Ok so I bought a refurbished M1 MBA, here are my thoughts

[MajorFubar]

On Saturday I took delivery of a refurbished (from Apple) 8/8/512 space grey M1 MBA. After two days of using it intermittently (other stuff to do over the weekend) I've decided that overall this is probably the best computer I have ever owned. It's not the most powerful: my 32/32/2TB Studio Max takes that accolade. But overall as a complete package, I've certainly never had anything to touch it.

1...Battery life: exceptional. Does this thing ever need charged? I'm sure it could get away with being solar charged in the right climate.
2...Screen is excellent and has the right balance between resolution and size. Colour rendition is superb, as is the dynamic range. It's crazy this is actually Apple's worst display.
3...I can throw the most complex Logic projects at the machine, and it just never breaks into a sweat.
4...Bit of video editing? No problem. Ok, videos take longer to render than they do on my Studio Max, but not 1K longer, considering I paid just over 1K for this through Apple Refurb vs the 2K price of a 512GB Studio Max.
5...Speakers are better than they have a right to be. No one talks about how utterly crap the speakers in the Studio are, because it's expected that literally no one will use them (and true to form, I don't). The speakers in the MBA absolutely lay them to waste.
6...Keyboard and trackpad are great to type on and use.
7...Camera is 'good enough' especially in bright light, and the mic is better than good enough.
8...Fanless design means total silence, no matter what you're doing.
9...Bit niche this, but this MBA interfaces more seamlessly with all the gear in my studio (midi controllers, control surfaces, audio interface) than does my Studio Max, with which I have had a stream of intermittent incompatibility issues which were a nightmare to solve. Plug this MBA in and it just worked, like Macs of old used to just do.

What would make it perfect for me: 1x USB A socket on the RHS, and MagSafe charging. There is rumour MagSafe at least will be coming to the M2 MBA, but I suspect we've seen the very last of USB A sockets on Macbook devices.

Thanks for reading.

 

[jav6454]

Well, refurbished items from Apple are guaranteed to work and are just like the new products. In fact, they go thru more extensive QC process to ensure no issues arise. Heck, you get the same benefits and warranties as a new product.

The only problem with refurb items is the "stigma" surrounding the word refurb that means used.

 

[leman]

I am surprised that the Air has less interfacing issues than the Studio, would have expected the hardware/software implementation of external IO to be identical?

Anyhow, thanks for the write up! The Air is a terrific all round laptop and very good value for money, even more than 1.5 years after its original introduction.

 

[w5jck]

I love mine. I have the 16GB RAM with 1TB SSD model, and it certainly is the most powerful computer I’ve ever owned. However, I have never had a top of the line current released computer, usually just a decent mid-level one. And the MacBook Air M1 replaces a very old MacBook Pro 15" 2014, so an Etch-N-Sketch would have been an upgrade! But in all seriousness, the MacBook Air M1 is very powerful and well worth the money if you want an all-in-one computer. I edit a lot of photos via Lightroom and Photoshop and it plows right through them with ease, even when I have more than 1,000 photos in LR. I create and edit 4K video in Final Cut Pro and it plows through that too. It is definitely a powerful workhorse in a small package!

The two USB-C ports can be a bit finicky about what they communicate with, but that is likely a Monterey issue/bug. Plenty of those to deal with. I get around that lack of more ports by using an $80 Anker 555 USB-C hub which extends the ports out to HDMI 4K 60Hz, ethernet 1 Gig, 1 USB-C 3.2, 2 x USB A 3.2, SDcard and micro-SDcard readers, and provides up to 100W PD. This leaves one MBA USB-C port open. It would have been nice to have a SDcard reader built in for portable use, but small adapters are readily available and I already had one for my iPad Air 2020.

 

[Bodhitree]

Glad you’re enjoying your MacBook Air @MajorFubar … I’ve been wondering whether to ditch my iPad Pro which is due for an upgrade, for an M1 MBA to use on the couch. Now that it has the long battery life and the instant wake from sleep, it might be nice to have the more sophisticated computing environment when I am casually forumming and writing emails. Will keep you all posted.

