Typical Mac easy to use

Apple has never been afraid to break with the past, especially when it leads to one of the best laptops on the market. When it decided the floppy disk was outdated, for example, it dropped it and went all-in on USB. It did the same with Motorola CPUs, dropping them for Intel when the PowerPC could no longer keep up. Now, it’s done it again, this time putting its own ARM-based silicon inside the MacBook Air, the MacBook Pro 13, and the Mac mini and leaving Intel behind. That might be a scary proposition for some MacBook fans, because how well could the Apple M1 perform when ARM’s only showcase so far has been the very underwhelming Windows 10 on ARM initiative? If you’ve read our MacBook Pro 13 M1 review, then you already know the answer to that question. At least on that machine, there’s no reason to fear. I put the MacBook Air M1 through its paces to see if the fanless version of Apple’s initiative could perform as well. For this review, I was sent the entry-level $1,000 MacBook Air M...

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 MacBook Air (M1, 2020) is easily one of the most exciting Apple laptops of recent years. Its M1 chip is a real game-changer, and the ability to run both legacy apps, new M1-optimized apps and iOS apps is very impressive. Battery life is also great, and performance is excellent as well.

macOS Big Sur is fast and responsive; Battery life is great; Silent in use; Keyboard remains very good

No new design; Fanless design could impact performance

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

I was fortunate enough to receive my built-to-order M1 MacBook Air (16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 8-core GPU) last Tuesday, and I’ve had a week to truly experience it. We’ve all read the early reviews ( Snell , Gruber , and Bohn are the highlights), and they’ve focused on the specs and the highlights, so I...

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.

After 10 years of working with my aging Apple MacBook Pro with busted speakers, undetectable Airport card, and ...

Reviewing hardware is an act of minutia. Occasionally something new or potentially earth-shattering comes along, but on the whole, it’s about chipping away. Documenting small, gradual changes designed to keep product lines fresh and — if you play your cards right — differentiating yourself from the...