Is the MacBook Air M1 worth $699?

[Elusi]

Take a look at Geekbench.....

From a quick glance.... (if I'm reading it correctly).

Intel® Core™ i5 8265U, single core 1232, multi core 2492

Apple M1, single core 2276, multi core 8025

My own Apple M1 with 7 cores, single core 1695, multi core 7245 (not sure, but that may have been on battery rather than mains which might account for the lower score).

Just rerun it now on mains power and getting 2367 / 8623.

I noticed you have 1TB storage on your current PC - I got the same on the M1.

Just want to note that in the case of the M1, "7 cores" binning referred to getting 7 graphics units instead of 8. All retail M1s came with all 8 CPU cores enabled, so you should be seeing similar geekbench CPU scores as all other M1s out there.

(This is currently not the case for the M4 iPad, where they for the first time have opted to disable a CPU core instead).

 

[Torty]

What about storage? You come from 1TB and go to 256SSD? Does it work? Everything in cloud?

 

[oasantos1]

Yes.

 

[Return Zero]

internet, Netflix streaming, some light photo retouching and a little bit of editing to put the video on Facebook

Honestly, for these use cases, I’d be tempted to spring for the $399 M1 iPad Air sales. Same power, better portability, and it doesn’t sound like you really need macOS for that stuff (edit: if 64GB internal is sufficient… that’s a big caveat potentially)

 

[casperes1996]

ITS NOT A LAPTOP unless it has macOS.

What on Earth is this comment about? Linux and Windows laptops don't exist? Are you trying to say the OP's current laptop isn't a laptop? Have you misunderstood and think this thread is about iPads even though it isn't? What's up?

 

[Thisismattwade]

Hi, I'm typing this from my base model M1 MBA from Walmart, which I got for $699. It's a fantastic machine, and I do more on it than what you listed. Go for it!

 

[lenuxfrance]

Depending where you are in France, you could pop over the border to Switzerland where it is sometimes at CHF 679 (but right now CHF 699) with a 2 year warranty. Though it will have a Swiss German or Swiss French keyboard.

My Intel pc comes from Switzerland and I have a lot of trouble with the keyboard, plus I live in the south of France, so far from Switzerland. As for the warranty, the Apple website says 1 year?

Garantie limitée d’un (1) an d’Apple
(SUISSE)​

Pour les produits de marque Apple uniquement

Garantie limitée d’un (1) an d’Apple – (SUISSE)

www.apple.com

 

[lenuxfrance]

Thank you all for your answers
Basically, I already have the latest iPad mini , Apple Watch and iPhone XS
This MacBook will allow me to download videos from my GoPro hero 8 and then do some small editing and also retouch my photos.
As for the keyboard, I already use QWERTY on my Apple devices.
The only small drawback is the 12-month warranty, compared with 24 in France. After that, are MacBooks reliable?
As for the charger, I'll just have to change the US head to a French one.

I don't use my current computer very much because it's heavy, it takes a long time to run and Windows isn't optimized like Apple.

 

[casperes1996]

The only small drawback is the 12-month warranty, compared with 24 in France. After that, are MacBooks reliable?

There have been lemons in the Mac lineup throughout the years, but the Apple Silicon Macs seem very reliable and solid so far, yes. - YMMV but I had my last MacBook for 7 years before replacing it. And I have several 20-ish year old Macs still functional, albeit not that usable anymore, but fully functional. On the other hand, my 2011 MacBook Pro died due to GPU failure after 3 years. A little after I bought a replacement Apple issued a repair programme so I could get it repaired for free but at that point I had already begrudgingly bought a new one.

If there is a big systemic issue with the product Apple should still cover it (eventually), You can also acquire AppleCare+ if you really care about service options though I've never seen that much value in it

 

[philstubbington]

Just want to note that in the case of the M1, "7 cores" binning referred to getting 7 graphics units instead of 8. All retail M1s came with all 8 CPU cores enabled, so you should be seeing similar geekbench CPU scores as all other M1s out there.

(This is currently not the case for the M4 iPad, where they for the first time have opted to disable a CPU core instead).

it is a little confusing, I must say.... if I go to system info it reads:-

Total Number of Cores: 8 (4 performance and 4 efficiency)

 

[flowderf]

Thank you all for your answers
Basically, I already have the latest iPad mini , Apple Watch and iPhone XS
This MacBook will allow me to download videos from my GoPro hero 8 and then do some small editing and also retouch my photos.
As for the keyboard, I already use QWERTY on my Apple devices.
The only small drawback is the 12-month warranty, compared with 24 in France. After that, are MacBooks reliable?
As for the charger, I'll just have to change the US head to a French one.

I don't use my current computer very much because it's heavy, it takes a long time to run and Windows isn't optimized like Apple.

M1 Air is the most solid and reliable computer I have ever owned. When released it was a new chip in a time-refined design.

 

[lenuxfrance]

Hello
When you talk about updates in the future and the risk of not using the Mac anymore, what do you mean by not using it anymore?
If the applications are installed, even old ones, will they still work?

