it’s great have also tried a m2 MacBook Air can not notice the difference for normal day to day work, I picked the M1 air up for an absolute bargain price.
Great video as always Mark, absolutely spot on with your observations. I’ve had an M1 air for 18 months now, hands down the best computer I’ve ever owned. I do all my work on it, mainly office apps nothing power hungry, but it hardly gets out of second gear and the battery lasts for days as well! Your comment about the wedge shape, I had a 2017 MB Pro before this and the shape of the Air is so much better in my view.
I have been using my M1 Air for more than a year now ( Almost 2) Trust me.. Its the best laptop I have ever used(obviously it's a new model) If you are a Mac user and you need a laptop for day to day - Dont look back and buy the M1 MacBook Air and if budget is not an issue of course go with the new M2 Air.
The thing that concerns me is how good are the basic laptop improvement in the new Air. Like are the speakers much better? Webcam? Screen? How much better are they compared to the old Air? Speed is sufficient for me and I like the wedge design.
Great review Mark! You’re one of the people from tech that I want to hear from. Even had to search for this one as I missed the original notification! 😆👍🏻📡
I‘ve just purchased an base M1 Air after watching your Video. The M2 version is just to expensive for me and its base 256GB SSDs are just half the speed… so it was a nobrainer.
Funny how you seemed to be describing ME in "The Perfect M1 Macbook Air User"!! Lol. Been a Windows user for decades but a user of the iPhone since 2009 (hello, iPhone 3G) and a couple of other Apple products. I never clamour to get each new product that Apple launches but it makes more sense for me to stay on the Apple ecosystem. So I did bite the bullet just as you said and recently scored a good deal on a brand new M1 Macbook Air 516GB with 8-core GPU for essentially the price of the base M1 Air. My very first Mac. I like the wedge shape on this M1 Air vs the boxy M2 Air or MacPro. I hope you're right that I will never look back.☺️
My 2017 MacBook Pro gave me the screen of death a few days ago and I had to hurry and purchase a new one to do my work. I wanted to wait for the new M2 Air, but waiting til some random day in July was just unrealistic. So I got the M1 Air from Best Buy for $899. And WOW it looks exactly like my pro just thinner, with a system upgrade and Touch ID…I’m completely happy with the purchase. If my MacBook Pro lasted forever I would have kept it forever lol.
But how long will Apple support it for?! I need to replace my MacBook 2012 now, I feel it’s done well for me and was a good investment, before that I had a white unibody MacBook that also lasted for years. I wonder how long the M1 air will have though … as apple seem to kill off products quicker now.
First time potential macbook air user here. After seeing both models at Best Buy the M2 Air captured my attention. The new design is much nicer and IMO worth it to get
its on sale for $899 on amazon and at best buy. Im tempted, but the screen is just too dim for my uses. If you're ok with 360 nits or so (it doesnt real-life test at the stated 400), its otherwise pretty great deal.
M1 is definitely the best value for $$, but I’ll order the new M2 version because I like the midnight color. If you want more performance over M1, go for the MacBook Pro 14!
Hi Mark thanks again for your opinion on the M1 MacBook Air. It will be my next apple product after my M1 Mac mini this year. My initial concern for future proofing has always been enough ram but I believe that for my case use now the base model will be sufficient. My personal use case is as a casual non professional user. We use apple services but not exclusively and enjoy the best technology integration on the market for us. We are empty nesters and our adult kids prefer windows/android products so device/application compatibility is essential.
I bought the Macbook Air M1 yesterday because I spilt water on my 2013 Pro (4 days ago) and its battery won't charge anymore. Some people said I should've waited for M2 because it's better but I'm just a basic user.
the only thing that makes me think buying the m2 air is because i stay like year and year with the same notebook and the m2 will have more years of support and upgrade in the macos system
Just bought M1 Macbook air, 8GB/512GB. has 8 core GPU. Its amazing. Instant on. and the speakers, wow. Ive come from Windows, got an Mac mini and liked it and thought I'd get the MacBook Air when I saw it for £931 including VAT which is 20% extra included in this price (good old Blighty).
I like Mac book air price and design but I need at least 16 GB of ram. In my country (Iran) MBA with 16GB ram price is pretty close to Mac book Pro with 16 GB ram. So MBA is not in my list
I've just ordered an M1 MacBook Air to replace my 2018 MacBook Pro as my sole computer. I've always loved the Air's look and feel, but back then thought that perhaps the Air wasn't quite powerful enough. With hindsight, I over-estimated my requirements 🙄 So, I decided to pull the trigger before they are phased out. As I'm in the fortunate position to not be too budget constrained, I selected 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD. The 1TB may well turn out to be overkill, but with iPhone and iPad backups growing ever larger, and ditto for file sizes of pics and videos, I thought it was worth stumping up the cash. (The clincher being the current 0% offer - it's £8 pcm!) [Edit to clarify - it's £8 pcm *extra* on the 0% for the £200 price increase to go from 512GB to 1TB.] Let's be honest, dangling an external SSD from it rather diminishes the portability appeal of the Air. As a recent discoverer of, and subscriber to, your channel, I have to say keep up the good work. Your real world viewpoint suits me as a great counterpoint to the number-crunching, stat heavy videos. And the humourous B roll makes it enjoyable as well as useful.
