Massively
And that's dropping down from a 2019 27" i5 iMac 5K retina!
The MBA is super-slick
What made you change from the iMac?
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Are you happy with your MacBook Air?
- Thread starter trevpimp
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What made you change from the iMac?
Fired up a couple of games on the M1 Air, I'm impressed. StarCraft 2 runs natively at 1680x1050 at a mix of high and medium settings. Re-visited Parallels and fired up Xbox Game Pass. Command and Conquer Remastered runs flawlessly. Not that I'll be doing much gaming on this laptop, but it's great for travel, etc., to be able to play these 2 games.
Instead of re-typing it all out; please see here (start from post #1):
13" M1 MBP vs 16" Intel MBP
I don't lug it anywhere; it's my desktop :) Plus oneHDD is the TimeMachine and the other is iTunes (which is 3TB as I type this); so neither could be stored on any Mac... If I'm out and about; I've got my iPhone. Nom need for my MBA to go anywhere Sometimes I'll have a change of scenery and...
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Yep, replaced my 16” with it and perfect to use it on the go and docked at home. 8GB of unified memory more than enough
I did say earlier in this thread I was happy with the Air, and I still feel that way, but I do have one complaint. I hate that on the right side of the Mac there is only one slot and that for a headphone (Or I guess microphone) jack. You could have put a USB A or HDMI port on that side or something. I like the idea of Thunderbolt ports, but they seem to be a niche genre right now. I bought an accessory for USB A and HDMI for the Mac, but I never use anything on the right side and that seems like a snafu on Apple's part.
Even worse, all the headset I have and know has the wired connection on the left side. Also how I am orientated when I need to connect power in bed, sofa or desk is on the right side. So it is just wrong, wrong and wrong. Luckily battery life is good I mostly use it on battery every else than at my desk (external display), if not, I do have an extension usb-c cord to mitigate the annoyance and never use wired headset.
Love mine! I just got the 512/8GB version a few days ago. Bit the bullet and traded in my 16-inch base model. During the pandemic, I sorely needed a new laptop after my 4GB 2013 MacBook Pro was crawling to a halt. I actually wanted one of the early 2020 Airs, but orders were backed up and I started reading more about thermal throttling issues. So I found a refurbished i7 16 GB Pro and used that. I enjoyed it, especially the screen and graphics, but it was like a jet engine on my lap. I'm very happy with the performance, battery, and temperature. I use graphic software like inDesign and Affinity Designer and it works flawlessly on this model. And now that I am in the world again, I highly appreciate the weight of the Air vs. the Pro.
It's okay. I wish I could virtualize more than ARM64 versions of Linux and a version of Windows 10 that isn't really meant for mass adoption by consumers and with more than Parallels Desktop (which I'm not anywhere near as much of a fan of compared to VMware Fusion). I wish I could natively game on it with more than World of Warcraft. And I miss Boot Camp. Otherwise, it's perfectly fine.I was always intrigued with the thinness of the MacBook Air way back in 09'
Im super happy with my M1 MacBook Air that I have today
Go Apple
You jumped through the hoops with being a Windows Insider and thus getting Windows on ARM? Nice.
I like my mid 2017 air well enough. But it was quite long in the tooth when I bought it and the only reason I purchased it at the time was my 2009 MBP completely died unexpectedly, wasn't worth trying to repair and I needed a laptop ASAP without breaking the bank. I love the form factor but the base Intel processor is slooow and the display leaves a lot to be desired. I chose it over the 12" MB because of the price and the MBA had a dependable keyboard.
So yesterday when Amazon had the base M1 MBA on sale I grabbed one. Really looking forward to checking out the M1. I know it will be faster and I'm hoping the Retina display will be a big improvement. And I can't wait for the touch ID feature so I don't have to type my long password all the time. And and soon as the M1A/M2 Mini comes out I'm going get one to replace my late 2012 Mini that is stuck on Catalina.
So yesterday when Amazon had the base M1 MBA on sale I grabbed one. Really looking forward to checking out the M1. I know it will be faster and I'm hoping the Retina display will be a big improvement. And I can't wait for the touch ID feature so I don't have to type my long password all the time. And and soon as the M1A/M2 Mini comes out I'm going get one to replace my late 2012 Mini that is stuck on Catalina.
I just ordered a new M1 MBA - back to MacOS for my personal PC after using Windows/Surface Pro Since 2018. Before that I had been using a ThinkPad Yoga (LOVE the ThinkPad keyboards) . My last Apple laptop was in 2011 - The first Wedge shaped MacBook Air.
The New M1 Air I have ordered is actually significantly cheaper than what I paid for the 2011 model back then. The current price point plus the promise of improved performance were part of the reason I have decided to return to the Macbook Air. Oh, the disappointment with some of the software progress on the iPad Pro front also contributed to this switch to the MBA.
The New M1 Air I have ordered is actually significantly cheaper than what I paid for the 2011 model back then. The current price point plus the promise of improved performance were part of the reason I have decided to return to the Macbook Air. Oh, the disappointment with some of the software progress on the iPad Pro front also contributed to this switch to the MBA.
Just ordered 8GB/1TB – 10% discount for Space Grey for some reason. (I'm not complaining.) After I broke five MBP 2017 keyboards within three months I went with a Lenovo Yoga C930. After a few months of really trying to get used to Windows I hackintoshed it. Unfortunately, the thing's largely made of plastic. While you can open it (which I had to do to replace the SSD and the wifi card) that means you have to open it to clean the dust out. Regularly. It broke twice. I bought an extra year of warranty. And then… the KEYBOARD started doubling strokes or not registering them at all. LENOVO, FFS, I BOUGHT THIS FOR THE KEYBOARD.
