Lightweight/small traveling Mac: 12" MacBook (2017) vs M1 Air? On a budget.

[izzy0242mr]

I know the M1 Air is a better machine (more power, more battery). I'm leaning toward it for that reason. But I also like traveling really light and I know the 12" 2017 Retina MacBook is even lighter, thinner, and smaller (thanks, Jony).

I have a fancy Pixelbook (Chromebook with an i7 processor and 16 GB RAM) I'm currently using for such purposes but it's just too slow and has awful video codec support (can't play .mkvs at all, struggles on some .mp4s, and I mostly use my travel laptop for streaming/playing videos and movies).

I'm also trying to do this on a budget, so I'm not going to go buy a new M1 MBA for $650. I'm looking at a budget of closer to $300-350. I've seen some good local deals for used MBAs at that price point but obviously you have to be lucky and looking all the time.

A 2017 MB would be easier to find at that price. I'm just wondering if the trade-offs (Intel/slower processor, shorter battery) would be worth the pros (lighter, smaller, probably cheaper). Remember, I'm not doing video processing on this thing - I'm checking emails, watching videos (and connecting to a TV via HDMI occasionally at hotels), and doing some light browsing.

 

[bob_zz123]

I wouldn't touch the 2017 MacBook with a barge pole, not in a world where the M1 Air is available.

The 2017 MacBook will have/be:

• Less software support (OS and third party)
• A battery very likely to be in a worse condition
• Butterfly keyboard prone to failures
• Less flexible because you only have 1 USB-C port meaning if you are connecting a TV you will need a hub if you want to power the computer at the same time, and if something goes wrong with that port then you are completely out of luck.
• Significantly slower as you mention
• Less / no hardware service if you need to get something fixed (they are in Vintage status I believe)

Instead I'd get the M1 Air or keep on the lookout for one 2nd hand. Your experience will just be so much better, even for the light use that you mention.

 

[Bigwaff]

Traveling? More battery life = more traveling.

 

[Ben J.]

I have both a M1 MBA and a 2017 MBA. I haven't gotten around to selling the 2017 yet. They are both good laptops. The M1 of course is more powerful and has TouchID. Both are good value in my opinion. I think you could get the M1 second hand for $500usd or the Intel MBA for $200. A really cheap Intel MBA with a worn out battery, and put in a new battery yourself, maybe? To get a lot for little money.

 

[ChrisA]

I know the M1 Air is a better machine (more power, more battery). I'm leaning toward it for that reason. But I also like traveling really light and I know the 12" 2017 Retina MacBook is even lighter, thinner, and smaller (thanks, Jony).

I have a fancy Pixelbook (Chromebook with an i7 processor and 16 GB RAM) I'm currently using for such purposes but it's just too slow and has awful video codec support (can't play .mkvs at all, struggles on some .mp4s, and I mostly use my travel laptop for streaming/playing videos and movies).

I'm also trying to do this on a budget, so I'm not going to go buy a new M1 MBA for $650. I'm looking at a budget of closer to $300-350. I've seen some good local deals for used MBAs at that price point but obviously you have to be lucky and looking all the time.

A 2017 MB would be easier to find at that price. I'm just wondering if the trade-offs (Intel/slower processor, shorter battery) would be worth the pros (lighter, smaller, probably cheaper). Remember, I'm not doing video processing on this thing - I'm checking emails, watching videos (and connecting to a TV via HDMI occasionally at hotels), and doing some light browsing.

Three ideas:
(1) The cheapest solution is to install Linux Ubuntu on the Chromebook. It will perform very well in an i7/16GB system

(2) If you are only watching videos and doing emails then you should try an iPad, You don't need a "Pro" for that, a 9th gen iPad would do fine and it is even smaller than the Chromebook.

(3) A base level M1 Mac Air would be the best Mac for your use, I see they are available for decent prices now

I would not buy any Intel Mac. They are likely to become unsupported very soon.

 

[izzy0242mr]

Thanks - Main reasons for not wanting Linux or an iPad are that there are some apps I use for videos/streaming that don't reliably work on Linux (due to being more niche apps) or iOS (due to it being so locked down). Also, the Chromebook battery life isn't that great because Intel so even on Linux I don't think that experience would improve much.

Seems like finding a cheap M1 Air will probably be the smartest long term move.