@@squatzilla Poorly worded by me. It's £8 pcm *extra* on the 0% for the £200 price increase to go from 512GB to 1TB. Actually, having checked, it's closer to £9, but I'm notediting my edit...
I bought my daughter a MS Surface Laptop 3 when she started high school 2 years ago. Great machine. But my younger son now needs a computer, and I'm going to get him an M1 base spec Air. Touch screen with stylus has turned out to be largely irrelevant, despite the school saying it was highly recommended. Not enough students have them, so they can't plan lessons around them. They also support Mac, so getting the M1 Air is amazing bang for the buck.
Bought one for my wife. It's the best value Mac ever. Smart move. If you don't need to increase the specs, and don't need the new video codecs for processing, the price difference is very significant, even before you find it discounted
The reason for having a MacBook Air is for portability? I was considering a Mac mini since most of my computing is writing emails, reading stories on the Internet, and other basic computing. Would this be a good option? Would the M1 Mac mini be sufficient or should I wait for the M2 Mac mini? Thanks in advance
Mark, how long do you think it's going to be before large UK suppliers like Curry's, Argos, Very etc will stop selling the 2020 M1 Air? Could do with waiting a few months to pick one up but worried they're going to discontinue it as the M2 is now out. Thanks!
Mark the only other upside to M2 Air is the OS lifecycle right? the M1 Airs on display at retail are all 2020 models vs 2022. I’m a low and slow user coming from a 2011 MBP 13 with SSD so I like to keep cars and computers for 300,000 miles
One large group that is never addressed in these reviews/recommendations are the many professionals having one extra screen + 20-30 tabs open in their browser + email, MS Teams or Zoom, Slack, Evernote, Word/Excel/PowerPoint etc. open at the same time. --- It is not video editing or coding or whatever - and it is not "casual browsing" either. But it is the reality for most professionals I have met. -- What would you recommend to this group? (I'm e.g. thinking if the Macbook Air will overheat, perhaps not in the beginning but maybe after a couple of years using it)
Have you found an answer anywhere? This is my usage/need exactly and I'm torn! 16gb RAM M1 or 24gb RAM M2? Or is the 8gb RAM plenty and I'm overestimating RAM needs for what usage you described? Would love an update if you have one!
@@markbkjaer thanks! I can't stand the fan on the pros so want to stick with an air. Sounds like the 16gb RAM is working well for you so I appreciate that feedback!
I just upgraded from an utter garbage 2018 Retina MacBook Air to an M1 MacBook Air. Got it for $830 before tax at Microcenter. I sold my 2018 MacBook for $600. So I paid less than $300 to switch to an M1 chip sitting in a great designed laptop with the improved keyboard. The M1 is a revelation, it performs like the old school 2012 MacBook Airs did - buttery smooth all the time. No lag anywhere. For a casual or light work laptop this thing can’t be beat. I’ll have it for another 6 years like my old 2012 MacBook.
Actually, the best thing is that if you waited to see if the M2 MBA is worth it, there's plenty of M1 MBA's on the Apple refurb site, saving even more money.
What’s the point in buying a M2 MacBook Air if you spec it out with 16GB RAM and 512 SSD if the base model M1 MacBook Pro 14” refurbished is almost the same prince! 🤯 it’s confusing!
I agree with everything but don’t think that Apple will be supporting us M1 users as good as they used to, they’ve lost a bit of site over the years and you tend to loose out on “software” features to force us to upgrade. You’ll still get 5 years or so though. I will say though that as a general video editor/ music producer the M1 is great.
I've owned an Apple Refurbished base model M1 MacBook Air for seven months. I have experienced two identical instances of faults: after 25 days of ownership the USB-C power cable was replaced under warranty as it was failing to charge the unit reliably. The replacement cable also failed in the same manner so I never bothered to get it replaced, opring instead for an after-market one with a woven fabric outer and a right-angled head. Otherwise, this is the best (& fastest) Mac I've owned in 25 years of Apple computing.
To be honest, I do prefer the M1 MacBook Air’s design language, since I’m comfortable with my MacBook Pro 2016’s form factor. System support could be a concern. It might only have 4 years of support left. And only 400 nits brightness is another factor to think about, my MacBook Pro 2016 has 500 nits and even that can be hard to see in the sun sometimes.
Thank you! Fantastic video, this is exactly what I was looking for. I was really worried the M1 wouldn't have support, or would become a brick in a only a couple of years.
Argh... I'm still torn - between M1 or M2! I use my laptop daily for work, all day on Teams/screen sharing, Camtasia video recording/editing, emails, chrome, phone mirroring - currently have Dell XPS 13 9380 i5 8GB 256GB. Which is best/which spec? Travel a lot for work and have an external screen (just the one ;-) ), mouse and 2K webcam plugged into a USB-C dock. Dell too slow/overheating. iPhone 12 Pro Max owner too... help me choose!