What I love about Apple is the ecosystem, given that I already have quite a few devices, and especially the finesse of the materials, which I can't find on Windows.

 

[StrollerEd]

Just do it

 

[lenuxfrance]

A small question I have applications that run on iPhone and iPad mini can I put them on the Mac OS?
CapCut , Instagram , Owlfiles , Rdp Windows for example
How can I see in advance if the application is compatible with macOS?

 

[StrollerEd]

A small question I have applications that run on iPhone and iPad mini can I put them on the Mac OS?
CapCut , Instagram , Owlfiles , Rdp Windows for example
How can I see in advance if the application is compatible with macOS?

Yes to CapCut, Owlfiles and MS Remote Desktop - but not Instagram methinks?

I checked by looking at the App Store from within macOS but I would think you could check on the web for others, as in "<app name> macOS"

 

[turbineseaplane]

I know everyone says "instant buy!" on these, but I'd be worried about how much longer they'll really get support

Apple seems to be rushing through "the M's" and M1 is suddenly getting to be quite "old" when looking at it that way.

It makes me wonder is all

 

[StrollerEd]

I know everyone says "instant buy!" on these, but I'd be worried about how much longer they'll really get support

Apple seems to be rushing through "the M's" and M1 is suddenly getting to be quite "old" when looking at it that way.

It makes me wonder is all

imho [and heartfelt hope since I have two such laptops] M1 will get support for a long while, although that might not mean capability to run the M4+ specific O/S.

 

[iAppleOrchard]

Yes,

Just know its a 3 year old computer and that Apple could potentially cut software support in 3-5 years.

I have been daily driving it for almost 3 years now, and since I am a hardcore software engineer now, I would need to upgrade soon, but for your use case, you seem fine with the M1 Air.

 

[philstubbington]

Yes to CapCut, Owlfiles and MS Remote Desktop - but not Instagram methinks?

I checked by looking at the App Store from within macOS but I would think you could check on the web for others, as in "<app name> macOS"

You can access instagram via the web on the Mac. No application required.

 

[toobravetosave]

m1 air is great and a much better design than the new flat ones

it should be a capable computer for light use for years

 

[lenuxfrance]

Thanks you very much for all réponse 👍😀

 

[MacDownunder]

From a performance and quality of life point of view, the Apple M1 will be about twice as fast as the Intel i5-8265U with little noise/heat and extremely good battery life.

From a value point of view, it's generally better to get the latest model. Apple provides about 7 years of OS updates and the 2020 Apple M1 Macbook Air has already had about 3.5 years of updates. So expect another 3.5 years of support.

If you pay $699 now for an Apple M1 Macbook Air, you will be essentially paying $199.71 per year until end of life.

However, if you get the just released 2024 Apple M3 Macbook Air at $1099, it works out to $157.00 per year until end of life.

There are some generalisations here that may or may no pan out.
For the OP yes this machine will be better in every regards than your current Intel based machine - battery life will astound you alone, performance initially and then you'll get used to it
For your use case this machine will be fine even in base form. Just make sure you buy enough memory and storage as these cannot be updated later (unless you opt for external storage)
The time thing is only really valid if you must have the latest and greatest OS with all SW patches - the machine will still work it just wont receive the latest (unless you look at OpenCore or similar - that's how I got my cheesgrater Mac Pro to live a whole lot longer than it should have OS Wise)
However the M2 might be better, but the base model has a slower SSD speed than base M1 - wont go into why (google if interested), the 512GB model is a way better model but its increasing costs to you.
Eitherway any M series machine is a step up (or a couple steps) from where you are now.

 

[lenuxfrance]

There are some generalisations here that may or may no pan out.
For the OP yes this machine will be better in every regards than your current Intel based machine - battery life will astound you alone, performance initially and then you'll get used to it
For your use case this machine will be fine even in base form. Just make sure you buy enough memory and storage as these cannot be updated later (unless you opt for external storage)
The time thing is only really valid if you must have the latest and greatest OS with all SW patches - the machine will still work it just wont receive the latest (unless you look at OpenCore or similar - that's how I got my cheesgrater Mac Pro to live a whole lot longer than it should have OS Wise)
However the M2 might be better, but the base model has a slower SSD speed than base M1 - wont go into why (google if interested), the 512GB model is a way better model but its increasing costs to you.
Eitherway any M series machine is a step up (or a couple steps) from where you are now.

Thank you very much for these explanations

 

[lenuxfrance]

Hello ,
Regarding charging for the first time, do I have to fully discharge it and then fully recharge it?
What advice would you give me to keep my battery longer? Is there a safety device I can use, such as asking me to charge it to 20%?

Thank you 😀👍

 

[StoneJack]

Hello ,
Regarding charging for the first time, do I have to fully discharge it and then fully recharge it?
What advice would you give me to keep my battery longer? Is there a safety device I can use, such as asking me to charge it to 20%?

Thank you 😀👍

don't worry about first recharging etc *m1 chips do not use that old practice. Apple has battery optimization inbuilt so you can use normally and charge as you wish. Or you may want to charge until 100 and then use, but this is not very important. There is no battery recalculation anymore on macbooks.