 

[MajorFubar]

I am surprised that the Air has less interfacing issues than the Studio, would have expected the hardware/software implementation of external IO to be identical?

Anyhow, thanks for the write up! The Air is a terrific all round laptop and very good value for money, even more than 1.5 years after its original introduction.

Without boring you to death with particulars and links to other people having similar related issues to me, it seems there are some compatibility issues limited only to Pro / Max / Ultra models that the basic M1 just doesn’t suffer from, despite Apple insisting all software and hardware will see all four chips as the same

 

[jav6454]

Without boring you to death with particulars and links to other people having similar related issues to me, it seems there are some compatibility issues limited only to Pro / Max / Ultra models that the basic M1 just doesn’t suffer from, despite Apple insisting all software and hardware will see all four chips as the same

I'm guessing that's due to the fact that even though all M1-series chips have the same architecture, the overall chip design is different. M1 chips are vastly different in core configuration and other hardware accelerators and such to the M1 Pro/Max/Ultra counterparts.

 

[MajorFubar]

Well, refurbished items from Apple are guaranteed to work and are just like the new products. In fact, they go thru more extensive QC process to ensure no issues arise. Heck, you get the same benefits and warranties as a new product.

The only problem with refurb items is the "stigma" surrounding the word refurb that means used.

I tend t look at it from the fact that I'm getting a great deal on a machine which has been rebuilt where necessary, personally inspected and guaranteed to work. Like you say the QC process is better than on a new machine, where I'm pretty sure they don't have the resources to check literally every single machine. It's almost as though it's been personally built just for me. And I get it hundreds cheaper. Insane.

 

[w5jck]

I opted for a brand new MacBook Air M1 rather than a refurbished one, but I agree refurbished from Apple are well inspected and given a great warranty. I suspect many of the refurbs are merely items that people bought to try out then returned during the return window. Those probably don't have issues, and refurbishing them means reboxing them with all the accessories after verifying they are in good condition. Also, Apple Macs have a very good reputation of high quality and lasting for many years without issues. I still have and use a Mac mini 2012 and a MacBook Pro 15 2014, neither of which have ever had any issues. So based on Apple's reputation of high quality and of providing refurbished items in like new condition, I would certainly have no issue with buying a refurb from them.

There are other companies which I would not buy refurbished items from, including those who sell refurbished Apple Macs, because they have poor reputations. On sites like Amazon[dot]com there are several 3rd party companies with questionable reputations selling refurb Macs, so I would stay away from them.

 

[jav6454]

I opted for a brand new MacBook Air M1 rather than a refurbished one, but I agree refurbished from Apple are well inspected and given a great warranty. I suspect many of the refurbs are merely items that people bought to try out then returned during the return window. Those probably don't have issues, and refurbishing them means reboxing them with all the accessories after verifying they are in good condition. Also, Apple Macs have a very good reputation of high quality and lasting for many years without issues. I still have and use a Mac mini 2012 and a MacBook Pro 15 2014, neither of which have ever had any issues. So based on Apple's reputation of high quality and of providing refurbished items in like new condition, I would certainly have no issue with buying a refurb from them.

There are other companies which I would not buy refurbished items from, including those who sell refurbished Apple Macs, because they have poor reputations. On sites like Amazon[dot]com there are several 3rd party companies with questionable reputations selling refurb Macs, so I would stay away from them.

It's those sites that give the stigma to a refurb.

 

[ratspg]

On Saturday I took delivery of a refurbished (from Apple) 8/8/512 space grey M1 MBA. After two days of using it intermittently (other stuff to do over the weekend) I've decided that overall this is probably the best computer I have ever owned. It's not the most powerful: my 32/32/2TB Studio Max takes that accolade. But overall as a complete package, I've certainly never had anything to touch it.