I want to get my company a few m1 macbook airs but we are waiting until our need for them is more apparent. I am worried by the time we get ready to buy macs that these will be gone and only more expensive alternatives will remain. Is there any set date that these are going to stop being sold?
Great skit of air m1 buyer. I can relate 😂 I would like to have m1 air, I regret I did not buy it when it was released with airpods within edu-sale. The value for that time was brilliant, equal current m1 air price.
i’m getting my first ever Macbook M1, but which one should i get: M1 Macbook Air with 16gb ram or the base model of M1 Macbook air with 8gb ram? Im going to use it for school....word, excel, powerpoint, Discord, browsing, Netflix and youtube.
I would go with M1 and 16GB - it's better for future proofing. Also SSD is almost double the speed on M1 because M2 uses only one SSD module instead of two.
This is a genuine question, as I've never used or owned a macbook. What is it people like about the Wedge design? Is it just an aesthetic thing or is there an ergonomic aspect to it or what? I think aesthetically the new design looks better but that's just personal preference, what are the other pros if there are any?
Hi Mark, question, I am a beginner designer looking to upgrade from my 2015 Mac model. Should I get M1 or M2 if so which spec will last me at least 5 years of my graphic design career in future? Thanks
I would say it depends on what kind of computer you are coming from. For existing M1 Mac users, there might not be too much of a jump (as in usually the case in an immediate successor). For older computers, it is something worth considering. All in all, as always, it depends very much on one's individual use case. What do you really need, vs. the nice-to-have traits.
Pricing in Europe is crazy and while base M2 Air is better then base M1 Air, it's not 600€ better. Specially for casual web browsing use, no compiling or editing or similar. And the single 256GB chip being 1GB/s slower in M2 Pro doesn't indicate anything good for the upcoming M2 Air. If I'd go the upgrade route, the M14Pro is a better buy.
hey, im between the base m2 and the m1 16/512, the only thing that makes me choose the m2 over the m1 is the fact im scared that the m1 wouldn't last 6 years from now on. what would you suggest? im just a bit scared about the future proof on the m1. thanks.
I’m also scared of this too. I’d like to make the m1 last until I finish college and that is 6-7 years from now. I’m worried that they won’t support it anymore when I get there.
@@alanna6034 it will be supported. Just got the m1 16gb. It is better than base m2 because of the 16gb. And there is only difference of 12% in m2 and m1 chips.
I need a macbook for when I go traveling (maybe a few times a year). I might code on it, maybe play some games, but occasionally. Does a 16gb version make sense in my case? Whenever I used it, I plan on having 20+ chrome tabs open.
I work in final cut pro with very large projects, and also produce music. I’ve been told by my techie friend that going below 16 gigs ram would be asking for problems. But it sounds like 8 gigs of RAM on the air is working fine for your audio and video work?
I think the thing to bear in mind is that I'm not using my MacBook Air constantly as a production machine. If that was its intended job, I'd go for 16GB to gain the headroom.
Will the M1 Air continue to be made and sold by Apple? Or will they be selling existing stock and stopping production? I want one, but money wise need to wait a couple months. Thanks!
They are so popular I think they will sell them for a bit until they phase out m1 I love my MacBook Air I’ve had it since march (base) it is absolutely flawless and has never let me down
Yeah it's a shame I love the midnight color but they effed it up with the notch on the screen ... Why would you put a notch on the screen like that it's distracting
I want one of these so bad but I cannot have a laptop without windows. Is there an equivalent that is just as compact, battery conscious, and well built as this? I hear the XPS13 is pretty good but I've never handled one.
So... are you going to buy an M1 MacBook Air now? Or has the M2 version completely put you off?
Neither one nor the other (whilst typing this tears are falling onto the butterfly keyboard of my 2019 MBP - my worst purchase ever - this particular model was really a scam by Apple). But I'd prefer the M2 for all the little extras that make it the slightly better machine in many aspects (and probably two more years of macOS support) - but the M1 is definitely still the better bang for the buck.
@@nmbr73 I can understand ur pain(struggling to write line with 2 keys missing on mine mac)
This is a very honest video, unkike any other reviewer. Purchased a basemodel refurbished M1 yesterday for £760
I just bought an m1 macbook air this week. I was waiting for the m2 macbook air, but the $200 difference really was a dealbreaker for me. If it had been $999, I would have picked it up instantly, but for $200 more I wouldn't even be able to notice the difference based on my use case. The difference between my 2017 macbook pro and the 2020 air is amazing, never looking back and no regrets at all.
@@grantr2279 Great idea! I also did the same on July 7th. I bought an M1 Macbook Air 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD. I'd rather go with something that's tried and true rather than the M2 version.
I bought the M1 Air yesterday through Amazon for $899. I upgraded from my mid-2012 Air. Very happy with my purchase!
Surprised to heard that you was using the m1 air 2012 for 10 years amazing
Awesome
@@ahmadfarooq7009 yeah, i have to admit that apple is pretty good at that, i used my macbook pro 2010 for 11 years before upgrading to the m1 macbook air last month
To me, the M1 Macbook Air is perfect for users who are new to Mac OS like myself.
