The MacBook Air - A fan-less experience!

It's really no surprise that Apple is highlighting the MacBook Air (M1, 2020) as a radical redesign of the company's lightest and smallest laptop.All of this is thanks to Apple's latest M1 CPU, an ARM-based chip that has replaced the Intel processors that dominated previous Air models.To make it complete, macOs BigSur goes hand-in-hand with the M1 chip.

Price

The new MacBook Air (2020) is available for $999 costing the same as its predecessor (MacBook Air 2020 - Intel), making it an incredibly appealing compact form laptop. Although the previous MacBook Air (2020) is still functional, this updated model offers new hardware, most notably the M1 chip, for the same price.This model will persuade you if the previous 2020 model didn't.

As mentioned above the base model costs $999. As is customary, a variety of requirements are available at launch, and you can further configure them to get the MacBook Air (2020) that best meets your needs and budget.The base model comes with an M1 processor, which has an 8-core CPU and a 7-core GPU, as well as 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.

A higher-spec model with an M1 chip with an 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage is also available for $1,249, with an M1 chip with an 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. So, for that additional cash, you're getting an extra GPU core and double the storage.For an additional $200, you can upgrade to 16GB of RAM and up to 2TB of SSD capacity (for $800).

Comparing this to other Windows-based laptops like the Dell XPS 13, Apple has given users a top-of-the-line laptop for an affordable price.So, hats off to Apple for that.

Design

Although the new MacBook Air has a lot of updates on the inside, most notably the new M1 chip, little has changed on the outside.Yeah, this model looks (and feels) identical to the previous model (and the model before that). This may be good news for fans of the MacBook Air's design, but we believe it's a bit of a missed opportunity. We'd have liked to see Apple take some design risks with the M1-based MacBook Air, even if it was only by making it lighter or slimming down the bezels that surround the screen, because it's such an innovative and exciting product.

Apple has done some very exciting stuff on the inside with this laptop, such as moving to its own M1 chip and designing macOS Big Sur from the ground up to take advantage of it, all while keeping the device's architecture totally unchanged. There's good news and bad news here. Let's start with the good news. Many people believe that the iconic design of the MacBook Air is nearly flawless, and that no radical changes are needed. At the same time, the MacBook Air was in danger of being outclassed by more ambitious competitors by merely providing small spec bumps every year. So, by focusing on revolutionising the hardware of the MacBook Air rather than tinkering with the design, Apple is doing what many of its critics have suggested it should do: concentrate on the unglamorous, but critical, material. What's the bad news? Since the MacBook Air (M1, 2020) and macOS Big Sur promise to be such a game-changer, the fact that it looks – and sounds – just like previous MacBook Airs is, to put it mildly, frustrating.

The measurements of the MacBook Air (M1, 2020) are 0.16–0.63 x 11.97 x 8.36 inches (0.41–1.61 x 30.41 x 21.24cm) and the weight of 2.8 pounds (1.29kg) are identical to those of the MacBook Air (2020) and the 2019 model, and almost identical to those of the 2018 Air, which is slightly smaller.

Performance

However, when it comes to results, we have no reservations. In several ways, the M1 has proven to be a total beast that puts Intel to shame. People were blown away by the performance of the MacBook Air (M1, 2020) during their time with it.

Big Sur runs smoothly, and the new look of the operating system is refreshing though remaining familiar.The MacBook Air boots up easily (another advantage of the M1 chip), Big Sur feels fast and responsive, and the new look for the operating system really impresses. The interface has a far more sleek feel to it, with vivid, vibrant colours that really highlight the screen on the MacBook Air. It's much less cluttered, meaning you won't be distracted by icons and options, and the Control Center has been revamped to match the iOS edition. It has a cleaner appearance and is easier to use.

It's impressive that both new and legacy apps run well on the M1 chip, and there don't appear to be any problems running apps designed for Intel Macs using Rosetta 2, Apple's tool for allowing older Mac apps to run on the M1. Also a big win is the fact that you can now run thousands of iOS apps and games almost flawlessly.

Thanks to some tech gadgetry using Apple's Rosetta 2 tool, which enables apps to run on the new architecture, all applications that you normally run in macOS on Intel-based MacBooks should work fine with the new MacBook Air (M1, 2020).Now Apple has introduced Universal apps which allows iPad apps too to work in the Macs.

Video editing and rendering is just butter smooth.It can also render upto 5 4k videos in the same time.Now that’s impressive!

Battery life

The laptop's battery life appears to be excellent, and the fanless nature ensures it runs quietly; however, developers are concerned about how it handles heat.

Although, Apple could have done a more thorough job in the design section.

The new MacBook Air has the longest of any MacBook Air to date, according to Apple, with up to 15 hours of wireless web browsing or up to 18 hours of video.

Display

The MacBook Air (M1, 2020) now has a screen that supports the P3 large colour gamut, resulting in more accurate, true-to-life images. P3 support was previously only available on the more expensive MacBook Pros, so it's nice to see Apple add it to the MacBook Air lineup. If you're a photographer or video editor who needs correct colours, a MacBook Pro is no longer the only choice.

The screen is also encircled by those wide, thick bezels that have been a staple of the MacBook Air's design for a long time and make this laptop feel a little dated. Devices like the Dell XPS 13 have extremely thin bezels around the display, which not only makes them look more modern, but also allows the makers to shrink the overall size of the laptop while maintaining the same screen size.

Camera and Ports

The webcam above the phone, which is the same 720p FaceTime webcam as before, is also unchanged. When most rivals offer 1080p, the 720p resolution seems distinctly old, and with more people working from home these days, we wish Apple had given the webcam a boost.

The two Thunderbolt 3 ports and an audio jack are the same as on recent MacBook Airs. The Thunderbolt 3 ports can charge devices, power external monitors, and transmit data at up to 40 gigabits per second. We're relieved to see that Apple's decision to use its own M1 processor rather than Intel's hasn't resulted in the loss of Thunderbolt ports.(as Thunderbolt is developed by intel).

Which model to buy?

If you are looking to buy the MacBook Air for everyday use or for primary educational uses, then the base model is the recommended model for you. You will get 256gb of SSD and 8gb of internal memory for $999 in the base model.

But if you are a heavy user and your work

includes video editing, rendering, photo editing, programming, web development etc, then do consider upgrading the internal memory to 16 gb, which will cost you an extra $200.

Also, for power users, upgrading the SSD too is recommended. You can upgrade it upto 2 Tb of storage. You can also consider the MacBook Pro M1 if you have heavy workloads, as it has more efficient active thermal cooling with a fan present in it.

In short, the MacBook Air is the best Mac you can buy right now, given the breathtaking performance and the shockingly affordable price.

Hope you found value ,

Thanks for reading!