1...Battery life: exceptional. Does this thing ever need charged? I'm sure it could get away with being solar charged in the right climate.
2...Screen is excellent and has the right balance between resolution and size. Colour rendition is superb, as is the dynamic range. It's crazy this is actually Apple's worst display.
3...I can throw the most complex Logic projects at the machine, and it just never breaks into a sweat.
4...Bit of video editing? No problem. Ok, videos take longer to render than they do on my Studio Max, but not 1K longer, considering I paid just over 1K for this through Apple Refurb vs the 2K price of a 512GB Studio Max.
5...Speakers are better than they have a right to be. No one talks about how utterly crap the speakers in the Studio are, because it's expected that literally no one will use them (and true to form, I don't). The speakers in the MBA absolutely lay them to waste.
6...Keyboard and trackpad are great to type on and use.
7...Camera is 'good enough' especially in bright light, and the mic is better than good enough.
8...Fanless design means total silence, no matter what you're doing.
9...Bit niche this, but this MBA interfaces more seamlessly with all the gear in my studio (midi controllers, control surfaces, audio interface) than does my Studio Max, with which I have had a stream of intermittent incompatibility issues which were a nightmare to solve. Plug this MBA in and it just worked, like Macs of old used to just do.

What would make it perfect for me: 1x USB A socket on the RHS, and MagSafe charging. There is rumour MagSafe at least will be coming to the M2 MBA, but I suspect we've seen the very last of USB A sockets on Macbook devices.

Thanks for reading.

Happy your MBA M1 is working great for you . What audio interface are you using with it for Logic?

 

[MajorFubar]

I opted for a brand new MacBook Air M1 rather than a refurbished one, but I agree refurbished from Apple are well inspected and given a great warranty. I suspect many of the refurbs are merely items that people bought to try out then returned during the return window. Those probably don't have issues, and refurbishing them means reboxing them with all the accessories after verifying they are in good condition. Also, Apple Macs have a very good reputation of high quality and lasting for many years without issues. I still have and use a Mac mini 2012 and a MacBook Pro 15 2014, neither of which have ever had any issues. So based on Apple's reputation of high quality and of providing refurbished items in like new condition, I would certainly have no issue with buying a refurb from them.

There are other companies which I would not buy refurbished items from, including those who sell refurbished Apple Macs, because they have poor reputations. On sites like Amazon[dot]com there are several 3rd party companies with questionable reputations selling refurb Macs, so I would stay away from them.

Agreed. I would stay away from any non-authorised outlets. I also appreciate that Apple don't treat us as second-class citizens by making the unboxing experience any less enjoyable. It's exactly like unboxing a brand new item, other than the picture of the computer isn't on the box.

 

[MajorFubar]

Happy your MBA M1 is working great for you . What audio interface are you using with it for Logic?

Thanks. Motu M4, with which it works more seamlessly than with my Studio Max. Sometimes I can get pops and stutters using Logic through my Studio Max, as though the buffer size is too small even though it definitely isn't (256). No such issues using the MBA, just works right out of the box even without installing the Mac-specific drivers from Motu.

 

[adamlbiscuit]

I got a refurb MBA from Apple last week as well, funnily enough. Picked mine up Friday evening from the Apple Store.

Are you based in the UK? If so you may have snapped up the Space Grey model before me (I had it in my basket and then it disappeared when I went to buy ?). I ended up with a Gold 8/8/512.

I had a 2020 Intel MBA before this (also Gold) and although I already have an M1 Mac mini that I bought on launch week, I was still pleasantly surprised by how much better this MBA is than my old Intel. It's shocking that they were released the same year, mere months apart.

Battery life is great. It truly is full-day battery life. The Intel would be dead within 4 hours, but I'm currently sat on 41 % battery left after using it all day.

Performance is also fantastic. I can actually watch YouTube and Twitch in Safari without fans blasting and system animations are so much smoother. The overall experience is just so much better than the Intel MBA which has more RAM and again, was released the same year.

Something else I noticed which I really didn't expect to was the P3 colour gamut in the M1 MBA vs. the sRGB of the Intel one. Colours really pop on this display and it's great to see macOS as vibrant as iOS / iPad OS.

Another phenomenon I've experienced which I didn't even know was a thing is something I'm calling 'phantom fan noise'. It's where I'm doing something that I know would definitely get my Intel MacBooks screaming (e.g. playing a game) and it's like my brain is expecting to hear fan noise, so I start subconsciously hearing it despite it being impossible thanks to the M1 having no fans. I'm just so used to loud and noisy MacBooks so it's so refreshing to have a silent machine for a change.