In the past, Macbook have been relatively expensive until the M1 Macbook Air was released. That got me interested in purchasing one myself and until now, I used the Macbook Air so much that I abandoned my iPad Pro.
I was waiting for the m2 but then I just grew impatient and bought a m1 and honestly i don’t regret it , I saved money and was able to get the larger ssd with the money I saved
Had my heart set on the new M2 but because of the stock being out almost everywhere and a time crunch I decided to pick up the M1 and I am IN LOVE. I saved money and I absolutely love the gold color. Starlight was also pretty in person but seemed a lot closer to white than a golden hue. Thank you for this video!
glad you got a pretty colored computer. That's very important. Thanks for your useful comment.
@@youtubegarbage7876 likewise!
Dude the M1 air is the best value for the money in all of Apple’s lineup. IMO. It’s a relative bargain for the performance you get. Also have the M1 Mini for my desktop. Solid setup great value- which I thought I’d never say about a Mac.
Great points, well made!
I think M1 iMac has the best value, the screen is just gorgeous
Mark, We have 3 M1 MacBook Airs in the family and it is a heck of a machine. I edit and render all my 4K video on mine and I love it. Still a great buy! Great channel, enjoy all of your videos.
Thanks, Scott!
I bought my M1 Macbook Air in January this year and have absolutely been loving it 🥰.
The only thing I would change with my M1 MacBook Air is the screen size. I would love it to have been 14" or 15". If you honestly feel the M1 Air isn't powerful enough for you, you will also most likely feel that the M2 Air isn't powerful enough. The M2 Air is also going to throttle when performing really demanding workloads for extended periods (due to the absence of a fan). Those who want as much power as they can get should be looking at the 14" or 16" M1 MacBook Pro.
I have the M1 MacBook Air 16gb/512gb as my daily driver as a developer. It is fast and quiet. The only thing that would have me upgrade to a new MacBook, were the need for a second external display. The M2 MB Air wouldn't be an option. Before I had the 16" MacBook Pro with intel I9, three times the price of the M1. A simple Teams meeting with screen sharing got the fans go crazy. My colleagues asked me, if I was driving in a car.
U mean the fans on your M1 air went crazy using teams?
@@mengslzr No, the fans on the Intel MacBook Pro. The M1 air has no fans. I missed a comma in my comment. It should say, "Before, I had the 16"..."
@@alexanderpoplawski577 thanks!
The M1 MacBook Air has been the best thing that I have ever purchased for the money I paid. It does more than I expected of it, lasts longer than I expected it to, and still runs like it’s new more than a year after I bought it.
Just go buy one already :-)
Great advice!
I’m running an Mac Studio in my errrr music studio. This video for me is on the money.
I’ve just bought a M1 MB air just to do work from home. It handles multi channel Logic Pro projects with ease with A LOT of plugins.
The MBA M1 is a great machine.
Great content mark!
Thank you!
I was looking at one primarily for running presonus studio one so I can record guitar away from my desk. Sounds like the m1 should cover me so I’d save a bit of money. Hoping the 8gb ram is enough for this, and the 256gb drive enough space (cheaper to buy an external drive or cloud storage if I did run out of space).
Just purchased an Macbook Air M1 , was £880 for the base. I`m a windows user, still use it for work but wanted something for around the house. Tried the Mac Mini after watching your videos. It was good but i felt that when i was at my desk i found the windows PC took over as i was usually doing a bit of work. I wanted away from the desk.
Have to say i`m so impressed with the Macbook Air. I`ve done some 24mp photo and 2k video editing on it, and didnt miss a beat. Whilst having about 5-6 other programs open.
Will try 4k video today.
Pros
battery life is crazy, can use it for 5-6 hours and i`ve only used half a battery.
Fingerprint key is a god send. With 1Password instead of having to keep enter the main password i can just press the fingerprint and it unlocks my password.
Trackpad, i`ve never like trackpads but this has actually made me rethink. Its so accurate and easy to use.
Screen quality is spot on, colours and vibrancy look great,
Instantly on, just lift the lid and its on. Its quicker than my ipad air.
Talking of Ipad, the way you can just move off the screen onto your ipad with the mouse is such a nice feature. I`m still trying to get video and photo editing to display full screen on the ipad
and edit on the macbook air. Almost got it to work. But its great for watching tutorial videos and then i can just move across and pause the playback with my trackpad.
Cons
Cant use dual monitors like i had on the Mac mini
No touch screen. I have a 7 and 5 year old windows laptops (acer/dell) and they both have touch screen. I keep wanting to touch the Macbook Air screen. Why Apple! Its 2022!!
Bluetooth music was cutting out on my jabra ear buds.
I just purchased a certified ebay refurb M1 MacBook Pro 13 inch 16gb RAM, 512gb storage for 960usd few days after the M2 announcement. Definitely no regrets.
Thank you so much! Exactly the situation I’m in.. agonizing over the M1 vs M2. Maybe I’ll wait till M2 is launched to snag a great M1 deal somewhere :)
Absolute phenomenal video! I've watched loads of MacBook Air videos and started to realize that all said things started to get repetitive, but you still managed to give us more newinformation. And I especially like how you really try to take the viewers perspective!