There is a reason why Apple computers are more expensive than Windows ones. I was expecting to keep my radiator, I mean – Lenovo, for five years. I also wanted to wait for those new "high end Macbook Airs," but I'm a writer. I can't deal with a wonky keyboard until 2022, especially when the days get hot and the laptop goes through one ice brick per hour. And the funniest (?) thing is that the Yoga still runs cooler on macOS than on Windows. Cooler meaning "I still sometimes need heating during the winter."
There is a reason why Apple computers are more expensive than Windows ones. I was expecting to keep my radiator, I mean – Lenovo, for five years. I also wanted to wait for those new "high end Macbook Airs," but I'm a writer. I can't deal with a wonky keyboard until 2022, especially when the days get hot and the laptop goes through one ice brick per hour. And the funniest (?) thing is that the Yoga still runs cooler on macOS than on Windows. Cooler meaning "I still sometimes need heating during the winter."
OMGLSKDL:GJSDLKGJSG this thing is incredible. I've been opening and closing Photoshop just to see it open within one second. I wish I could have afforded 16 GB rather than 8 GB for one reason – Brave reloads tabs when there are too many. VERY first world problem. But… this thing WON'T LAG. And it won't get warm – it did initially when indexing and downloading photos and copying old data (I did a clean reinstall for the first time in 7-8 years and, uh, apparently I had 120 GB of garbage…) but now? Silent and room temperature. No matter what I do.
It has to get bad eventually, right? This is only because it's new and it will get really hot and lou– oh hang on, no fan – uh – I think I'm happy, yes.
Edit: the battery.
THE BATTERY.
I've been using it disconnected from the charger just to see what happens. So far four hours happened and 9:35 is left. I'm doing, well, everything at once, including syncing the photo library.
It has to get bad eventually, right? This is only because it's new and it will get really hot and lou– oh hang on, no fan – uh – I think I'm happy, yes.
Edit: the battery.
THE BATTERY.
I've been using it disconnected from the charger just to see what happens. So far four hours happened and 9:35 is left. I'm doing, well, everything at once, including syncing the photo library.
I don't love it. Its a very good laptop. There isn't anything wrong with it. The screen is good, the sound is good, its lightweight, battery life is good, but.... its smaller than I want. I'll probably keep it because Apple may never make what I need; a 17" MacBook Air. Much rather have this than an iPad for my needs, but if they ever make a 17" air I might even preorder... not holding my breath.
The M1 Air is decent. I think any problems that I have with it stem directly from it not having Intel niceties like Boot Camp or x86-64 native boot and/or virtualization capabilities and there being a number of apps and games that I use that won't likely ever make the jump to Apple Silicon. But certainly, as far as it being an Apple Silicon Mac, it's great and I'm sort of hoping that it's a while before Apple redesigns it (now having perfected the design it has now by not having Intel inside [as the Intel versions with this body style never had enough cooling to be anywhere near as capable]).
I love the design of the M1 MacBook Air it's in perfect design wise I wouldn't change a thing
I just know there's going to be a design change someday
I was thinking earlier that it's actually a genius move. "Here's our new Macbook Air with our new CPU. The computer looks the same and costs the same, there was no need to change anything. Oh! Only it's silent. And waaaaaay faster. And never gets hot. And the battery lasts 15 hours. How sad for Intel
"
I love mine from the performance and battery life perspective, coming from a 16" just the weight and size alone was a huge difference.
Personally I intend to keep on going with the Air format, I have been giving a lot of thought regarding what should I upgrade to next (I have the base model) since I only acquired this Air as a temporary machine to get away from the issues of my 16" alongside with the fact that I'm always doing remote work these days so it doesn't make any sense to have a big chunky machine since I'm no longer moving around.
When I'm home I connect to my external display and everything is awesome! Just really need that extra external display.
Honestly I plan to upgrade to the next high end MacBook Air, either that or the next Pro.
Personally I intend to keep on going with the Air format, I have been giving a lot of thought regarding what should I upgrade to next (I have the base model) since I only acquired this Air as a temporary machine to get away from the issues of my 16" alongside with the fact that I'm always doing remote work these days so it doesn't make any sense to have a big chunky machine since I'm no longer moving around.
When I'm home I connect to my external display and everything is awesome! Just really need that extra external display.
Honestly I plan to upgrade to the next high end MacBook Air, either that or the next Pro.
I was thinking earlier that it's actually a genius move. "Here's our new Macbook Air with our new CPU. The computer looks the same and costs the same, there was no need to change anything. Oh! Only it's silent. And waaaaaay faster. And never gets hot. And the battery lasts 15 hours. How sad for Intel
That's a good way to put it 😉
Intel just needs to make a comeback
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For sure. No Apple design lives forever. I'm just hoping that this one lives on long enough, especially now that it has an appropriate thermal envelope for the enclosed CPU/SoC for once! It'd be a pity if there was only one Rev of this design where it wasn't problematic before they scrapped it and completely change it over. I guess that sentiment applies to the MacBook Pros as well, though those are much more obviously due for a refresh given that the average MacBook Pro design lives on for 4-5 years (and we're already in year 5 of this overall design, Magic Keyboard and returning physical escape key changes totally aside).
switching from a 16 inch mbp to air, its cooler, obviously quieter, I just think a 16 inch air would be the perfect combination for many users. don't need a redesign, mini-leds, whatever. just take the internals of the air and give it a big screen. don't charge more than 500 above the 13 and you got a winner.
I am starting to have second thoughts because I have read, that it is not only brightness, but also contrast that is better on MBP. Combined with people saying the fan is never running (my main reason to go MBA) and that the price difference in my configuration (8GPU 16GB ram 1TB ssd) is relatively insignificant compared to the price difference of base versions. Also all the debate about touch-bar has made me curious.