The M1 MacBooks are an exceptional package

[playtech1]

It's been 5 days since I got mine and I think Apple knocked it out of the park with the M1 laptops and the MacBook Air in particular.

It's not one feature in particular that is a winner, it's the overall package that impresses. I cannot think of another laptop that combines the following:

1. excellent CPU
2. fanless/virtually noiseless design
3. cool to the touch
4. GPU at level of competing low-end discrete GPU
5. genuine all day battery life
6. lightweight ultrabook form factor
7. retina display
8. Thunderbolt
9. useful fingerprint recognition
10. excellent trackpad and decent keyboard
11. top notch build quality

I think the closest in the Windows world is the new XPS 13, but that has a weaker (Intel) CPU and a worse GPU. You could get better GPU performance and competitive CPU performance in, say, an ASUS Zephyrus, but the build quality is not great and it's still a fairly warm and short-lived beast under load. The Razer Blade Stealth 13 has similar build quality (albeit not the same reliability) as the Mac and similar or better GPU performance, but battery life and and heat are a problem.

It's like the M1 has allowed Apple to avoid major compromise in balancing power and practicality, whereas the competition is having to sacrifice something to achieve high performance in another area.

Sure, there are still areas Apple could improve, but we (finally) have a MacBook Air that I can now wholeheartedly recommend to the same people whom I would have directed to an old non-retina MacBook Air. All the weirdness of butterfly keyboards, touch bars and dodgy CPU cooling has been left behind (in the Air at least).

I do think there is some hyperbole in terms of how people are assessing the M1's performance (it's not a Threadripper in a laptop and let's not pretend that it is), but it is something that raises the bar to a point where I (finally) feel my 2015 MBP has been surpassed in every meaningful way (sorry Magsafe, but you accidentally popped out one too many times).

 

[ericwn]

Thanks for sharing your opinion. I tend to agree - this seems a very good offering overall.

 

[Nathan576]

It's been 5 days since I got mine and I think Apple knocked it out of the park with the M1 laptops and the MacBook Air in particular.

It's not one feature in particular that is a winner, it's the overall package that impresses. I cannot think of another laptop that combines the following:

1. excellent CPU
2. fanless/virtually noiseless design
3. cool to the touch
4. GPU at level of competing low-end discrete GPU
5. genuine all day battery life
6. lightweight ultrabook form factor
7. retina display
8. Thunderbolt
9. useful fingerprint recognition
10. excellent trackpad and decent keyboard
11. top notch build quality

I think the closest in the Windows world is the new XPS 13, but that has a weaker (Intel) CPU and a worse GPU. You could get better GPU performance and competitive CPU performance in, say, an ASUS Zephyrus, but the build quality is not great and it's still a fairly warm and short-lived beast under load. The Razer Blade Stealth 13 has similar build quality (albeit not the same reliability) as the Mac and similar or better GPU performance, but battery life and and heat are a problem.

It's like the M1 has allowed Apple to avoid major compromise in balancing power and practicality, whereas the competition is having to sacrifice something to achieve high performance in another area.

Sure, there are still areas Apple could improve, but we (finally) have a MacBook Air that I can now wholeheartedly recommend to the same people whom I would have directed to an old non-retina MacBook Air. All the weirdness of butterfly keyboards, touch bars and dodgy CPU cooling has been left behind (in the Air at least).

I do think there is some hyperbole in terms of how people are assessing the M1's performance (it's not a Threadripper in a laptop and let's not pretend that it is), but it is something that raises the bar to a point where I (finally) feel my 2015 MBP has been surpassed in every meaningful way (sorry Magsafe, but you accidentally popped out one too many times).

I have the pro and part of me wishes I got the air, but the brighter display on the MacBook Pro is not something I am willing to sacrifice. This is my first Mac with a Touch Bar, its cool, but I love how thin the air is. Oh well. Having a fan is going to come in handy once I start my programing classes next spring.

 

[ShiniestofShinies]

Which specs did you get?

 

[playtech1]

I have the pro and part of me wishes I got the air, but the brighter display on the MacBook Pro is not something I am willing to sacrifice. This is my first Mac with a Touch Bar, its cool, but I love how thin the air is. Oh well. Having a fan is going to come in handy once I start my programing classes next spring.

It was the touch bar that drove me back to the Air, but if you are fine with it (as many are) then really the differences seem tiny - although I don't envisage the fan being an issue for my usage.

Which specs did you get?

Top spec'd Air - 16GB, 2TB

 

[LFC2020]

1. excellent CPU
2. fanless/virtually noiseless design
3. cool to the touch
4. GPU at level of competing low-end discrete GPU
5. genuine all day battery life
6. lightweight ultrabook form factor
7. retina display
8. Thunderbolt
9. useful fingerprint recognition
10. excellent trackpad and decent keyboard
11. top notch build quality

You forgot the most important feature, AMAZING!!! out of this world BATTERY LIFE!!! ??????