Ah, thanks, Jim!
I am not convinced. M2 Air is for me. Better webcam, Magsafe, Midnight (closest to black), and faster chip, better display. Sure it is extra (200ish)... but IMHO worth it.
I bought my M1 MacBook Air last November and It has never let me down as it's snappy and responsive even with the VoiceOver screen turned on as I use this machine without any useful vision. I am not a power user as I tend to message and respond to emails as well as watching RUclips videos.
Mahalo for all the humour today! I really needed and appreciated it. I hope you are in as good a spirit and mood as this video suggests. Cheers! Oh, yeah, forgot... I'm still enjoying my M1 Mac Mini 8GB/256GB. Somehow... it's still much faster than the 2011 Mac Mini it replaces! Thanks for the advice that even choosing the least powerful variant would a superb decision!
Ah, that's lovely to hear! If I can raise one smile, this video has done its job ;)
The problem is, if you buy an M1 (released in 2020) in 2022, the resale value drops dramatically, as to any buyer, it's essentially a 2020 laptop.
Great video and remarks on this. I purchased my M1 MBA soon after the M2 MBAs were announced. The cost justification just didn't make sense. I spent £1100 for a refurbished M1 Air with 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD, which would equate to £1,850 for the equivalent M2 MBA, doesn't make financial sense! Since receiving the M1 Air, I am personified in your video as someone who feels this was money well spent.
Where from Samrat? I’ve never seen owt like that available.
Me too.
I have had the same specification M1 Air for almost 18 months now and it has been superb. You chose wisely.
@@Richard_Barnes Hi Richard, I got mine from HoxtonMacs, think I may have picked up their last one of this configuration but it comes back in stock from what i’ve seen. So far so good!
@@samratsharma4964 thx 🙏🏻 👍🏻
If you can find a good sale or a second hand in good condition, it seems like a great deal. A friend sold his year old M1 air for only 600 to get the M2.
this video is literally made for me. I got my mbpro stolen a couple years ago and wanted to wait to see how the M1 stood the test of time....now I'm in the weird spot where I want the M2 but don't want to wait months to receive it. I do not need it for anything other than editing pics of my daughter/family and drone footage editing as I want to really dig into that world. That said, sadly I'm the guy that wants the latest and greatest(wants, not needs). Because of this video, I'm seriously considering going to get a M1 macbook after work.
I bough a M1 MacBook Air yesterday 16Gb ram 512GB ssd for traveling it cost £1048 plus VAT, it was a no brainer, when at home I can use my MacBook Pro 14inch or my iMac Pro.
How’s the performance of M1 Air?
@@sunitjoshi3573 it’s great have also tried a m2 MacBook Air can not notice the difference for normal day to day work, I picked the M1 air up for an absolute bargain price.
@@richardschembri3538 Thanks for the details.
One of the best consumer advice videos I’ve ever read or watch, and I’m a product reviewer myself!
Wow, thanks!
Great video as always Mark, absolutely spot on with your observations. I’ve had an M1 air for 18 months now, hands down the best computer I’ve ever owned. I do all my work on it, mainly office apps nothing power hungry, but it hardly gets out of second gear and the battery lasts for days as well!
Your comment about the wedge shape, I had a 2017 MB Pro before this and the shape of the Air is so much better in my view.
Thank you!
I have been using my M1 Air for more than a year now ( Almost 2) Trust me.. Its the best laptop I have ever used(obviously it's a new model) If you are a Mac user and you need a laptop for day to day - Dont look back and buy the M1 MacBook Air and if budget is not an issue of course go with the new M2 Air.
The thing that concerns me is how good are the basic laptop improvement in the new Air. Like are the speakers much better? Webcam? Screen? How much better are they compared to the old Air?
Speed is sufficient for me and I like the wedge design.
Are you using M1 air?
"The Perfect M1 Macbook Air Buyer" 😁 7:07 😬 The M1 Macbook Air it is. Thanks for this video!
Awesome! Glad to help!
I bought the Air M1 with 16GB of Ram with a student discount. Glad I got it, its a great laptop and its got way more power than i need.
Great review Mark! You’re one of the people from tech that I want to hear from. Even had to search for this one as I missed the original notification! 😆👍🏻📡
I love hearing this, Mark - thank you! Let's hope those notifications sort themselves out!
I‘ve just purchased an base M1 Air after watching your Video. The M2 version is just to expensive for me and its base 256GB SSDs are just half the speed… so it was a nobrainer.
Thank you so much for this! Bought my M1 MacBook Air last night & I love it!
I'll say it 100x times - Your voice makes me remember of Jony Ive from Apple.
If only I had his money!
