“The MacBook Air M1 finally fulfills the promise of a small laptop without performance restraints.”

Apple's M1 blows Intel away; Phenomenal battery life; Excellent keyboard and touchpad; Rock-solid build quality; Simple good looks

Supports only one external display

The more expensive MacBook Air 2020 M1 basically shares the same pros and cons we found during the review of the entry-level model. The MacBook Air benefits a lot from the M1 processor.

stays cool despite the lack of a fan; workmanship and iconic design; speakers; performance of native apps

Thunderbolt with limitations; large display bezels; 720p webcam; stability in Rosetta emulated apps; CPU throttling under longer load; relatively slow WiFi 6 at only 80 MHz

The MacBook Air (M1) takes everything that was great about the previous generation and brings it to a new level....

Apple M1 Processor Iconic design Build quality Impressive battery life Large trackpad Good audio for a laptop

Lack of ports 720p camera Possible app incompatibly during the transition phase

Everything fine with the product delivery very very slow compared with Australia Post. Wouldn’t use home delivery ever again

Like driving a Corolla for ten years now jumping into a Ferrari

There will always be things to complain about – like getting just two USB ports and a headphone socket for connectivity, for example, or the base model’s weird 7-core GPU, but honestly, if you look at the design quality, the performance, the screen and its everyday ergonomic finesse, the MacBook Air...

Finish; design; weight; Excellent Retina display; Silent; fanless design; Performance!

No HDMI port or memory card slot; 8-core GPU model costs more; Barely lighter than MacBook Pro

The thing with the new MacBook Air with M1 is that it is delivering on all the promises. Performance is, for the lack of a better word, incredible. Battery life is, for the lack of a better word, fantastic. System stability is, without a shadow of a doubt, perfectly nailed in.

Super-fast; Great battery life; Retina display is superb;

Webcam poor; Thick bezels ;

Blazing speeds, better battery - but a disappointing camera

Super-fast; Great battery life; Retina display is superb

Webcam poor; Thick bezels

Stop press. This is the best MacBook Air we’ve ever used, and for once we aren’t overly hankering for a Pro as the M1 chip means the Air’s significant performance boost allows you to dip into both video editing and graphics-heavy gaming without breaking so much as a sweat. The battery is a trooper, and though it might age over time, a day’s work is entirely achievable. There really is only one bugbear, and it’s that rubbish webcam, which in the age of essential video calling is an annoyance we're finding hard to shake off. If you can get over it, though, the MacBook Air (M1) arguably becomes the best all-round work laptop for under a grand.

Super-fast; Great battery life; Retina display is superb;

Webcam poor; Thick bezels ;