I am currently working on a 2018 8gb Ram Macbook Air. It is taxed very heavily when I run video calls (Google Meets, Zoom, WebEx) with a number of tabs open. Could I run a 3440x1440 monitor + video conference + a handful of browsers with many tabs open on the new Macbook Airs with the M1 processor? This time around I would opt for 16gb Ram. Let me know if you think I should go with a Macbook Pro, which I can afford if this was the only solution, but I prefer the Macbook Air for a few reasons (portability, battery life, cost). Thanks in advance.
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16gb M1 Macbook Air - Ultrawide monitor + web multitasking + video calls
- Thread starter inglishmayjur
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Have you looked at the 13" MBP? It has the same M1, highly portable, great battery life and it is not as thick as you might think.
The M1 Air is in an entirely different league than any Intel-based model that came before it. It can easily handle the tasks you describe, and honestly wouldn’t even struggle with 8GB of RAM. You will be blown away by the difference. The larger and more expensive MacBook Pros are totally unnecessary for your use-case.
So I recommend the M1 Air, and go ahead with the 16GB for total peace-of-mind. You’ll be very happy with it.
So I recommend the M1 Air, and go ahead with the 16GB for total peace-of-mind. You’ll be very happy with it.
I would say unnecessary is a matter of perspective. Which is why I presented options. Agreed on the RAM, although to future proof, I'd always recommend going with the 16GB option.
Thanks for the thoughts all. I'm going to move forward with an M1 MBA (will probably wait to see if anything new is announced at the June event) and will update this thread when I have a chance to put the new machine through its paces.
how many tabs do you have open, my wife has the 16gb and she has 20+ tabs open on chrome with other apps in background, last i check her memory pressure is yellow with 3gb on swap.
Holy... personally I dislike to see so many tabs without purpose open. I cringe. I close them as I go along. Helps memory pressure.
i have to keep 15 tabs open for work, and i personally have around 10 tabs that i visit on a daily basis. so its kinda non negotiable. my pc has 64gb ram that i paid 200 bucks for 2 years ago, on that i rarely exceeds 20gb.
i'm no way a power user, but from my perspective, closing a tab just to keep memory pressure happy is very 2000ish.
For me it's the clutter it causes to have 6+ tabs open. I hate clutter and dislike having to hop thru several tabs to find what I need. I'd just rather open and close as needed. That it helps memory be happy is a byproduct.
I recall my boss had her PC laptop with 50+ tabs (not joking) open on one window during a presentation. You couldn't even read what each tab was about, you could only see the logo. Every time she opened a tab, she never closed it after using it, just kept piling them. Internally I was screaming.
my boss did the same, i just have two windows open, one for work and one for personal. thats my way of decluttering. having 15 tabs on one window and 10 tabs on another makes things alot easier. unfortunately my ram pressure takes a hit, i'll probably get a 14inch with 32gb as my next upgrade.
I wanted 32GB RAM, but when I was shopping for my Mac two things happened.
- The 14" was sold out everywhere and Lead Times were into the 3-4 week range
- Budget took a $350 hit due to an unexpected car issue
Hence I don't use two windows for Safari, just one on each one and at minimum tabs open due to my own habits.
I work with both an M1 MBA and Mac Mini with 8GB daily and perform the tasks you are describing without any issues.
I would prefer to have 16GBs to extend the life for additional years, but for what you are doing the 8GB M1 will handle it easily. As others have mentioned the M1 is on a different level than past Intel based MBAs.
MacBook buying guide: The right M1 laptop for each use case
If you're wanting a new laptop, look into the Apple Refurbished program. Apple offers the same warranty options as a new laptop, but at a lower price. I bought my MBA 2020 (16GB/1TB) through it. It works great and was eligible for the yearly applecare plan.
I'm using a Macbook Air 2018 (model A1932, Intel Dual Core 1.6 GHz i5, 8 GB RAM, 128 SSD). My daily tasks would be Whatsapp, Google Chrome, PDF, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Zoom / MS Team. My Macbook Air became sluggish, loud fan noise and high temperature, when I open all of these apps. Often, it took 15 to 20 seconds just to launch an app.
My harddisk space is not fully utilized, only use 70 GB out of 128 GB.
However, I have no problem to perform these tasks (+ visio, ms project, wechat and spotify) in a Dell 2018 machine (Intel i5 CPU, 16 GB RAM).
its a dual core what you expect lol, hell my i7 Nehalem from 2013 can run all your tasks no problem.
any dual core models prior to the m1 was pathetic, apple cared more about aesthetics > anything else.
What I’d still love to know: is anyone driving an ultra wide monitor, multitasking with many browser tabs and joining video calls simultaneously on a MacBook Air M1 without perceptible lag?
Alright, I just got back from Costco and set up a Macbook Air M1, 8 core CPU and 8 core GPU, 8gb ram and 512gb SSD. It is able to handle multitasking + a lot of browser tabs + video conferencing (Google Meets) + driving my 3440x1440 144hz monitor with external USB video camera without issue unlike my 2018 Macbook Air. Hope this helps someone 👍.