Funny how you seemed to be describing ME in "The Perfect M1 Macbook Air User"!! Lol. Been a Windows user for decades but a user of the iPhone since 2009 (hello, iPhone 3G) and a couple of other Apple products. I never clamour to get each new product that Apple launches but it makes more sense for me to stay on the Apple ecosystem. So I did bite the bullet just as you said and recently scored a good deal on a brand new M1 Macbook Air 516GB with 8-core GPU for essentially the price of the base M1 Air. My very first Mac. I like the wedge shape on this M1 Air vs the boxy M2 Air or MacPro. I hope you're right that I will never look back.☺️
Oh I'm definitely right on that ;)
My 2017 MacBook Pro gave me the screen of death a few days ago and I had to hurry and purchase a new one to do my work. I wanted to wait for the new M2 Air, but waiting til some random day in July was just unrealistic. So I got the M1 Air from Best Buy for $899. And WOW it looks exactly like my pro just thinner, with a system upgrade and Touch ID…I’m completely happy with the purchase. If my MacBook Pro lasted forever I would have kept it forever lol.
But how long will Apple support it for?! I need to replace my MacBook 2012 now, I feel it’s done well for me and was a good investment, before that I had a white unibody MacBook that also lasted for years.
I wonder how long the M1 air will have though … as apple seem to kill off products quicker now.
First time potential macbook air user here. After seeing both models at Best Buy the M2 Air captured my attention. The new design is much nicer and IMO worth it to get
What configuration did you get?
M1 $779 at Mircocenter but I opted for the new M2 for $1049.
its on sale for $899 on amazon and at best buy. Im tempted, but the screen is just too dim for my uses. If you're ok with 360 nits or so (it doesnt real-life test at the stated 400), its otherwise pretty great deal.
M1 is definitely the best value for $$, but I’ll order the new M2 version because I like the midnight color. If you want more performance over M1, go for the MacBook Pro 14!
Your arguments for the M1 MacBook Air are so compelling, I almost bought another one.
Wow!
Just got the base Macbook Air M1 as a Computer Engineering Student for just under 700 €, best laptop for that money in my opinion
Agreed!
Bought M1 September 2021 for $800. Absolutely no regrets.
typing this on my macbook air m1! Just purchased and so far so good. I also enjoy the design of the older m1s vs the m2. The m2 looks a bit plain
Hi Mark thanks again for your opinion on the M1 MacBook Air. It will be my next apple product after my M1 Mac mini this year. My initial concern for future proofing has always been enough ram but I believe that for my case use now the base model will be sufficient. My personal use case is as a casual non professional user. We use apple services but not exclusively and enjoy the best technology integration on the market for us. We are empty nesters and our adult kids prefer windows/android products so device/application compatibility is essential.
Ended up here obviously for the content, but stayed for his beautiful voice! Hehe Thanks for the video! I am buying the M1.
I bought the Macbook Air M1 yesterday because I spilt water on my 2013 Pro (4 days ago) and its battery won't charge anymore. Some people said I should've waited for M2 because it's better but I'm just a basic user.
The sound on them is amazing, paid 670 quid for the basic model in Bangkok (7% VAT) with an education discount.
Coming from a core i5 MBA, I ordered the M2 MBA. The better display got me.
As good a reason as any!
the only thing that makes me think buying the m2 air is because i stay like year and year with the same notebook and the m2 will have more years of support and upgrade in the macos system
Finally some one talking sense.❤️👍
Just bought M1 Macbook air, 8GB/512GB. has 8 core GPU. Its amazing. Instant on. and the speakers, wow. Ive come from Windows, got an Mac mini and liked it and thought I'd get the MacBook Air when I saw it for £931 including VAT which is 20% extra included in this price (good old Blighty).
Are there any overheating issue for the MacBook Air M1?
Thanks for your video. I was really worried if my purchase where right with the m1 base model over the m2. Now I'm reassured :)
Good stuff!
I like Mac book air price and design but I need at least 16 GB of ram. In my country (Iran) MBA with 16GB ram price is pretty close to Mac book Pro with 16 GB ram. So MBA is not in my list
I've just ordered an M1 MacBook Air to replace my 2018 MacBook Pro as my sole computer. I've always loved the Air's look and feel, but back then thought that perhaps the Air wasn't quite powerful enough. With hindsight, I over-estimated my requirements 🙄
So, I decided to pull the trigger before they are phased out. As I'm in the fortunate position to not be too budget constrained, I selected 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD. The 1TB may well turn out to be overkill, but with iPhone and iPad backups growing ever larger, and ditto for file sizes of pics and videos, I thought it was worth stumping up the cash. (The clincher being the current 0% offer - it's £8 pcm!) [Edit to clarify - it's £8 pcm *extra* on the 0% for the £200 price increase to go from 512GB to 1TB.] Let's be honest, dangling an external SSD from it rather diminishes the portability appeal of the Air.
As a recent discoverer of, and subscriber to, your channel, I have to say keep up the good work. Your real world viewpoint suits me as a great counterpoint to the number-crunching, stat heavy videos. And the humourous B roll makes it enjoyable as well as useful.
Thank you!
Typo? £8 pcm?
@@squatzilla Poorly worded by me.
It's £8 pcm *extra* on the 0% for the £200 price increase to go from 512GB to 1TB. Actually, having checked, it's closer to £9, but I'm notediting my edit...
@@IainMercer thanks for clarifying, makes sense
I just bought M1 Mac mini 16gb , incredible machine👌
Great buy!