 

[delsoul]

I have the pro and part of me wishes I got the air, but the brighter display on the MacBook Pro is not something I am willing to sacrifice. This is my first Mac with a Touch Bar, its cool, but I love how thin the air is. Oh well. Having a fan is going to come in handy once I start my programing classes next spring.

You can go into the keyboard settings and have it lock into touch display the same buttons that are on the MacBook Air.

 

[Zazoh]

I have the pro and part of me wishes I got the air, but the brighter display on the MacBook Pro is not something I am willing to sacrifice.

What is 100 nits in real world? I don’t think I ever even have brightness at 100%.
Ironically, had the pro NOT have the Touch Bar, I may have considered it.

What I fear, and hope it is a bug, my MBA has, in the preferences, the settings for Touch Bar, I hope it isn’t a sign of things to come. I use and prefer tactile function keys.

 

[throAU]

I'm curious to know under what conditions the Air throttles, and how much it slows down in actual percentage terms.

I'm tossing up between air and pro at the moment, and the biggest thing for me is the cooling. I don't necessarily need ultimate top end performance, but I don't want it to drop to say 50% of full speed under load when it throttles like my early 2020 air does.

Has anyone done/seen performance testing under sustained load?

I'm willing to sacrifice say 20% under throttling due to heat, if it means I get a totally silent machine.

On the flip-side - how loud does the Pro fan get?

 

[nameste]

I'm curious to know under what conditions the Air throttles, and how much it slows down in actual percentage terms.

I'm tossing up between air and pro at the moment, and the biggest thing for me is the cooling. I don't necessarily need ultimate top end performance, but I don't want it to drop to say 50% of full speed under load when it throttles like my early 2020 air does.

Has anyone done/seen performance testing under sustained load?

I'm willing to sacrifice say 20% under throttling due to heat, if it means I get a totally silent machine.

On the flip-side - how loud does the Pro fan get?

Forum users reporting %15 throttle at max

 

[akdj]

Like you throAU, I’m awaiting real world results using Logic X, FCP X and Adobe’s offeri as they invariably trickle out. I’m not concerned with software like After Effects and other RAM + CPU/GPU sharing hardcore usage but editing a half dozen tracks on Logic or cutting up 4K footage in FCP should be incredibly quick. I’m not concerned with transcoding or compression, as this can be done on larger machines - but these Mac Mini’s might make perfect satellites from a Mac Pro for editing, color and most grading as well as audio production
These being the most intensive software I use - and we’re using iPad Pros (12.9”) most 0f the time in the field so the ability to also run iOS/iPadOS software alongside the deeper macOS software wide by side is genuinely compelling!

 

[acidfast7_redux]

I agree 100% with the OP. The M1MBA is phenomenal for standard tasks (uni prof here). I had a 2013 rMBP that just quit (2nd SSD failed) and that was a solid machine. This is significantly better.

Also, for once, Apple has the pricepoint correct for the EU/UK market.

£898 starting for a MBA with these performance characteristics is stellar

The battery life clinches it. I can work between 9 and 10 honest hours on the machine without a recharge.

 

[kp98077]

Agreed! Got the air a few days ago, absolutely exceptional. Two days later battery is still at 65%! Performance is crazy. No issues this far and I’ve been pushing it. My 2019 MBP would have stuttered easily given the same task. Didn’t expect this from apple.

 

[Wizec]

$599, 11th gen core i5 with new Intel Xe GPU, 8GB of RAM (user upgradeable to 32GB), 512GB SSD, aluminum chassis, and fingerprint sensor.

Dell Inspiron 14 Laptop | Dell USA

A light-weight, portable 14-inch laptop with easy-to-use innovation like ExpressCharge™, lid-open sensors and more.

www.dell.com

Perhaps not quite as “premium” or quite as fast as the Air, but it’s also 40% cheaper with 2x the SSD storage. I have the 10th gen i5 13.3” Inspiron and it’s very fast, very quiet and we get about 10hr battery.

I’m getting an M1 MacBook too for iOS development. Still, these Dells are no slouches, especially for the price.

 

[acidfast7_redux]

$599, 11th gen core i5 with new Intel Xe GPU, 8GB of RAM (user upgradeable to 32GB), 512GB SSD, aluminum chassis, touch screen, fingerprint sensor.

Dell Inspiron 14 Laptop | Dell USA

A light-weight, portable 14-inch laptop with easy-to-use innovation like ExpressCharge™, lid-open sensors and more.

www.dell.com

Perhaps not quite as “premium” or quite as fast as the Air, but it’s also 40% cheaper with 2x the SSD storage. I have the 10th gen 13.3” Inspiron and it’s very fast, very quiet and we get about 10hr battery.

