Hey guys, I just thought I'd post a semi-detailed long term review of the M1 macbook air from a software developer perspective, in case it might help others make a purchase decision. I have 2 m1 macbook airs, one is a 256gb ssd 8gb unified memory version and the other is a 512gb ssd 16gb unified memory version. Both have the 7core gpu, since I have no use for gpu cores in my use cases. I bought these fairly close to the release date, I think a couple weeks after. I've been using these laptops daily for well over a year now. These are my first apple laptops by the way. I've primarily used only windows and linux OSes in the past although I have used various other apple products like ipad and iphones.
TLDR: Good laptop with a very efficient chip but with major deal-breaking external display issues. Possibly avoid purchase. My personal summary for these laptops is that, while they are good laptops, the external display issues are complete deal breakers for my current setup. If I had known about these issues before my purchases, I would definitely not buy. Additionally, I would not buy the 8gb unified memory version for software development use cases. Also, for those that might be asking why not the macbook pro, well I bought the airs very close to the initial release, so the airs were the only choice back then.
My use case
I am a full stack developer and my main use case comprises of using mainly these programs - VScode, iTerm, Fork (git client), nodejs, npm and pnpm, docker desktop for mac, slack, microsoft teams, postman and a lot of browser tabs. I do have rosetta 2 installed but surprisingly mostly everything now has native arm builds.
My setup
I use both the airs in closed lid clamshell mode most of the time (90%+), connected to external display. I originally had them connected to my main ultrawide, an LG 38gl950b (this is a very high end gaming monitor that I also use with my windows gaming desktop) but due to the major problems I've had with the m1 macbooks on this display (more on this later), I am now using a Benq EW3270u which is a 32" 4k monitor that I had bought a while ago for my playstation. It has a usb-c connection that does dsiplay as well as charge the macbook. Thing to note is that the macbooks still have display issues even with the Benq but to a much lesser extent.
Pros
Considerations
The Problem
This is where the entire experience just goes south for me atleast (many others also have documented the same issues). The m1 chips seem to have some very serious issues with many external displays (from various manufacturers and various different models). The issues vary from major flickering, vertical lines/bands on the screen, serious ghosting, display signal limited to YPBPR instead of full RGB and temporary image retention/burn-in issues etc. There are various forum posts all over the internet, even detailed threads here like
forums.macrumors.com
forums.macrumors.com
forums.macrumors.com
forums.macrumors.com
forums.macrumors.com
forums.macrumors.com
Unfortunately for me, I've experienced pretty much all of these issues with my main monitor the LG 38GL950B. Major flickering, vertical lines, image retention, no RGB signal, the whole 9 yards. I've been using this monitor for nearly 2 years (and still do) with my i9 9900k/rtx gpu windows gaming PC running flawlessly with full RGB signal with no issues but as soon as I bring the m1 into the equation, its just a dealbreaker. I've tried numerous things like using the caldigit TS3 dock to connect to the monitor, use various expensive 4k/8k hdmi cables, various fixes and workaround, various display setting combinations, initially even sent back the macbook m1 (in its 30 day period) and bought a new one with the exact same issue. The issue has been present from day 1 and still is even with the lastest macos version which seems to suggest to me that this is a hardware level issue. Apple obviously is completely silent on the issue. Maybe it does not affect a large enough % of users to make it worthwhile for them to fix.
I've since switched to using the m1 macbooks with a Benq EW3270u. This monitor fairs a bit better than my LG. There still are some minor temporary vertical lines and some temporary flickering but for the most part the experience is issue free, lets say 95% of the time which makes it useable.
I don't know what the exact issue is and it is possible that these monitors are also not completely blameless. Maybe they are doing something incorrectly which along with the m1s issues combine to cause these problems, no idea. But the fact is that I've been using both these monitors well before I bought the m1s and have had 0 issues using these with my windows machine or my playstations. The only machine that results in issues on both these monitors is both the m1 macbooks and other users experiencing this issue also have the m1 chip as the only common thread.
Bottomline: These laptops are overall great and if you know that you have a known good external monitor to use with these, then I can recommend it as a good laptop to buy. However, if you are not sure that you have a known good monitor to use, then its quite possible that it will become a monitor lottery issue. For me personally, the experience has been less than ideal and crucially, I feel that Apple's complete silence is a bit of a bummer. In any case, I will be waiting a bit longer to see if these issues are fixed with the m2 chips. If they are not, I will be selling my m1 airs to buy a non apple device. However, if these issues do get properly resolved with the m2 chips, then it is quite likely that I will purchase the m2 based chips.
