Uploaded January 2021 | Updated September 2026, 5 days ago
This is the M1 Macbook Air. One of Apple’s computers to use the new M1 Apple Silicon processor. It looks nearly identical to the Macbook air from early 2020. But the similarities are only skin deep. So, the question today is, should you spend your hard earned money on the first generation Apple Silicon macs? Here are my thoughts on these new M1 Macs. Let’s get started with a little review.
Affiliate link to product mentioned:
M1 Macbook Air: amzn.to/2NQzhsx
M1 Macbook Pro: amzn.to/2Mz0JKv
M1 Mac Mini: amzn.to/3ov1p0O
Amazon Affiliate Links to Gear I use:
Sony A7S III: amzn.to/3jD0fxC
Vanguard Alta Pro 263AB Tripod: amzn.to/2O7V8Yn
13in Macbook Pro non-touchbar: amzn.to/2F4uz27
Philips Hue Light Strip: amzn.to/2VZq2EV
Godox SL-60W: amzn.to/37LsdT0
Rode VideoMic NTG: amzn.to/2RKHVrL
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:47 Physical Features
3:41 Day-to-Day Performance
5:08 M1 Specific Performance
8:13 The Bugs and Glitches
9:48 M1 MacBook Air vs M1 Macbook Pro
10:35 Conclusion
Now let’s talk about usage. The webcam is still 720p but the colors and details look a little better than before thanks to the image processing of the new M1 that it adopted from the iphone and ipads, it’s not a drastic difference though. The mic I would say is okay. But because the macbook air is fan-less you will never hear the blaring of your laptops fans whirling up into maximum overdrive. The screen gets nice and bright. The keyboard no longer has the keyboard backlight controls on the function buttons and if you want to adjust the backlight, you’ll now have to open the quick settings panel by pressing this little sideways nintendo switch looking logo on the top right corner. As a previous owner of a 2016 Macbook pro with similar design, I’d be careful of the following things. 1. TSA, 2. Bracelets or watches. If you’re considering these macbooks, just know while these machines are built really well, with very little flexing on their bodies, they’re not prone to scratching or denting, which some people may love or hate. Now let’s talk about performance. The only times I managed to get it to thermal throttle or get hot is when I export a 4K youtube video kind of like the one you’re watching right now. That usually happens around 8-10 minutes into the export and performance drops.But in everyday usage, like web browsing, photo editing, and even video editing before exporting. It’s only warm. It’s only in those long sustained 100% cpu and gpu usage situations that it ever gets hot or throttles the performance. If you were looking at this for school work, or general computing, then I think you’d rarely throttle it. There’s also the fact that you can download iphone and ipad apps onto the M1 Macs now. Having support for these apps are cool, and I’m sure some of them are useful but because Macs in general don’t have touch screen displays, it makes it super difficult to use iOS apps that were made with touch in mind.
When a company makes a significant change to their product and how it works, and at the same time tries to maintain the same level of features, there has to be some issues right? This isn’t an extensive list, but just issues I’ve personally encountered. I’ve experienced the laptop crashing completely when downloading iphone and ipad apps that restarted the computer by itself. When I had the M1 Macbook pro, there was a large black spot that appeared in the bottom center right of the screen. It only went away if I restarted the laptop. I’ve had Final cut pro, cut the audio randomly while I’m editing. The only way to fix it is to either just wait a few minutes, or close FCP and re-open it. I’ve had issues with the trackpad going fully unresponsive, with the only way to fix it was to restart it. I’m sure with time these issues will be fixed, but it’s also fair to say, these issues exist right now, so as a buyer you should know about them. But luckily those seem to be all software issues that can be fixed over time.
This is the M1 Macbook Air. One of Apple’s computers to use the new M1 Apple Silicon processor. It looks nearly identical to the Macbook air from early 2020. But the similarities are only skin deep. So, the question today is, should you spend your hard earned money on the first generation Apple Silicon macs? Here are my thoughts on these new M1 Macs. Let’s get started with a little review.
Affiliate link to product mentioned:
M1 Macbook Air: amzn.to/2NQzhsx
M1 Macbook Pro: amzn.to/2Mz0JKv
M1 Mac Mini: amzn.to/3ov1p0O
Amazon Affiliate Links to Gear I use:
Sony A7S III: amzn.to/3jD0fxC
Vanguard Alta Pro 263AB Tripod: amzn.to/2O7V8Yn
13in Macbook Pro non-touchbar: amzn.to/2F4uz27
Philips Hue Light Strip: amzn.to/2VZq2EV
Godox SL-60W: amzn.to/37LsdT0
Rode VideoMic NTG: amzn.to/2RKHVrL
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:47 Physical Features
3:41 Day-to-Day Performance
5:08 M1 Specific Performance
8:13 The Bugs and Glitches
9:48 M1 MacBook Air vs M1 Macbook Pro
10:35 Conclusion
Now let’s talk about usage. The webcam is still 720p but the colors and details look a little better than before thanks to the image processing of the new M1 that it adopted from the iphone and ipads, it’s not a drastic difference though. The mic I would say is okay. But because the macbook air is fan-less you will never hear the blaring of your laptops fans whirling up into maximum overdrive. The screen gets nice and bright. The keyboard no longer has the keyboard backlight controls on the function buttons and if you want to adjust the backlight, you’ll now have to open the quick settings panel by pressing this little sideways nintendo switch looking logo on the top right corner. As a previous owner of a 2016 Macbook pro with similar design, I’d be careful of the following things. 1. TSA, 2. Bracelets or watches. If you’re considering these macbooks, just know while these machines are built really well, with very little flexing on their bodies, they’re not prone to scratching or denting, which some people may love or hate. Now let’s talk about performance. The only times I managed to get it to thermal throttle or get hot is when I export a 4K youtube video kind of like the one you’re watching right now. That usually happens around 8-10 minutes into the export and performance drops.But in everyday usage, like web browsing, photo editing, and even video editing before exporting. It’s only warm. It’s only in those long sustained 100% cpu and gpu usage situations that it ever gets hot or throttles the performance. If you were looking at this for school work, or general computing, then I think you’d rarely throttle it. There’s also the fact that you can download iphone and ipad apps onto the M1 Macs now. Having support for these apps are cool, and I’m sure some of them are useful but because Macs in general don’t have touch screen displays, it makes it super difficult to use iOS apps that were made with touch in mind.
When a company makes a significant change to their product and how it works, and at the same time tries to maintain the same level of features, there has to be some issues right? This isn’t an extensive list, but just issues I’ve personally encountered. I’ve experienced the laptop crashing completely when downloading iphone and ipad apps that restarted the computer by itself. When I had the M1 Macbook pro, there was a large black spot that appeared in the bottom center right of the screen. It only went away if I restarted the laptop. I’ve had Final cut pro, cut the audio randomly while I’m editing. The only way to fix it is to either just wait a few minutes, or close FCP and re-open it. I’ve had issues with the trackpad going fully unresponsive, with the only way to fix it was to restart it. I’m sure with time these issues will be fixed, but it’s also fair to say, these issues exist right now, so as a buyer you should know about them. But luckily those seem to be all software issues that can be fixed over time.
