Macbook Air M1?

chrism_scotland

chrism_scotland

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Folks; looking for a little advice; I'm looking for a portable laptop that I can use for editing; graphic stuff and work and for doing the odd thing that "needs" a desktop OS when I'm not at home.
The new Macbook Air M1 is very tempting given the pricing, battery life and the general "buzz" about how good that M1 chip is.
I just wondered if anyone has one and how they're getting on with it? I've had a Surface Laptop 4 for work and looked at that but the pricing and even availability is a bit crazy!
 
I have a base model MacBook Air M1 which I am using as a stopgap till I can get a more powerful Mac mini.
works just fine with LR for 24mp RAW files. A bit slower on higher res 50-60mp files but not unbearable.

battery life is indeed very good and my missus really enjoys using it.

if you have any specific questions let me know and I'll try my best to answer.
 
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nandbytes said:
I have a base model MacBook Air M1 which I am using as a stopgap till I can get a more powerful Mac mini.
works just fine with LR for 24mp RAW files. A bit slower on higher res 50-60mp files but not unbearable.

battery life is indeed very good and my missus really enjoys using it.

if you have any specific questions let me know and I'll try my best to answer.
Click to expand...

Thanks appreciate it! I know power wise it looks like the M1 wipes the floor with most of the CPU's in a Windows laptop.
I did try MacOS a few years ago (6-7) and struggled a bit but I'm more used to Apple now and for what I want the hardware just looks far better!
 
chrism_scotland said:
Thanks appreciate it! I know power wise it looks like the M1 wipes the floor with most of the CPU's in a Windows laptop.
I did try MacOS a few years ago (6-7) and struggled a bit but I'm more used to Apple now and for what I want the hardware just looks far better!
Click to expand...

I have gone back and forth a little bit between the two in last year.
I prefer the Mac osx experience overall. I think apple stopped chasing specs a while back. on paper apple products never look to be on par (in whatever format). But the overall experience with Macs have been smooth and painless in general. It does everything I want it to do smoothly.

My only issue with apple is I don't like being locked down into one ecosystem. Plus I don't like most apple products apart from the their M1 offerings.
In all honesty I'd prefer to use a windows computer but I haven't found one in the form factor that I liked and worked as smoothly.

Its the same with LR subscription for me. I'd love to get rid of LR sub but have't found a software that does everything LR does and nearly as smoothly.
So I am kinda stuck with it too.
 
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nandbytes said:
I have gone back and forth a little bit between the two in last year.
I prefer the Mac osx experience overall. I think apple stopped chasing specs a while back. on paper apple products never look to be on par (in whatever format). But the overall experience with Macs have been smooth and painless in general. It does everything I want it to do smoothly.

My only issue with apple is I don't like being locked down into one ecosystem. Plus I don't like most apple products apart from the their M1 offerings.
In all honesty I'd prefer to use a windows computer but I haven't found one in the form factor that I liked and worked as smoothly.

Its the same with LR subscription for me. I'd love to get rid of LR sub but have't found a software that does everything LR does and nearly as smoothly.
So I am kinda stuck with it too.
Click to expand...

It just seems that the M1 Air's are so good for the price v equivalent Windows kit; even the 13" MBP with the M1 isn't too badly priced; I'm must more familiar with Windows though.
I too prefer not to be locked into one eco-system; most of my stuff like backup and file-sync runs off my own UnRaid server which makes it nicely device agnostic and I use OneDrive/O365 for work which works on anything these days.

I've got a Windows Desktop (for gaming), Samsung S21 Ultra and Watch for my mobile and then possibly an M1 Macbook Air so I'm fairly well spread out!
 
Well I picked up the low end Macbook Air last Monday (they don't hold the 16GB model in stock) and it was a revelation.
Battery is incredible, for the first time I can truly not worry about a plug or even a powerbank and still get all day usage and more

The performance is rapid, the webcam and mics seems great and I can't even complain about MacOs!

It has however gone back.... managed to order a refurb, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD for only £1350 and its turned up brand new, very very happy and has sated my desire to buy an iPad, this will nicely complement my Android Tablet for those times it can't do something.
 
chrism_scotland said:
Well I picked up the low end Macbook Air last Monday (they don't hold the 16GB model in stock) and it was a revelation.
Battery is incredible, for the first time I can truly not worry about a plug or even a powerbank and still get all day usage and more

The performance is rapid, the webcam and mics seems great and I can't even complain about MacOs!