Let me know if you have any questions and I will try my best to answer.
TLDR: Good laptop with a very efficient chip but with major deal-breaking external display issues. Possibly avoid purchase. My personal summary for these laptops is that, while they are good laptops, the external display issues are complete deal breakers for my current setup. If I had known about these issues before my purchases, I would definitely not buy. Additionally, I would not buy the 8gb unified memory version for software development use cases. Also, for those that might be asking why not the macbook pro, well I bought the airs very close to the initial release, so the airs were the only choice back then.
My use case
I am a full stack developer and my main use case comprises of using mainly these programs - VScode, iTerm, Fork (git client), nodejs, npm and pnpm, docker desktop for mac, slack, microsoft teams, postman and a lot of browser tabs. I do have rosetta 2 installed but surprisingly mostly everything now has native arm builds.
My setup
I use both the airs in closed lid clamshell mode most of the time (90%+), connected to external display. I originally had them connected to my main ultrawide, an LG 38gl950b (this is a very high end gaming monitor that I also use with my windows gaming desktop) but due to the major problems I've had with the m1 macbooks on this display (more on this later), I am now using a Benq EW3270u which is a 32" 4k monitor that I had bought a while ago for my playstation. It has a usb-c connection that does dsiplay as well as charge the macbook. Thing to note is that the macbooks still have display issues even with the Benq but to a much lesser extent.
Pros
- Fast chip - No surprises here. The arm chips are pretty snappy. Before this, I used to use my main PC which is an i9 9900k based desktop and in most normal use cases the m1 airs seem to be cruising along no issues and I cannot notice any major differences compared to my experience on the i9 9900k desktop. I use javascript/typescript and esbuild along with dotnet core for the most part. Your mileage may vary if you use other more heavy compilers.
- Efficient - While the desktop chip obviously has higher raw performance, the m1 arm chips definitely do not hold you back and impressively at a fraction of the power. While the efficiency is unmatched currently by any other chips, I must point out that there are other mobile chips that will beat out the m1s (even the pro and max) for code compile performance pretty handily, especially the new alder lake chips. Obviously at a much higher power draw but whether that additional power draw is an issue or not is for you to decide. For my personal use case, our incremental dev builds using esbuild are fast enough already that a higher power CPU would not make a great deal of a difference in terms of local developer experience and our proper full builds with testing etc. are done on a cloud based CI system anyway so a quiet no fan macbook m1 air is a pretty good device for this type of use case.
- Build quality - As mentioned, these are my first apple laptops and I find that the build quality is extremely high. I don't think these are the best looking laptops, subjective I know but I feel something like an almost no bezel dell xps or even the lenovo carbon x1 designs look better but there is no denying that the apple build quality lives up to the hype.
- Display - The built in display I feel is great, no complains here. Bezels are a bit large but as noted in my use case, I have the laptops closed 90%+ of the time anyway so this is not an area where I can comment further.
Considerations
- RAM (unified memory) - This is not a knock on the m1 air which is why I am putting this under the 'Considerations' category. When I originally bought my first m1, I bought the 8gb version mainly based on the initial reviews that were saying the new unified memory architecture made it so that the 8gb version did a lot more than other traditional memory based devices could. Sadly, this is not strictly true. While, I do think that the 8gb version does go pretty far, there is still a point where you will start struggling. Again, I am not holding this against the m1, just noting it here to say that you should buy more RAM if you feel your use case will require it. And for programming, I can safely say that you will. For me, with multiple VScode windows open, lots of browser tabs (I've tried both the native Safari and chrome/edge), a few terminal windows, the 8gb version can quickly get to a point where its just downright unusable. Sluggish, the rainbow mouse wheel etc. Just not usable essentially. The 16gb version is fine, so far I've never seen it become sluggish under heavy use even with tons of programs and browser tabs running. So, if your use case demands it, go for the 16gb version.
- Battery - As mentioned, both my airs are plugged in and lid closed pretty much 24x7. One of them that gets a lot more use than the other now has its battery condition showing as 92% while the other relatively lesser used is still at 100%. As, I've not had an apple laptop before these, I don't know how this compares but I feel there is no issue here.