I bought my daughter a MS Surface Laptop 3 when she started high school 2 years ago. Great machine. But my younger son now needs a computer, and I'm going to get him an M1 base spec Air.
Touch screen with stylus has turned out to be largely irrelevant, despite the school saying it was highly recommended. Not enough students have them, so they can't plan lessons around them. They also support Mac, so getting the M1 Air is amazing bang for the buck.
Bought one for my wife. It's the best value Mac ever. Smart move. If you don't need to increase the specs, and don't need the new video codecs for processing, the price difference is very significant, even before you find it discounted
The reason for having a MacBook Air is for portability? I was considering a Mac mini since most of my computing is writing emails, reading stories on the Internet, and other basic computing. Would this be a good option? Would the M1 Mac mini be sufficient or should I wait for the M2 Mac mini? Thanks in advance
Mark, how long do you think it's going to be before large UK suppliers like Curry's, Argos, Very etc will stop selling the 2020 M1 Air? Could do with waiting a few months to pick one up but worried they're going to discontinue it as the M2 is now out. Thanks!
Genuinely have no idea, I'm afraid! Apple are very unpredictable. I'd guess that it has at least another 18 months ahead if not longer, though.
Awesome video!!!!! Thank you!!! VERY HELPFUL!
No problem!
Mark the only other upside to M2 Air is the OS lifecycle right? the M1 Airs on display at retail are all 2020 models vs 2022. I’m a low and slow user coming from a 2011 MBP 13 with SSD so I like to keep cars and computers for 300,000 miles
One large group that is never addressed in these reviews/recommendations are the many professionals having one extra screen + 20-30 tabs open in their browser + email, MS Teams or Zoom, Slack, Evernote, Word/Excel/PowerPoint etc. open at the same time. --- It is not video editing or coding or whatever - and it is not "casual browsing" either. But it is the reality for most professionals I have met. -- What would you recommend to this group? (I'm e.g. thinking if the Macbook Air will overheat, perhaps not in the beginning but maybe after a couple of years using it)
Have you found an answer anywhere? This is my usage/need exactly and I'm torn! 16gb RAM M1 or 24gb RAM M2? Or is the 8gb RAM plenty and I'm overestimating RAM needs for what usage you described?
Would love an update if you have one!
@@ericas1458 16 should be enough - but I don't know about Air vs Pro (because of the fan), since I got a pro. Good luck to you.
@@markbkjaer thanks! I can't stand the fan on the pros so want to stick with an air. Sounds like the 16gb RAM is working well for you so I appreciate that feedback!
I just upgraded from an utter garbage 2018 Retina MacBook Air to an M1 MacBook Air. Got it for $830 before tax at Microcenter. I sold my 2018 MacBook for $600. So I paid less than $300 to switch to an M1 chip sitting in a great designed laptop with the improved keyboard. The M1 is a revelation, it performs like the old school 2012 MacBook Airs did - buttery smooth all the time. No lag anywhere. For a casual or light work laptop this thing can’t be beat. I’ll have it for another 6 years like my old 2012 MacBook.
Wait for the m2... that extra 200 gives you a serious upgrade, with design screen, camera, mics and speakers. totally worth the extra 200
Actually, the best thing is that if you waited to see if the M2 MBA is worth it, there's plenty of M1 MBA's on the Apple refurb site, saving even more money.
What’s the point in buying a M2 MacBook Air if you spec it out with 16GB RAM and 512 SSD if the base model M1 MacBook Pro 14” refurbished is almost the same prince! 🤯 it’s confusing!
I agree with everything but don’t think that Apple will be supporting us M1 users as good as they used to, they’ve lost a bit of site over the years and you tend to loose out on “software” features to force us to upgrade. You’ll still get 5 years or so though. I will say though that as a general video editor/ music producer the M1 is great.
I've owned an Apple Refurbished base model M1 MacBook Air for seven months. I have experienced two identical instances of faults: after 25 days of ownership the USB-C power cable was replaced under warranty as it was failing to charge the unit reliably. The replacement cable also failed in the same manner so I never bothered to get it replaced, opring instead for an after-market one with a woven fabric outer and a right-angled head. Otherwise, this is the best (& fastest) Mac I've owned in 25 years of Apple computing.
To be honest, I do prefer the M1 MacBook Air’s design language, since I’m comfortable with my MacBook Pro 2016’s form factor.
System support could be a concern. It might only have 4 years of support left. And only 400 nits brightness is another factor to think about, my MacBook Pro 2016 has 500 nits and even that can be hard to see in the sun sometimes.
Do you think it is a good time to buy m1 pro 14inch (base configuration) or wait untill the beginning of the school year?
M2 is, when using AN ADVANCED setup (f.x. 16gb ram / 512gb++) insanely expensive. A very good used one M1 on the otherhand comes at 300++ bugs less.
I am not the target audience for an Air, but I would just stretch and get a base MacBook Pro 14".
Fair enough!
Thank you! Fantastic video, this is exactly what I was looking for. I was really worried the M1 wouldn't have support, or would become a brick in a only a couple of years.
Awesome!
I think my 2020 Intel MBA should last me till perhaps the M6 Air!
Loved this video!
Thank you!
