Being a first-time MacBook user, I was struggling to find a Laptop that could really offer remarkable performance, excellent battery life, better keyboard, and a nice display – And MacBook Air has seemed to have checked all of these marks.
Here’s an honest review of a Windows user that has recently shifted to macOS.
Why the MacBook?
You probably know by this point what are the specs and internals of the MacBook are. And there are thousands of online blogs that would explain the performance chart a little better than an average person. So, here’s my story why I shifted to this.
Being a lifelong Windows user, the hype was really off the chart how amazing the new M1 chip is. But the only problem was the new Operating System.
The base MacBook Air M1 with 256GB storage costs $999. At the same price point, you can find HP Envy with an i5 11th gen chip, Microsoft Surface 4 with AMD, and Dell XPS 13 with i3 11th gen. Now, I did a lot of research before buying and none of these Intel-based chipsets are near to the performance of the M1.
The i5 11th gen on the HP Envy rocks 4 cores and 8 threads. M1 on the other side features 8 cores CPU, 7-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine. That is massive compared to the actual performance of all the Windows-based laptops you can find.
Performance
The new MacBook Air performance, powered by the new M1 processor and 8GB of RAM is just phenomenal. When I split its screen from 15 Chrome tabs and an HD YouTube video playing on the background and Microsoft Word, Photos App, Apple Mail, and Finder App running in the background – There was no hiccup whatsoever. And that’s ladies and gentlemen was the base model – You can also opt for more storage and RAM.
Everything went smooth and surprisingly enough, there were no heating issues at all. The normal temperate outside is like hitting the 40’C. But my MacBook Air is chilling out, barely heating the keyword or chassis.
My last Windows laptop with an i5 6th gen CPU and 16GB of RAM always turns into jet mode whenever I open more than 5 Chrome tabs. This little guy, won’t even heat from the sides, even if you open 20 Chrome tabs.
Battery Life
As far as the battery life goes, it is one of the best I’ve tested on any laptop. MacBook Air can easily last for up to 15 hours on heavy usage or 18 hours if you use it casually. The battery life of this laptop is just impressive, dropping a few percentages of points every time we use it.
Plus, the standby time is just insane. The laptop can easily last on 7 days if you leave it on standby still have enough battery to run for 5-8 hours. And for a short reference, the latest Dell XPS 13 can only last up to 9 hours on heavy and 11 hours on normal usage.
Design and Build Quality
In terms of design, Apple follows the same old design as the previous generation of laptops. It is very minimalistic and comes with a few radical changes. The MacBook Air weight around 2.8 pounds as did the MacBook 2019, and 2018 models.
On the outside, it looked the same with a nice keyboard and a Touch ID button situated above the keyboard. The touch ID is super convenient and can be used on a lot of different things, including online payment gateways. The speaker grill on each side of the laptop is also great. The sound is loud enough to light up a room, but I mostly used it with headphones.
The MacBook Air features a 13.3-inch Retina Display with 2560×1600 resolution, 400-bit LED-backlit, and true tone. The P3 wide color gamut is also great and worked surprisingly well on both indoor and outdoor. By using the laptop for 3-4 hours straight, I didn’t feel any burning in my eyes. So, the display is pretty much of high quality.
I do recommend not using your laptop for that much time. Always take intervals, as in-between your work. I did the 3-4 hours usage just for testing.
And at last, Apple has also said they have introduced a new Webcam feature but it’s pretty much basic. We’re still very behind in terms of Webcam support and since we’re all working from home, this is an area where a lot of manufacturers can upgrade.
Issues of the MacBook Air M1
As with any other story, MacBook Air M1 is not the ultimate price charm. It still has a lot to work on and we’ll probably see some upgrades in the future. Here are some of the issues I faced with this laptop.
- Ports Selection: The MacBook Air only features 2 USB-C ports, which is honestly not enough for anyone. At least they should’ve included a USB-A port which is pretty much basic. Apple really wants us to use a dongle for the MacBook laptop and the standard USB-C to USB-A extension costs $20. To solve this, I head over to Amazon and bought a third-party USB-C dongle for the same price.
- 30 Watt Power Brick: The MacBook Air M1 comes with the basic 30W charger. The MacBook Pro comes with a 60W charger. I don’t know why 30W is still a thing for laptops but you’re stuck to this if you buy the MacBook Air. The charging time is around 2 hours 30 minutes from 0 to 100%.
- Compatibility: Now, this is the area where the M1 ARM-based system struggles a lot. Because this is a new chip, developers haven’t really upgraded their software to run on the new MacBook Air. So, research the software you want to run on this laptop before you buy this. Check their compatibility and possible release date if they are going to announce it anywhere soon.
- Storage: Although Apple has ditched the 128GB storage point, the 256GB is still not enough for 2021. And if you want to add more storage, you have to spend $200 more. Apple should really focus on decreasing their products price so it can grab a large audience.
And that’s pretty much it for the Review. In Short, the MacBook Air is an excellent device with super-performance and a lot of exciting new features. If you’re considering an upgrade in 2021, the MacBook Air base model will prove to be a worthy companion.