So M1 MBA vs base iMac?

[ssledoux]

Just curious which and why (specs only - laptop vs desktop aside). I MAY get another full on computer just because of my photos and being able to do the things I want to do with them that I just cannot do as easily on my iPad.

I don’t really understand specs as in what they really mean in the day-day, and for my uses, I know most of the base stuff is fine, but I’m just wondering if the display on the base iMac is gonna be noticeably different (I did have a retina before, but I had a fusion drive, and reading on here made me a bit paranoid about it).

The main thing I’ll be using this for is making custom photo books, likely on Shutterfly. I think once I’ve gotten the bulk of the older ones done, I might be able to keep up with it via the iPad, but it’s just too much workaround to do the volume of them I need to do over the next year or two.

So anyway, which would you choose and why? Thanks!

 

[flaubert]

Well, the base iMac is currently very much a low-budget affair, with a 21.5" non-Retina display of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The M1 display is physically smaller (13") in real-world dimensions, with a 2560 x 1600 resolution. The M1 MBA Retina display is tricky to evaluate properly against the other display, since for most objects on the display (text blocks, icons, etc) the Retina system doubles the size of the object, making it seem as though you have 1280 x 800 display. The exception, I believe, is photographs, where it should take advantage of all the pixel resolution available to it. So there will be finer photographic detail visible on the M1 laptop, even though it might feel like the working area of the computer is more "cramped" - you won't be able to have as many tool palettes on screen, etc.

You actually could make this easier to choose between the two if you were willing to spend $200 more on the iMac to get the Retina 4k iMac. Then the iMac would be winning on both absolute physical size (21.5" vs 13") and pixel resolution (4096x2304 vs 2560x1600). The M1 MBA would still crush the iMac on computing performance, but that rarely transfers directly into user experience - the iMac will be slower, but "good enough."

Or, you could make it an easy choice if you were willing to spend ~$200 on an external 4k display for the M1 MBA. Now the M1 MBA would have all the display advantages, the portability advantage, AND the crushing performance advantage.

The other thing I always tell people to keep in mind these days when it comes to Apple laptops (of nearly any variety), is that you have to be prepared to live in "dongle world." Meaning, you almost certainly will have to purchase some form of port expansion to do your day-to-day work. It's just a fact that you will need to plug in some USB peripherals from time to time, such as SD card reader, printer, mouse for certain operations that are easier to do with a real mouse as opposed to a trackpad, etc. If you go for the second display option you will need a dongle as well, since the display and the power input alone will use up all the ports of the M1 MBA. The iMac will have a more complete set of ports, less need for dongles.

 

[ssledoux]

Well, the base iMac is currently very much a low-budget affair, with a 21.5" non-Retina display of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The M1 display is physically smaller (13") in real-world dimensions, with a 2560 x 1600 resolution. The M1 MBA Retina display is tricky to evaluate properly against the other display, since for most objects on the display (text blocks, icons, etc) the Retina system doubles the size of the object, making it seem as though you have 1280 x 800 display. The exception, I believe, is photographs, where it should take advantage of all the pixel resolution available to it. So there will be finer photographic detail visible on the M1 laptop, even though it might feel like the working area of the computer is more "cramped" - you won't be able to have as many tool palettes on screen, etc.

You actually could make this easier to choose between the two if you were willing to spend $200 more on the iMac to get the Retina 4k iMac. Then the iMac would be winning on both absolute physical size (21.5" vs 13") and pixel resolution (4096x2304 vs 2560x1600). The M1 MBA would still crush the iMac on computing performance, but that rarely transfers directly into user experience - the iMac will be slower, but "good enough."

Or, you could make it an easy choice if you were willing to spend ~$200 on an external 4k display for the M1 MBA. Now the M1 MBA would have all the display advantages, the portability advantage, AND the crushing performance advantage.