Argh... I'm still torn - between M1 or M2! I use my laptop daily for work, all day on Teams/screen sharing, Camtasia video recording/editing, emails, chrome, phone mirroring - currently have Dell XPS 13 9380 i5 8GB 256GB. Which is best/which spec? Travel a lot for work and have an external screen (just the one ;-) ), mouse and 2K webcam plugged into a USB-C dock. Dell too slow/overheating. iPhone 12 Pro Max owner too... help me choose!
I want to get my company a few m1 macbook airs but we are waiting until our need for them is more apparent. I am worried by the time we get ready to buy macs that these will be gone and only more expensive alternatives will remain. Is there any set date that these are going to stop being sold?
Those reasons to buy all sound familiar to me. I’m that persona that the end of the video.
The only problem I have with Mac books in my country is the prices it’s 1519€ for m2 Mac book air base model so around 1603,59 USA dollars
Great skit of air m1 buyer. I can relate 😂 I would like to have m1 air, I regret I did not buy it when it was released with airpods within edu-sale. The value for that time was brilliant, equal current m1 air price.
Haha - thanks!
i’m getting my first ever Macbook M1, but which one should i get: M1 Macbook Air with 16gb ram or the base model of M1 Macbook air with 8gb ram?
Im going to use it for school....word, excel, powerpoint, Discord, browsing, Netflix and youtube.
I would go with M1 and 16GB - it's better for future proofing. Also SSD is almost double the speed on M1 because M2 uses only one SSD module instead of two.
So shall I get m1 air or m1 pro or m2 Air? 🥶🥶🥶🙏🙏🙏🙏
This is a genuine question, as I've never used or owned a macbook. What is it people like about the Wedge design? Is it just an aesthetic thing or is there an ergonomic aspect to it or what? I think aesthetically the new design looks better but that's just personal preference, what are the other pros if there are any?
There’s a definite ergonomic benefit, but I personally think it relates more to the iconic design.
Hi Mark, question, I am a beginner designer looking to upgrade from my 2015 Mac model. Should I get M1 or M2 if so which spec will last me at least 5 years of my graphic design career in future? Thanks
I would say it depends on what kind of computer you are coming from. For existing M1 Mac users, there might not be too much of a jump (as in usually the case in an immediate successor). For older computers, it is something worth considering. All in all, as always, it depends very much on one's individual use case. What do you really need, vs. the nice-to-have traits.
Pricing in Europe is crazy and while base M2 Air is better then base M1 Air, it's not 600€ better. Specially for casual web browsing use, no compiling or editing or similar. And the single 256GB chip being 1GB/s slower in M2 Pro doesn't indicate anything good for the upcoming M2 Air. If I'd go the upgrade route, the M14Pro is a better buy.
hey, im between the base m2 and the m1 16/512, the only thing that makes me choose the m2 over the m1 is the fact im scared that the m1 wouldn't last 6 years from now on. what would you suggest? im just a bit scared about the future proof on the m1.
thanks.
I’m also scared of this too. I’d like to make the m1 last until I finish college and that is 6-7 years from now. I’m worried that they won’t support it anymore when I get there.
@@alanna6034 it will be supported. Just got the m1 16gb. It is better than base m2 because of the 16gb. And there is only difference of 12% in m2 and m1 chips.
apple will support it for next 6 years because it is still available on their website.
I need a macbook for when I go traveling (maybe a few times a year). I might code on it, maybe play some games, but occasionally. Does a 16gb version make sense in my case? Whenever I used it, I plan on having 20+ chrome tabs open.
I work in final cut pro with very large projects, and also produce music. I’ve been told by my techie friend that going below 16 gigs ram would be asking for problems. But it sounds like 8 gigs of RAM on the air is working fine for your audio and video work?
I think the thing to bear in mind is that I'm not using my MacBook Air constantly as a production machine. If that was its intended job, I'd go for 16GB to gain the headroom.
Top video! Thanks
Glad you liked it!
Will the M1 Air continue to be made and sold by Apple? Or will they be selling existing stock and stopping production? I want one, but money wise need to wait a couple months. Thanks!
They are so popular I think they will sell them for a bit until they phase out m1 I love my MacBook Air I’ve had it since march (base) it is absolutely flawless and has never let me down
M1 MBA is a BEAST!!!!
Agreed!
I ust bought one M1 Air - 16 GB RAM with 512 GB SSD
I just dont like the new M2 design
Yeah it's a shame I love the midnight color but they effed it up with the notch on the screen ... Why would you put a notch on the screen like that it's distracting
I’m dying from the humor you added into this video 😂 Great job (as always) with this video Mark!
😆
Great video! Thnx
Thank you!
M1 vs M2 MacBook Air: A wedge issue?
I want one of these so bad but I cannot have a laptop without windows. Is there an equivalent that is just as compact, battery conscious, and well built as this? I hear the XPS13 is pretty good but I've never handled one.
What RAM would you recommend to grad student like me who will use some coding, spreadsheets, and other basic works (browsing and so on).
The most you can comfortably afford (you won't be disappointed either way) ;)
@@MarkEllisReviews Thank you!