MacBook Air Finally Becomes a Good Contender (My Opinion)
Tags: Opinion, Technology, Apple, Mac

MacBook Air Finally Becomes a Good Contender (My Opinion)

DISCLAIMER: This is not a sponsored writeup, so I’ll be giving my honest opinions.

Hi guys, Howard here. So I went to the Apple Store at Orchard again, but for the Macs with M1 chip and iPhone 12’s bigger and smaller siblings (coming soon in another writeup).

Several YouTubers have been encouraging their viewers to head down to an Apple store to really get a feel of how great the new Macs are with custom Apple Silicon chips. This time, I was smart enough to book an appointment so that I don’t need to wait longer to enter the store (the Marina Bay Sands store is still not available for booking an appointment…).

DISCLAIMER 2: I’m not the most tech savvy dude out there, so I’ll be giving my thoughts in the most layman way as possible.

MacBook Pro (M1) and MacBook Air (M1) side by side.

TL; DR: If you want a laptop for basic uses or school assignments, the MacBook Air with M1 chip makes a great choice!

The MacBook Air with M1 chip is so blazing fast that it puts other Intel ultraportable laptops to shame. People buying Apple’s cheapest laptop won’t need to compromise on performance anymore, and that should only attract more people to buy it. Also, this version of MacBook Air ditches the fan (which was useless on the predecessor anyway) for a silent experience. Think of it as an iPad running a desktop operating system. If the iPad can already run well without any fan, so can this MacBook Air. However, since the M1 chip is only a few weeks old, not many apps will run to its full potential as they’ve yet to be written for Apple Silicon. There’s something called Rosetta 2 which makes most apps just work. If most apps can run effortlessly under Rosetta, won’t that put app emulation for its rival Surface Pro X to shame?

P.S. People can choose between the 7-core and the 8-core graphics versions, but most people should be fine with the former.

Fun Fact 1: I used to own a Windows PC that runs on a mobile processor back when I was in elementary school. It’s called the Surface RT (1st generation) and I thought it was so revolutionary that I begged my parents to get me one. That was when Windows 8 was touted to be the modern PC operating system and mobile processors on PCs were all the hype. Turns out it could only run apps made for Windows Store (now Microsoft Store); it couldn’t run any desktop app at all! I quickly ditched the Surface RT when I had to migrate to macOS for middle school usage. Now, even entry level Macs are running on a mobile processor which can easily run desktop apps!

What actually makes the M1 version of MacBook Air a good contender in my opinion is the screen. It finally has a wide colour gamut (previously exclusive to MacBook Pro) so that I can edit photos pleasantly. All its Intel predecessors either had a horrible low resolution TN screen or an average standard RGB screen which used to be a dealbreaker for me.

Who cares if the MacBook Air shares the same design as its predecessor and is slightly outdated as compared to some Windows ultraportable laptops? If the 2018 redesign of the MacBook Air is Apple’s vision of a good ultraportable laptop, then they’ve finally fulfilled that vision using the M1 chip.

The MacBook Air with M1 chip also retains what Apple calls the Magic Keyboard from its predecessor, which is a good thing. It still feels pleasant to type on, but it’s way better than the ever so despicable Butterfly Keyboard. Props to Apple for retaining that Magic Keyboard. The MacBook Air also retains physical function keys for the Touch Bar haters out there. It now also has a globe icon on the fn key so that one can send emojis easier.

Where are my keyboard brightness keys???

However, I have this one gripe against this version of physical function keys; WHERE ARE MY KEYBOARD BRIGHTNESS KEYS??? Those and the Launchpad key were all replaced with a Spotlight Search, Dictation and Do Not Disturb keys (F4, F5 and F6 keys respectively). I actually used the Launchpad key, it’s just so convenient… I won’t even see myself using these new keyboard shortcuts even if I own this MacBook Air! EVERYTHING WAS GOOD UNTIL THEY TOOK AWAY THE KEYBOARD BRIGHTNESS KEYS!!!

I know of some people that won’t be happy that M1 Macs at this moment are only capable of hooking up to no more than one external monitor. Come on, most people will probably be happy with the built-in screen and will most likely only need to hook up to one external monitor if necessary. Even I also only need to hook up to one external monitor at most. Also, people are complaining that two USB-C ports aren’t enough. Come on, the MacBook Air is Apple’s entry level laptop so people shouldn’t expect a lot, though putting one port on each side would’ve been a wiser choice if not for the design constraint. 16 GB memory as the maximum? Regular users should be fine with 8 GB of memory though 16 GB is for the kiasu users. This is just a regular laptop! And that 720p webcam? Not like you or your caller can get a consistently good internet connection so you should expect a low-quality image most of the time, unless you’re vain enough to use the laptop’s webcam as a selfie cam then I can’t comment any further. Just use your phone’s selfie cam for video calls if you think the webcam is unusable!

What people should look for the most are the performance and battery life. No matter how sexy other ultraportable laptops are, the performance is more important so that people can assure themselves a snappy laptop for a few years down the road. For my use case, performance and display quality are more important for photo and video editing which I do sometimes. I don’t mind paying more for upgrades as long as I can get the performance. A decent battery life is also welcomed. Design would probably be the last thing I’m looking for.

MacBook Air (M1) demo unit running Oceanhorn 2.

Getting my hands on the MacBook Air demo unit in the Apple Store reaffirms my impression about the ultraportable laptop. It indeed has the processing prowess, and the user experience was not bad either. The laptop does lag a bit when I tried typing a few sentences in Microsoft Word running under Rosetta 2. But when it runs apps compiled for Apple Silicon, this is where it shines as I was able to play an optimised role play game (Oceanhorn 2) on the demo unit, smooth like butter. Sadly I can’t run benchmarks, test its battery endurance, or use different kinds of apps because it’s a demo unit, so whatever that is available to test is tangible until I get it for myself. I also didn’t try out its audio setup or its instant sleep/wake function, so I can’t give much comments about it.

A good performance, good keyboard, good screen and stellar battery life in a thin and light body makes a recipe for the perfect ultraportable laptop; and the MacBook Air with M1 chip does that at a reasonable price. It appeals to an average user but will especially be perfect for students since they need to carry around a machine to do their work for almost the whole day with minimal compromises.

Fun fact 2: I used to own a retina MacBook Pro over the non-retina MacBook Air for middle school usage back in 6 years ago (both are mid-2014 models) for its high-resolution screen and better specifications at the cost of a higher price. Now that the current version of MacBook Air with a similar configuration comes down to a lower price in a smaller package, the middle school me will appreciate this version of MacBook Air more if it were to be 6 years ago. I’m sure present day middle school kids looking for an ultraportable will also greatly appreciate its existence. If they die die must use a Mac for education, they should avoid the Intel models as much as possible.

I have nothing but praises about this ultraportable. The MacBook Air with M1 chip has the right ingredients for a perfect ultraportable laptop, though having 5G connectivity would maximise the laptop’s capabilities now having a mobile processor. If iPhone 12 is the default phone to get, then the MacBook Air with M1 chip is the iPhone 12 of Macs.

Turns out the YouTubers’ advice to go to an Apple Store to get my hands on the demo units is a good one. You really have to go down to an Apple Store to try out the Apple Silicon Macs to feel how revolutionary these mobile chips are. Even I, who own an Intel MacBook, am jealous of this small yet powerful chip in just Apple’s entry level systems. This is a sign that Apple’s higher end systems will only be more powerful than ever. Would I even give up my current Mac system for a MacBook Air with M1 chip? The specialist advised me not to, as my current system is perfectly usable. Howard out!