The other thing I always tell people to keep in mind these days when it comes to Apple laptops (of nearly any variety), is that you have to be prepared to live in "dongle world." Meaning, you almost certainly will have to purchase some form of port expansion to do your day-to-day work. It's just a fact that you will need to plug in some USB peripherals from time to time, such as SD card reader, printer, mouse for certain operations that are easier to do with a real mouse as opposed to a trackpad, etc. If you go for the second display option you will need a dongle as well, since the display and the power input alone will use up all the ports of the M1 MBA. The iMac will have a more complete set of ports, less need for dongles.

Thank you! That makes a lot of sense. Yeah I could likely make the jump for the retina iMac if I decided to go the desktop route. That’s what I had previously, albeit a slightly older version. I just wondered how noticeable a difference it would be, only because my needs are so limited, but at the same time, I don’t want it to be noticeably crappy.

My photos are all sorted and stored on USBs, so they should plug directly into either. I’m assuming the MBA has USB ports.

I have never owned, nor had a desire to own, a laptop, but I must admit this one with the long battery life and seemingly awesome performance is tempting. One reason I’d be interested in that over a desktop right now is that my desk is in my bedroom and my husband goes to bed pretty early, which leaves me unable to work on anything at night (and I’m a night owl). That’s most likely when I’d want to be working on my photo books and stuff. It would be nice to have the portability.

 

[flaubert]

The Apple M1 laptops all have USB-C ports, which are not like the usual USB ports you probably have used in the past. The designation USB-C technically refers to the physical shape and connector style; inside the ports they are actually capable of running a variant of USB3 (a protocol) and/or Thunderbolt (another protocol, one that includes display capability). Hence, the dongles to convert from USB-C to a more recognizable connector such as the one on a thumb drive, or an HDMI connector such as you would find on a display. The minimum price for a break-out dongle can be as low as $30 on Amazon for a brand that nobody's ever heard of (but which might work just fine despite that) to $60 for a Satechi dongle on the Apple site or an Other World Computing Travel Dock (both well respected products) up to fancy Thunderbolt docks with a dozen ports of all sorts on them for $200.

Sounds like you might be leaning toward the M1 MacBook Air; they're pretty amazing machines, and the M1 processor is definitely the future of Apple computing, so a safe bet there. You can always add a display (or two!) later if you find that you crave the desktop space.

 

[Amplelink]

I would not get an Intel based Mac at this point, so that rules out the iMac. If you want a desktop, just get the MBA and a nice external monitor. For the things you need to do with it, you'll be fine with a base model MBA M1.

 

[edhchoe]

I love my M1 mba. I would wait until M1 iMac is released. I cannot wait to upgrade my iMac 2011.
You could get a mba and M1 iMac later next year. They do not overlap in their purposes if you have both.
I mean, you are not wasting money if you have both.

 

[ssledoux]

I love my M1 mba. I would wait until M1 iMac is released. I cannot wait to upgrade my iMac 2011.
You could get a mba and M1 iMac later next year. They do not overlap in their purposes if you have both.
I mean, you are not wasting money if you have both.

I would definitely be wasting my money if I had both. I barely have a need for one with an iPP, but I can justify one for my photo needs.

 

[MacManTexas56]

the huge benefit with a laptop is you can take it everywhere, but also can use mouse/keyboard/monitor at home when you want to. To me, that outweighs an iMac any day.

 

[ssledoux]

the huge benefit with a laptop is you can take it everywhere, but also can use mouse/keyboard/monitor at home when you want to. To me, that outweighs an iMac any day.

Well, I don’t really need that option, since I have the iPP. That’s what I’d have for a travel device, especially with the LTE. The only thing I really NEED a computer for is something I’d only do at home anyway.

However, for my needs, the base M1 MBA price is a lot more appealing.

 

[MacManTexas56]

Well, I don’t really need that option, since I have the iPP. That’s what I’d have for a travel device, especially with the LTE. The only thing I really NEED a computer for is something I’d only do at home anyway.

However, for my needs, the base M1 MBA price is a lot more appealing.

then why is the topic MBA and not Mac Mini?

 

[Suzatlarge]

then why is the topic MBA and not Mac Mini?

I believe the OP addressed this in #3 above. She likes the idea of not being tied to a desktop setup in her home, so she can work on her projects in a different room as appropriate.