I’m getting an M1 MacBook too for iOS development. Still, these Dells are no slouches, especially for the price.

Maybe, but this is really a spec comparison rather than a usage comparison.

I'll never buy a "laptop" with a fan again. And, I'm sure that many M1MBA users will agree.

This is the beginning of the fan-less laptop transition. If I need a fan, I'll simply execute that task remotely on another machine. Also, I don't want to pay for 2 TiB of storage. I'd rather just seamlessly cloud/backup all of my machines.

Also, if it's not solid metal, I'm not interested as I hate plastic and have way too much of it in my life.

Maybe, I'm simply a green snob but I also try to avoid all plastic for my daughter as well.

Different quality and different price point, which is OK, for someone else.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

You forgot the most important feature, AMAZING!!! out of this world BATTERY LIFE!!!

For me the proprietary hardware makes these Macs feel special again like my iBook did more than 15 years ago. This is the most I've been excited about new technology in a long time.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

What I fear, and hope it is a bug, my MBA has, in the preferences, the settings for Touch Bar, I hope it isn’t a sign of things to come.

What? I don't have this! ( I don't think)

 

[Zazoh]

What? I don't have this! ( I don't think)

Take a look in Keyboard Preferences -- I'm on a M1 MBA.

 

[MBHockey]

Take a look in Keyboard Preferences -- I'm on a M1 MBA.
View attachment 1680991

I did this as well on my 13" MBP. While better than nothing, it defeats the purpose of having a touch bar, and instead gives you a glitchy function row of keys without any tactile feedback. the touch bar is easily the worst thing Apple has come up with in the last 5 years. They need to fire whoever dreamt it up!

I'm so much happier with a physical row of function keys on the new MBA. It was one of the reasons i went with it over the new MBP.

 

[KShopper]

I did this as well on my 13" MBP. While better than nothing, it defeats the purpose of having a touch bar, and instead gives you a glitchy function row of keys without any tactile feedback. the touch bar is easily the worst thing Apple has come up with in the last 5 years. They need to fire whoever dreamt it up!

I'm so much happier with a physical row of function keys on the new MBA. It was one of the reasons i went with it over the new MBP.

Yes. I tried to like the Touchbar, and I failed. Never again, it actively annoys me. I suppose if I only ever used the laptop keyboard, which I don't, I go between a desk setup with external monitor and mechanical ergo keyboard, and laptop, and if I used one or two complex apps that utilized the touchbar in a useful way I might think it was okay, but as a casual user of many apps it's a useless distraction that makes the simple things the function keys provide harder.

If it was a free optional add-on Apple would find out how little people really think of it.

 

[KPOM]

$599, 11th gen core i5 with new Intel Xe GPU, 8GB of RAM (user upgradeable to 32GB), 512GB SSD, aluminum chassis, and fingerprint sensor.

Dell Inspiron 14 Laptop | Dell USA

A light-weight, portable 14-inch laptop with easy-to-use innovation like ExpressCharge™, lid-open sensors and more.

www.dell.com

Perhaps not quite as “premium” or quite as fast as the Air, but it’s also 40% cheaper with 2x the SSD storage. I have the 10th gen i5 13.3” Inspiron and it’s very fast, very quiet and we get about 10hr battery.

I’m getting an M1 MacBook too for iOS development. Still, these Dells are no slouches, especially for the price.

Only a 1080p display and no Thunderbolt, though.

 

[jdb8167]

I'm curious to know under what conditions the Air throttles, and how much it slows down in actual percentage terms.

I'm tossing up between air and pro at the moment, and the biggest thing for me is the cooling. I don't necessarily need ultimate top end performance, but I don't want it to drop to say 50% of full speed under load when it throttles like my early 2020 air does.

Has anyone done/seen performance testing under sustained load?

I'm willing to sacrifice say 20% under throttling due to heat, if it means I get a totally silent machine.

On the flip-side - how loud does the Pro fan get?

I’ve used HandBrake and ffmpeg to do video compression on my M1 MacBook Air for over an hour at a time and didn’t notice any throttling or excess heat. I’m sure it does throttle when running full out over time but it isn’t particularly noticeable.

On the other hand, reliable reports say that the MacBook Pro fans are normally off and even when on, are nearly silent.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

Take a look in Keyboard Preferences -- I'm on a M1 MBA.
View attachment 1680991

I mean even if they do intend to introduce this feature the a future MBA, its definitely a bug to display it on one without this capability.

 

[Hiredgoon6]

Can M1 Air owners comment on heat? Does it get too warm to use on your lap for productivity tasks? (MS Office, zoom, a few browser tabs)

 

[Zazoh]

Can M1 Air owners comment on heat? Does it get too warm to use on your lap for productivity tasks? (MS Office, zoom, a few browser tabs)

No heat. Cool to touch.