Very happy with the purchase and I think I'll be getting more refurbs from Apple in the future. I was having a conversation with an Apple Store rep not too long back who said that Apple refurbs essentially get a whole new chassis and it's only the components on the inside that are refurbed. Everything else is brand new.

 

[jav6454]

I got a refurb MBA from Apple last week as well, funnily enough. Picked mine up Friday evening from the Apple Store.

[...]

Another phenomenon I've experienced which I didn't even know was a thing is something I'm calling 'phantom fan noise'. It's where I'm doing something that I know would definitely get my Intel MacBooks screaming (e.g. playing a game) and it's like my brain is expecting to hear fan noise, so I start subconsciously hearing it despite it being impossible thanks to the M1 having no fans. I'm just so used to loud and noisy MacBooks so it's so refreshing to have a silent machine for a change.

Nice buy nonetheless. Yes, I also find myself with that "phantom fan noise" syndrome. I had gotten so used to it, that not listening to it is weird and I always do a little lifting maneuver thinking the fans are choking; only to find out they are off.

 

[ImAlwaysRight]

My 13" 2017 MBP recently got the "Service Recommended" warning for the battery (battery life is getting lower, with only 219 charge cycles). After reading all the praise for the M1 MBA in reviews, and seeing all software I use now compatible/upgraded for M1, I decided to replace my wife and my 2017 MBPs with a couple refurbished M1 MBA's. Amazon offers these M1's "renewed" through various sellers, priced significantly below Apple. Main difference is a 90-day reseller warranty instead of Apple's 1-year warranty, and it comes with a non-Apple branded charger and cable (45w, instead of Apple's smaller 30w charger), and the outer housing isn't replaced. The 16/256 and 8/512 configs are $899 to Apple's $1059 price for a 8/512 model (haven't seen a 16/256 at Apple).

I would have rather had a 16GB model as I can always add external storage easily. I was browsing eBay and found a seller with renewed 16GB/512GB M1 MBA's for $849, with a 1-year reseller warranty!!! That's $550 off Apple's new price for the 7 GPU model, or $600 off the 8 GPU model (didn't specify which you would get). I don't know if this was a temporary price reduction or price mistake, as the 8/512 cost more from the same seller. For those specs at that price, I decided to move my entire family up to M1 - replacing a third 2017 MBP and 2014 MBP. Three of the five 16/512 units I received ended up being 8 GPU models. $4,245 total for five of these 16GB/512MB MBA's. Plus I'll be selling all 4 of our old MBP's.

I did some light testing of each renewed unit after receiving ... all seemed fine. Cosmetic condition looks near new. All are over 1 yr old and no Apple warranty. Best has 100% battery and 22 charge cycles, worst has 91% battery with 87 charge cycles. Oh, and I found an eBay seller who had used grade A Apple 30w power adapters PLUS Apple USB-C charging cable for $13, so I bought six of those (they quickly sold out at that amazing price).

I pretty much concur with everything the OP says. The battery life, performance, and cool operating temperature are amazing. I've read the M2 will only be a minor performance increase to the M1, plus I don't want my MBA in a fruity color, and I actually prefer USB-C charging to a Magsafe charger as I don't care for propriety stuff. So the M1 models are perfect for me, and I'm real happy I got the 16GB config with 512GB SSD as those are hard to find refurbished.

 

[SirKeldon]

Can't speak from past products, but I did purchase a refurb MBP M1 16GB/512GB past June, and TBH, rather than a different box, it was a brand new product, SSD barely used, new battery, perfect keyboard and no cosmetic flaws at all, not a single one. Still rock solid and used every day by my GF.

The new 2021 models that passed through my hands (4 to be precise), all of them had some cosmetic imperfections and one of those also had a flaw within the hinge/body, from a purely "finish" side, my refurb QA/QC experience was superb compared to the new ones. So yes, if they come from Apple theirselves it seems they're handled/reviewed more "personally" and not just the internals as OP and other members mention in their experiences as well as mine.