It has however gone back.... managed to order a refurb, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD for only £1350 and its turned up brand new, very very happy and has sated my desire to buy an iPad, this will nicely complement my Android Tablet for those times it can't do something.
Click to expand...
I'm glad it's worked out for you.
Mine was a gift so I can't sell it lol

But I'll eventually buy a more powerful one
 
nandbytes said:
I'm glad it's worked out for you.
Mine was a gift so I can't sell it lol

But I'll eventually buy a more powerful one
Click to expand...

Damn those gifts! Lol.
Really delighted with it, I can see why it's getting the plaudits it is
 
chrism_scotland said:
Well I picked up the low end Macbook Air last Monday (they don't hold the 16GB model in stock) and it was a revelation.
Battery is incredible, for the first time I can truly not worry about a plug or even a powerbank and still get all day usage and more

The performance is rapid, the webcam and mics seems great and I can't even complain about MacOs!

It has however gone back.... managed to order a refurb, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD for only £1350 and its turned up brand new, very very happy and has sated my desire to buy an iPad, this will nicely complement my Android Tablet for those times it can't do something.
Click to expand...
Your refurbed machine is exactly what I've been scouring the net for over the past couple of weeks. Can I ask where you sourced it?
 
learningtofly said:
Your refurbed machine is exactly what I've been scouring the net for over the past couple of weeks. Can I ask where you sourced it?
Click to expand...

Apple themselves run a refurb store and provide full warranty on the items.
There are a few M1 machines on there:
www.apple.com

Refurbished Mac Deals - 2020

Save up to 15% on a refurbished Mac. Tested and certified by Apple including a 1-year warranty. Free delivery and returns.
www.apple.com
 
The Apple Refurb and Clearance section is always worth perusing. It’s at the bottom of their website. We've had great success from there.
 
nandbytes said:
Apple themselves run a refurb store and provide full warranty on the items.
There are a few M1 machines on there:
www.apple.com

Refurbished Mac Deals - 2020

Save up to 15% on a refurbished Mac. Tested and certified by Apple including a 1-year warranty. Free delivery and returns.
www.apple.com
Click to expand...
Thanks - I'll have a look, but £1350 sounds like more than a 15% saving so has me wondering.
 
Just adding some hopefully helpful info to this thread - I've heard that the UK apple stores will price match any online prices. Also, John Lewis usually have prices a bit lower than Apple.
I'm very happy with the M1 so far. Now waiting for a 27" with an SD card slot.
 
The 13" MBP is barely bigger than the Air, and has a longer battery life, and 8 cores of graphics.
 
Pound Coin said:
The 13" MBP is barely bigger than the Air, and has a longer battery life, and 8 cores of graphics.
Click to expand...
The version of the air with 16gb of ram has 8 graphic cores as well. The only problem may be is that it does not have a fan so may throttle down because of heat buildup.

The only time my MBP M1 turns its fans on is sometimes when exporting complicated 4k video edits from premier pro (with a load of after effects in there). I have had it since march and it has happened three times since then.

T
 
Pound Coin said:
The 13" MBP is barely bigger than the Air, and has a longer battery life, and 8 cores of graphics.
Click to expand...
You can also get the Air with 8 graphics cores. With the Pro you're getting the annoying Touch Bar keyboard, a slightly brighter screen (500 NITS, rather than the 400 NITS of the Air), slightly longer battery life (20 hours, rather than the 18 hours of the Air), slightly better sound, and a fan that will almost never run.

The M1 MacBook Pro just isn't worth £250 more than the equivalent Air in my view. YMMV.
 
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I picked up a refurb one, so wasn't too worried about the price difference. You get a 61W power supply, as opposed to a 30W one
 
learningtofly said:
Your refurbed machine is exactly what I've been scouring the net for over the past couple of weeks. Can I ask where you sourced it?
Click to expand...

Looks like you were sorted but purchased from Apple Direct; honestly must have just been a return; no sign of any user at all
 
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