 

[MacManTexas56]

I believe the OP addressed this in #3 above. She likes the idea of not being tied to a desktop setup in her home, so she can work on her projects in a different room as appropriate.

right but then she said "Well, I don’t really need that option, since I have the iPP. That’s what I’d have for a travel device, especially with the LTE. The only thing I really NEED a computer for is something I’d only do at home anyway.

However, for my needs, the base M1 MBA price is a lot more appealing."

The point is, a laptop is portable regardless if it leaves the house or not lol.

 

[Robbosan]

Rather than start another thread.

Does anyone know how my late 2015 iMac 27" 3.3ghz 24gb ram and 2TB fusion would perform against a base model Air M1? Will it be at least similar?

Reason i ask is i tried the 2020 air in March and was slower and got hot so sold it. Or would the MacBook pro M1 be a better comparison?

 

[ssledoux]

right but then she said "Well, I don’t really need that option, since I have the iPP. That’s what I’d have for a travel device, especially with the LTE. The only thing I really NEED a computer for is something I’d only do at home anyway.

However, for my needs, the base M1 MBA price is a lot more appealing."

The point is, a laptop is portable regardless if it leaves the house or not lol.

This is absolutely correct. I like having a portable option, even within my house, because of my desk setup being in our room, but, because of my iPP, I don’t really NEED another portable option. My main reason for an actual computer is to do the photo stuff which CAN be done at times when my husband isn’t asleep. However, a portable option is nice if I want to move it and work on stuff at night, and certainly the pricing of the M1 is appealing.

I actually did look at the Mac mini yesterday, but I’m so lost with that because I have no clue what to do for a monitor, and it looks like that can really drive up the price. I’m really just not super tech-savvy. I just need to be able to do what I need to do. ;-p

Truthfully, if I could get that Mac mini (with all needed components) in the price range of the Air, it would probably be great, because I DO like the idea of not always having to look down at a screen. I just couldn’t figure that out because I have no clue what I’m looking for.

 

[Suzatlarge]

This is absolutely correct. I like having a portable option, even within my house, because of my desk setup being in our room, but, because of my iPP, I don’t really NEED another portable option. My main reason for an actual computer is to do the photo stuff which CAN be done at times when my husband isn’t asleep. However, a portable option is nice if I want to move it and work on stuff at night, and certainly the pricing of the M1 is appealing.

I actually did look at the Mac mini yesterday, but I’m so lost with that because I have no clue what to do for a monitor, and it looks like that can really drive up the price. I’m really just not super tech-savvy. I just need to be able to do what I need to do. ;-p

Truthfully, if I could get that Mac mini (with all needed components) in the price range of the Air, it would probably be great, because I DO like the idea of not always having to look down at a screen. I just couldn’t figure that out because I have no clue what I’m looking for.

I have a couple of thoughts. First, I see a lot of discussions here about monitors for minis (and other Macs) by folks who use/need/want the latest greatest viewing technology on their desktop. I have no quarrel with that, but my use and budget aren't in that league. I'm happily using a couple of ASUS brand 25" monitors (both are model MX259HS which I think is now discontinued) which cost less than $200 each. (I bought one in 2016 and the other in 2018. At the moment one's connected to my Mac, and the other one is used with the company laptop while working at home.)

I do photo editing with those monitors connected to my 2014 MacBook Pro retina. I know there are much "better" monitors available if I wish to spend the money. However, I have noticed no issues with the photos I edit. They are often viewed by friends and others who are in photo clubs and meetup groups with me. I haven't noticed any problems with my photos that I would ascribe to an "inferior" monitor.

There's a topic here at the forum called "Mac Basics, Help and Buying Advice." Have you thought of asking for advice about monitors there?

As to viewing angles, if you do get the MBA and will use its screen for photo editing or other work, you don't necessarily have to "look down" at it. You can put it on a table, raised up to a comfortable eye level (even on a sturdy box), and use an external keyboard and trackpad (or mouse) at comfortable wrist level. You can probably use the keyboard and mouse from your current computer desktop setup, with an adapter that will work with the MBA's USB-C ports.