Any point in upgrading from the i5 Air 2020 to the M1?

[shenfrey]

the only reason I ask, is because I do notice stutters even just browsing the web. I think it's mainly graphical, but it often doesn't feel 'buttery smooth' that the M1 air is suppose to feel. But maybe it is just the OS?

I guess the main question is, will I notice a difference in speed and performance?

 

[BootLoxes]

the only reason I ask, is because I do notice stutters even just browsing the web. I think it's mainly graphical, but it often doesn't feel 'buttery smooth' that the M1 air is suppose to feel. But maybe it is just the OS?

I guess the main question is, will I notice a difference in speed and performance?

Depends on your usage. If you are just web browsing and doing office then you might not notice much.

But for pretty much everything else the M1 is a huge jump up in performance, thermals (big one) and battery life.

 

[shenfrey]

Depends on your usage. If you are just web browsing and doing office then you might not notice much.

But for pretty much everything else the M1 is a huge jump up in performance, thermals (big one) and battery life.

That is pretty much my usage case. General purpose. Browsing, Media and photos. The only issue I have with my current Air is certain websites it's such a slog, again I think this is due to the limitations in the graphics.

 

[azentropy]

I think it really depends on how much of a price hit you are willing to take. You also would probably make up some of that price hit on the backend when you sell it as I'd expect the MBA M1 to be worth significantly more than the i5 MBA if you go and sell it in 3+ years.

 

[Apple_Robert]

That is pretty much my usage case. General purpose. Browsing, Media and photos. The only issue I have with my current Air is certain websites it's such a slog, again I think this is due to the limitations in the graphics.

If you are only seeing the problems with certain sites, it could be the sites and how they were designed.

 

[lambertjohn]

I traded in my 2018 Air to Apple for $550 and turned around and purchased a base M1 Air for $999. So yeah, I took a bit of a hit, but I couldn't be happier. This little M1 Air is a such a joy to use: way way faster, no stutter, no lag, near instant boot up. Plus, it's got Wi-fi 6, Bluetooth 5, a better keyboard, etc.

If I was you, I'd probably dump the i5 air while you can get something for it because I think they're eventually going to be worthless. or near worthless. The M-based Airs and Pros are going to take over the Apple computing world, IMO, and all the Intel-based MacBooks will be paperweights. But what do I know.

 

[cheesyappleuser]

Well, my 6 year-old 13" rMBP is still perfectly fine for everyday usage. Except for the battery (which can be replaced relatively cheaply) everything else is pretty good.

However of course the new M1 is a best and blows everything else out of the water. But that doesn't mean you have to switch just because something better was released.

 

[srbNYC]

I'd probably dump the i5 air while you can get something for it because I think they're eventually going to be worthless. or near worthless.

Interesting point. I asked a similar question yesterday, but hadn't realized that the resale worth of my i5 MBA could likely plummet.

 

[turbineseaplane]

The newer your existing Intel Mac is, the more you stand to lose.

If I had anything 2015 and newer, I'd sell it or trade it in and get my money off the table, ASAP.

 

[ignatius345]

I have the same exact question. Like the OP, I've also noticed that my 2020 i5 Air seems slow at times, gets hot when doing Zoom calls, has generally weak battery life. I think I could get enough for it to get within $400 or so of buying the M1 Air.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I have the same exact question. Like the OP, I've also noticed that my 2020 i5 Air seems slow at times, gets hot when doing Zoom calls, has generally weak battery life. I think I could get enough for it to get within $400 or so of buying the M1 Air.

Do it - asap

 

[ssampath]

I sold my 2020 core i5 Air and bought a 16Gb M1 Air. I was unhappy with the way the fan would go off on the core i5 during zoom and Teams calls and the overall sluggishness of the machine. I really dislike fans in laptops, had upgraded to the i5 from a 12" MacBook. The M1 Air is a wonderful machine, I did not want to take any changes and so got the 16Gb but that may not be necessary for most people. I would thoroughly recommend the M1 Air to one and all!!

 

[MacCraig Pro]

I had a 2020 i3 MBA and I bought it 4 days before the announcement of M1's.

It lasted 2 weeks in my ownership before I returned it, it was slow and more than lagged. It completely locked up doing a few more intensive tasks like streaming to Facebook via Ecamm.

I returned it and bought a base M1 Air and I can honestly say I do not regret it; the M1 is phenomenal and I have not had any slow downs, lags or anything and this thing gets barely hot.

 

[ChrisChaval]

I traded in my 2018 Air to Apple for $550 and turned around and purchased a base M1 Air for $999. So yeah, I took a bit of a hit, but I couldn't be happier. This little M1 Air is a such a joy to use: way way faster, no stutter, no lag, near instant boot up. Plus, it's got Wi-fi 6, Bluetooth 5, a better keyboard, etc.

If I was you, I'd probably dump the i5 air while you can get something for it because I think they're eventually going to be worthless. or near worthless. The M-based Airs and Pros are going to take over the Apple computing world, IMO, and all the Intel-based MacBooks will be paperweights. But what do I know.

I did the same and couldn't agree more

 

[LED]

the only reason I ask, is because I do notice stutters even just browsing the web. I think it's mainly graphical, but it often doesn't feel 'buttery smooth' that the M1 air is suppose to feel. But maybe it is just the OS?

I guess the main question is, will I notice a difference in speed and performance?

I traded my 2020 i5 for the M1 air and I do notice a performance difference between the two. That said, I do have slightly choppy scrolling on some web sites (Mac rumors included) with the M1 (same with the i5). This battery though! Makes the upgrade worth it.

 

[shenfrey]

I traded my 2020 i5 for the M1 air and I do notice a performance difference between the two. That said, I do have slightly choppy scrolling on some web sites (Mac rumors included) with the M1 (same with the i5). This battery though! Makes the upgrade worth it.

Guess that’s just the site then?

 

[LED]

Guess that’s just the site then?

That seems to be the consensus from others experiencing the same. Aside from that, this M1 is a beast. I picked it up on Christmas Eve so I've not been back to work since but I'm looking forward to seeing how it performs on Webex Teams video calls. The i5 would easily reach temps of 85-90c and that was with the heatsink mod I did on it. I'm excited about this M1 being fanless and running really cool.

 

[thadoggfather]

That said, I do have slightly choppy scrolling on some web sites (Mac rumors included) with the M1 (same with the i5). This battery though! Makes the upgrade worth it.

That's a Big Sur problem not hardware

 

[Tenkaykev]

I had the i5 2020 Air. I did the shim and pad mod which greatly improved performance. When the M1 came out I passed the i5 Air on to my wife and got the base Air M1 for myself. My Wife's 2014 Air was passed on to our daughter so everyone's a winner!
The M1 Air is as good as they say, completely silent with outstanding battery life.

(I have a theory about the battery life, Apple have borrowed secret battery technology from Fisher Price. They made the push along musical kiddies stroller that my three year old granddaughter plays with each day. I've been waiting an eternity for the batteries to fail, they're still as good as new nearly two years later. I find myself falling asleep murmuring " Welcome to our learning Farm, we've got lots to show you, shapes and colours, Music too, there's so much to do - woo" 😀

 

[dborja]

Good points brought up in this thread. I decided to pull the trigger. My 2015 MBA was actually better than my early 2020 i5 MBA - better battery life, better performance and hardly needed to turn the fan full blast. With the attractive trade-in price being offered, I'm going for it now rather than wait until the Fall or next year when the price for my 2020 MBA will be lower and probably no refresh happening this year anyway. Looking forward...