 

[jav6454]

My 13" 2017 MBP recently got the "Service Recommended" warning for the battery (battery life is getting lower, with only 219 charge cycles). After reading all the praise for the M1 MBA in reviews, and seeing all software I use now compatible/upgraded for M1, I decided to replace my wife and my 2017 MBPs with a couple refurbished M1 MBA's. [...]

I pretty much concur with everything the OP says. The battery life, performance, and cool operating temperature are amazing. I've read the M2 will only be a minor performance increase to the M1, plus I don't want my MBA in a fruity color, and I actually prefer USB-C charging to a Magsafe charger as I don't care for propriety stuff. So the M1 models are perfect for me, and I'm real happy I got the 16GB config with 512GB SSD as those are hard to find refurbished.

Glad to know it worked out. Yeah, like I mentioned in an earlier post, some people sell "refurb" devices in random shapes, which is why I recommend being refurbs almost exclusively thru Apple.

However, in your case, it seems you ended up with great deals. Should that battery start degrading faster, I'd say the cash you saved easily help you get a new battery straight from Apple as the M1 will be supported for a long time from now.

As per warranty, Amazon may give you 90 days, but check the Macs themselves. They might have time left over on their warranties that exceeds Amazon's. If you are lucky enough you may be within the AC+ period and might be able to get that.

 

[Freeangel1]

8gb of ram is too little for me. any M1 with 8gb of ram will not be future proofed.
you will max out the memory quite easily. 16GB is my absolute least memory cutoff. 32GB ideal.

When phones are coming with more than 8GB of memory. sometimes 12GB 8GB of ram is not enough.

Unified memory or not.

 

[jav6454]

8gb of ram is too little for me. any M1 with 8gb of ram will not be future proofed.
you will max out the memory quite easily. 16GB is my absolute least memory cutoff. 32GB ideal.

When phones are coming with more than 8GB of memory. sometimes 12GB 8GB of ram is not enough.

Unified memory or not.

Since OP got one from the refurb store, he got something that was:

1. Within their budget
2. Available

On the refurb store you may find what you look for and you may not. Compromises have to be made. Also, memory management is different than Intel Macs, so the whole 8GB v 16GB v 32GB argument is currently being evaluated.

Obviously always get more memory when possible, but with M1 chips, it seems memory has become something case by case basis.

 

[Dealmans]

Same model is 14% off on Amazon AU now. $91AU cheaper than a refurb.

 

[exoticSpice]

I actually prefer USB-C charging to a Magsafe charger as I don't care for propriety stuff

You can charge also using USB-C on the new MBP's that have Magsafe. So if the new M2 Macbook Air does get Magsafe, you will have 2 USB ports free as the charging will be done by Magsafe.

Plus charging is also faster with magsafe. Nonetheless, M1 MBA is great machine.

 

[MajorFubar]

Are you based in the UK? If so you may have snapped up the Space Grey model before me (I had it in my basket and then it disappeared when I went to buy 😅).

Guilty as charged, sorry. It was a toss-up between the space grey and the rose gold because I decided I'd have a change from silver macbooks while I had the chance. I always think the rose gold looks great in the shops but in reality as an introvert it's a bit too extrovert for me so I went with the conservative choice. Enjoy your new-to-you MBA, I can't believe how great they are.

 

[MajorFubar]

8gb of ram is too little for me. any M1 with 8gb of ram will not be future proofed.
you will max out the memory quite easily. 16GB is my absolute least memory cutoff. 32GB ideal.

When phones are coming with more than 8GB of memory. sometimes 12GB 8GB of ram is not enough.

Unified memory or not.

It'll be a while before 8GB of RAM is not enough for me on what is essentially my second machine. When it does eventually happen, it will be because of the high demands of the then-current MacOS.

 

[Reggaenald]

Well, refurbished items from Apple are guaranteed to work and are just like the new products. In fact, they go thru more extensive QC process to ensure no issues arise. Heck, you get the same benefits and warranties as a new product.

The only problem with refurb items is the "stigma" surrounding the word refurb that means used.

That's probably just partially true. I had my refurbished 2k MBP serviced multiple times for different issues, even not counting the butterfly keyboard. The screen was garbage for example, uneven color, brightness and light bleed in the corners, very obvious stuff.