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ade555

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 14, 2021
92
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I decided to share my personal opinion and experience regards the MBA M1. I purchased this MBA back in Jan 2022 as a work horse (if you can call this) for office type work/school general web type, just go to sort of device. Pick up and use it. When they originally come out there was this talk and still is when buying new MBA or MBP about spec what should I get? Well in our case giving that is not a video editing machine or anything like that I decided the base spec is enough 8gb ram/256SSD, currently having 3 users setup and this is huge surprise even my wife found fairly easy doing her bits and trust me she is not tech person at all. Took her couple months to adjust to macOS from windows but she gets it now and ability to work along with her iPhone she agrees that this eco system works in our house hold. We still have Windows base work horse but hardly ever use it anymore. Daughter use it for school, even at school and I was bit worried at first but is proven to be very robust device. Battery health after all this time is still at 97% and we just stick it on charger when it needs it. Size is perfect for a this type of device and need, light and powerful enough for what we use. So as you can tell happy with purchase and in future will upgrade to newer device and can't see my self getting anything else as a laptop device. Honestly if anyone read this and thinking about getting the newer MBA's or MBP I don't think one can be disappointed specially if you thinking of upgrading your window base laptop.
 
I have my M1 MacBook Air since almost 3 years and I use it daily for work and at home.
I have to admit that I do prefer this design and not the new M2 MacBook Air 2.

For me it is a timeless, functional and iconic design - may the best Design ever.
And it is still a homage to Steve Jobs and Jony Ive, a true Masterpiece.

If M3 or M4 MBA would adopt this kind of wedge design, I would not think twice and go for it.
 
Regardless of what other propeller heads state, if a person is happy with their decision and purchase, regardless of the configuration, the device gets the job done, then all is good.

I too liked the wedge shape as it made the machine distinctive from the pack. I wish the M2 had adopted the same shape.
 
The wedge is cool. The bezels were not. I personally like the new m2 form factor. Mostly for the screen even though its really not that different. The M1 Air is still an outstanding performing machine for the value. I used Pros for years until the M1 Air came out. Now I just use Airs for work. I do regular office work type stuff and not fancy graphics and the Air is perfect for that.
 
I still love my M1 Air, although the bezels make it look a little dated when sitting next to my wife's M2 version. Every so often I think to upgrade to a MBP, but eventually fall back on "nah - this thing is *just* the right size!"
 
I'm still rocking my M1 MBA, 8 G RAM, and 512 G SSD. I have a lot of movies and such so decided to go for the bigger SSD. This machine does everything I need it to since purchase 2+ years ago so I would not feel right about purchasing something newer. The battery health is at 97%, it is speedy and works like a dream.
 
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I am also using MBA M1 and love it. Funny thing is that the M1 base is overall faster than the M2 base. This is due to the fact that the M2 256GB SDD is soo slow. Amazing value and design.
 
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I originally bought the M1 MBA to replace a 2020 Intel i3 MBA. It was supposed to be the "take on holidays" computer while I'd use my 2020 i5 MBP for more serious stuff.

Yeah, about that...

The M1 MBA (base config) runs circles around the MBP, despite the MBP having 16 GB RAM.
It is my favorite laptop I've ever owned and if the battery ever dies on me, I don't think I'd hesitate to have it replaced.
This computer does everything I want (apart from some higher end gaming but that's what I have an Xbox for, anyway) and the fact that it does everything silently is a dream come true.

As others have said, though, I wish Apple had kept the wedge shape for the M2 MBA. And yes, I also still wish they'd brought the rumored vibrant colors. Maybe some day...
 
yup still loving mine, had it since Dec 2020 - daily driver for work, handles huge Excels fine and have also edited video on holiday! Battery is still superb, lasted a whole day of travelling on a train connected to wifi for 4 hours total, then about 5 hours of taking notes etc and still had battery left!

I did dabble with a few Windows 2 in 1s to get touch and pen but the fans drove me crazy after the silent MBA and the battery life was dreadful in comparison.
 
Yes, the M1 MBA is an excellent machine. I bought one (16/512) for my wife, and she loves it. In performance it also is much faster than my 2019 Intel 16" MBP which has twice the RAM and storage (ie 32GB/1TB) plus the MBA runs cold too. Very glad I bought it.
 
My base M1 MacBook Air does a great job with the tasks I give it. Along with the Intel Air's wedge shape, I also miss its SD slot and ports on each side as there are times I need to charge and plug in a peripheral (or two peripherals) simultaneously.
 
Yeah, the M1 Air is awesome. I used one for work for a while until I got an M2 Air. I only upgraded because I wanted the new form factor and because toys. I had 0 issues with the M1 Air. Honestly, with day to day stuff I don't notice any performance difference between the M1 Air and M2 Air. I did get the M2 Air with 512 because of the 256 slowness thing. My wife has an M1 Air and she loves it.
 
M1 chip is definitely still a very fantastic and capable chip, biggest leap apples made in a long time. I got an M1 iPad and definitely still overpowered for that limited os lol. I tried to get my wife to convert from her Razer laptop to a MacBook but she refuses to try and learn a new os, she's set in her ways lol. I got my MacBook Air and a full windows gaming machine, I love having both in the house. To be honest, I have way to much tech in my house lol
 
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