One month mini review of M1 MBA 8/512...

[NT1440]

Memory pressure is a useless graph, it will endlessly swap and remain green.
You are very much being fooled, and if you look at how much it is swapping, you will realise this for yourself.
OSX uses almost all the RAM just to boot, even your limited use will be guaranteed to be causing serious swap.
If that's an issue or not, from a technical standpoint, absolutely. From an end-user standpoint, that's your decision.
But don't be fooled because you don't notice it or that the pressure graph is green!

...what good is RAM if it’s not being utilized??

 

[cvtem]

...what good is RAM if it’s not being utilized??

I can ensure you OP would also use all of the 16GB of RAM should he have that model.

 

[NT1440]

I can ensure you OP would also use all of the 16GB of RAM should he have that model.

That has nothing to do with what I asked. What is wrong with the OS allocating RAM like you said?

 

[M-Life]

I have had my M1 MBA 8/512 for 5 weeks now and have a few things I want to say.. Most have been over stated but figure It can't hurt to have more views of them.

1) Battery Life.
I use mine anywhere from 4 to 8 hours a day. Depends on how busy I am doing other stuff. But I have as of today 11 charge cycles. Part of that was I was shocked to get a machine from Apple with only 10% out of the box brand new. But yeah I charge every 2-3 days now. I get it on the charger around 15-20% and fully charge it.

2) Performance and having "only 8 gigs of ram."
I have yet to run into any issues. I am not a power user but I will have several tabs open in Safari and Radar Scope in 4 pane mode running live loops and maybe a scanner site listening to police feed all at once. (I track sever weather outbreaks for fun.) I have checked the memory in the activity monitor.... 7 gigs used but the memory pressure will still be in the green. So no concerns there.
Speed and smoothness is simply flawless. No lag, no beachballs yet, and it's fast. You click on an app don't click you will miss it open.

3) Speakers
Not bad not great. Sounds average. Plenty of volume but not HI-FI.

4)Screen
BEAUTIFUL. I came from a 15.6 FHD HP Envy. I honestly thought the smaller screen would bug me. Not one damn bit. The clarity, the colors, contrast... all awesome. I always judge a screen by watching 3 things. Golf. The grass best look real. Yup it does. Terminator 2, Chrome of the T1000 and Arnolds black leather jacket. Got to see it and the clean reflections, and texture of the leather. Yup good. Then Schindler's List black and white tell you a lot.... Looks great. Apple makes awesome screens and calibrates them perfect...

5) Keyboard, Best Apple has made ever hands down. Pun intended.

6) Overheating... NONE. It simply stays cool.

Over all I say get the 8/512 if you are not rendering and doing intense work.. if so skip the MBA and get a 16 gig MBP or wait for the new ones. Am I saying there is no place for a 16 gig MBA no. IT is the perfect College computer. It will be 100% bullet proof for 4 or if you are Tommy Boy 12 years of college. You will have enough power, and enough ram to study, listen to music, and watch a movie while doing keg stands. and a computer that may last long enough into your early real adult life to get you by.

I love my MBA. It's perfect for me.

A bit off topic but have you ever tried Radar Omega instead of RadarScope?

 

[AdamNC]

Memory pressure is a useless graph, it will endlessly swap and remain green.
You are very much being fooled, and if you look at how much it is swapping, you will realise this for yourself.
OSX uses almost all the RAM just to boot, even your limited use will be guaranteed to be causing serious swap.
If that's an issue or not, from a technical standpoint, absolutely. From an end-user standpoint, that's your decision.
But don't be fooled because you don't notice it or that the pressure graph is green!

How come all the negative **** posted about the M1's are from newbies?

 

[AdamNC]

A bit off topic but have you ever tried Radar Omega instead of RadarScope?

I did I had a trial of it...not a bad product. I have used and have invested so much into Radar Scope I just like it better.... I am a certified NWS Skywarn Spotter and live in the # 1 strike zone for hurricanes on the east coast. Wilmington NC. Been through 16 hurricanes and tropical storms.

 

[cvtem]

How come all the negative **** posted about the M1's are from newbies?

Been a member for longer than you

it’s also not M1 negativity.
It’s the reality of a modern complex and large operating system such as macOS, 8gb is bare minimum, why do you think there’s all the drama ove the SSD wear for so many people.
That has absolutely zero to do with M1, and entirely to do with insufficient RAM for what the users are doing.