The Problem
This is where the entire experience just goes south for me atleast (many others also have documented the same issues). The m1 chips seem to have some very serious issues with many external displays (from various manufacturers and various different models). The issues vary from major flickering, vertical lines/bands on the screen, serious ghosting, display signal limited to YPBPR instead of full RGB and temporary image retention/burn-in issues etc. There are various forum posts all over the internet, even detailed threads here like
M1 Air ghosting, flickering with external display
Going to post my issue here to document what happens with my setup. I have this same issue of vertical lines appearing and the screen flickering. Apparently it happens randomly, and luckily only just three or four times per month. Today it happened when I visited the Slack website using Safari...
forums.macrumors.com
M1 Air ghosting, flickering with external display
So I just hooked up my old 2005FPW Dell monitor and here's what I get. Is this impossible on my new M1 Mac Pro? I'm connected with a new ZMUIPNG Hub with an HDMI adaptor going into a VGA cable to this old monitor. I'd rather not replace it, if it can be made to work. I'd call Apple but that...
forums.macrumors.com
M1 Air ghosting, flickering with external display
Also been experiencing this intermittent vertical lines issue and some left images. Macbook Pro M1, the monitor is a 27"1080p 144Hz IPS from Acer VG0 line.
forums.macrumors.com
M1 Air ghosting, flickering with external display
My M1 MacBook Air has a serious problem with external displays. Pinging the brains here in case there are any ideas more convenient than sending back to Apple. Connecting directly via a known-good USB-C to DisplayPort cable, my Dell U2713HM (1) flickers, (2) shows vertical lines, and (3) mixes...
forums.macrumors.com
Flickering vertical lines on M1 Mac Mini
I recently purchased an Intel Mac Mini (running 10.15.7), but after seeing all the positive reviews of the M1 quickly decided to go with the M1 instead. I just received my M1 (running 11.1) a couple days ago and I have noticed that there are very noticeable flickering vertical lines all over the...
forums.macrumors.com
M1 Mac External Display - Fuzzy Fonts & Colors - YPBPR vs RGB
Hi All! Long time windows users transitioning to Mac. Old setup was a Dell Latitude hooked up to a Dell Ultrasharp U2415, one at home, and the other at work (laptop carried to and fro). Bought a M1 Macbook Air, and am absolutely thrilled with the performance, and with the fluidity of the...
forums.macrumors.com
Unfortunately for me, I've experienced pretty much all of these issues with my main monitor the LG 38GL950B. Major flickering, vertical lines, image retention, no RGB signal, the whole 9 yards. I've been using this monitor for nearly 2 years (and still do) with my i9 9900k/rtx gpu windows gaming PC running flawlessly with full RGB signal with no issues but as soon as I bring the m1 into the equation, its just a dealbreaker. I've tried numerous things like using the caldigit TS3 dock to connect to the monitor, use various expensive 4k/8k hdmi cables, various fixes and workaround, various display setting combinations, initially even sent back the macbook m1 (in its 30 day period) and bought a new one with the exact same issue. The issue has been present from day 1 and still is even with the lastest macos version which seems to suggest to me that this is a hardware level issue. Apple obviously is completely silent on the issue. Maybe it does not affect a large enough % of users to make it worthwhile for them to fix.
I've since switched to using the m1 macbooks with a Benq EW3270u. This monitor fairs a bit better than my LG. There still are some minor temporary vertical lines and some temporary flickering but for the most part the experience is issue free, lets say 95% of the time which makes it useable.
I don't know what the exact issue is and it is possible that these monitors are also not completely blameless. Maybe they are doing something incorrectly which along with the m1s issues combine to cause these problems, no idea. But the fact is that I've been using both these monitors well before I bought the m1s and have had 0 issues using these with my windows machine or my playstations. The only machine that results in issues on both these monitors is both the m1 macbooks and other users experiencing this issue also have the m1 chip as the only common thread.
Bottomline: These laptops are overall great and if you know that you have a known good external monitor to use with these, then I can recommend it as a good laptop to buy. However, if you are not sure that you have a known good monitor to use, then its quite possible that it will become a monitor lottery issue. For me personally, the experience has been less than ideal and crucially, I feel that Apple's complete silence is a bit of a bummer. In any case, I will be waiting a bit longer to see if these issues are fixed with the m2 chips. If they are not, I will be selling my m1 airs to buy a non apple device. However, if these issues do get properly resolved with the m2 chips, then it is quite likely that I will purchase the m2 based chips.
Let me know if you have any questions and I will try my best to answer.
