The M1 MacBook Air has been available to buy for about 14 months as I make this video,
and when it first launched back in November of 2019, it was a bit of an anomaly.
Because, for the first time ever, you could purchase a MacBook Air, or a 13 inch MacBook
Pro and have essentially the same computer, thanks to the inclusion of the M1 chip, with
the only real difference of note being that the Pro model had the inclusion of an active
cooling system, and could therefore push that M1 chip a little bit harder than the passive
cooling system of the Air.
And for a year, this created a bit of a dilemma when choosing an M1 laptop.
Was the slight power increase available with the Pro, along with the slightly brighter
display, worth the extra money?
Or should you look to save money, and still enjoy almost all of the power of the incredible
M1 chip, in the smaller, lighter, cheaper M1 MacBook Air?
It was only really in November of 2021 that things became easier, or more difficult, depending
on how you look at it I guess, with the launch of the M1 Pro and Max MacBook Pros.
Because, if you were a 'pro' buyer, in the market for a pro laptop, you could disregard
the M1 computers and choose an M1 Pro or Max instead, albeit for a lot more money.
The 13 inch MacBook Pro suddenly became obsolete, at least so much as most tech reviewers, myself
included, simply couldn't recommend it to anyone anymore.
The choice was simple, buy an M1 Pro or Max laptop if you could afford it, but if not,
get the Air.
But as is always the case with technology, things don't stay the same for long, and right
now in early 2022, the potential of a new MacBook Air launching soon could make your
buying decision more difficult.
So, in this video, I'm going to do 3 things; I'm going to let you know how I feel about
the M1 MacBook Air, right now, 14 months after it launched, I'm going to talk about the rumours
relating to the upcoming M2 MacBook Air, and I'm going to try and help you decide whether
you should buy an M1 MacBook Air right now, or whether you should hold off to see what
comes next.
OK, let's get into it.
**My thoughts on the M1 MacBook Air**
I reviewed the M1 MacBook Air back in September of last year, not long after I'd bought it,
and I generally had nothing but positive things to say about it.
I won't repeat everything I said in that video, in this one, but the overall message of that
video, was that I was blown away by how much the computer could do, when compared to the
rig that I'd been using up to that point, both in terms of the cost of my previous setup
and the portability of it.
There's a lot to really like in general about the M1 MacBook Air.
The keyboard and trackpad are every bit as good as any other recent Mac laptop, and the
battery life is staggering, you can absolutely get a full day's work done on this computer
without having to reach for your charger, and probably still have some juice left over
for the next day.
Apps open blisteringly quickly, and apps optimised for Apple silicon work extremely well.
But as amazing as the M1 MacBook Air is, it isn't without it's flaws.
The display is quite dull, especially when you compare it with something like a MacBook
Pro, peaking at just 400 nits brightness.
It's entirely usable, it's just that most computer manufacturers nowadays are offering
bright, crisp displays on their laptops around the £1,000 mark.
Because that's the thing, whilst the MacBook Air is cheap for a Mac, it's still not what
I would call cheap, £1,000 is still a lot of money to spend on a computer.
The same money would buy you an iPhone 13 Pro, and whilst I know we're not comparing
Apples for Apples here, pun absolutely intended, the iPhone 13 Pro is a product-category leading
device that features the best that Apple can offer right now in terms of portable computing,
with no compromises.
The M1 MacBook Air is excellent, but it does have quite a few compromises.
Away from the display, you're limited to just 2 Thunderbolt USB C ports, a limitation of
the M1 chip in fairness, but keep in mind you're going to have to use one of those to
charge the computer as there's no Magsafe port.
And overall, the look and feel of the Air is starting to feel a little bit tired now,
in my opinion.
It is the only computer in the Mac lineup that features the wedge design, so if that's
something specifically that you're after, this is the computer that you need to buy,
but the display with it's now quite thick-looking bezels, it's just a bit underwhelming, and
not in-keeping with the rest of the Mac lineup.
**What's coming in the M2 MacBook Air?**
Now, a word of warning, anything that we talk about in this part of the video must be taken
with a rather large pinch of salt, because we're now dealing with rumour and speculation,
nothing with Apple is guaranteed until it actually happens.
If you're making a buying decision, and you'd prefer to deal with certainty, you could choose
to ignore this part of the video altogether.
But, if you're willing to wait and remain open-minded about what could be coming soon,
it might be worth saving your money, at least for the time being, as the next MacBook Air
is rumoured to be very different from the current one.
The first major, rumoured change, is a redesign of the overall look and feel of the computer.
It's clear that Apple are, finally, trying to draw a real distinction between consumer
users and 'pro' users, building powerhouse computers for the latter, and more consumer-friendly
computers for the former.
The new M1 Pro MacBook Pro for example, is a pretty boxy, clunky looking computer, but
it's been built for power and convenience.
The M1 iMac on the other hand, is a bright, colourful, fun computer that's been designed
to look good in whatever room you put it in, and to become as much a design statement as
a computer.
Based on this, I think we can expect Apple to release a range of bright, colourful MacBook
Airs this year.
And that makes a lot of sense; there's an entire demographic of Mac owners who don't
care about having the most powerful laptop going, but do care about owning the most Instagram,
TikTok friendly laptop, and a range of colourful MacBook Airs would appeal to that crowd.
Rumour has it that we can also expect the new MacBook Air to feature a more squared
off, less tapered design than it's predecessor, more in-keeping with the new MacBook Pros,
with a colour contrast between the body of the unit and the keyboard.
The display is likely to see an improvement in the new MacBook Air, although how much
of an improvement it will get is uncertain.
The new MacBook Pros feature Mini LED screens complete with Pro Motion technology, but that
new tech will also have contributed to pushing the price of the M1 MacBook Pros up.
Apple are going to be keen to keep the MacBook Air as affordable as possible, so quite how
many of these upgrades make it to the new computer remains to be seen.
My guess is that we might see Mini LED, OR ProMotion, but probably not both.
One area where I do feel confident we're likely to see a marked improvement is in the webcam,
the webcam in the current M1 MacBook Air is 720p and it's awful.
Whilst we're still not seeing full HDR 4k webcams in Apple's lineup, the M1 Pro and
Max MacBook Pros both feature a 1080p webcam, and the difference is huge.
They also feature improved speakers and microphones, which I'd also anticipate seeing in the new
Airs.
I also think we're going to see the inclusion of a notch.
I think Apple including this in the MacBook Pros was a statement.
It's clear that Apple are focusing on delivering excellent displays with slim bezels, without
relying on bleeding edge technology that would allow them to hide things like webcams, and
possibly even Face ID, underneath a display.
It doesn't mean that this technology isn't coming, it's just not coming right now, and
when it does, I think it will come to the high-end models first.
In terms of ports, I think we might get Magsafe for charging, but beyond that I don't anticipate
changes.
HDMI ports and card readers, whilst probably not expensive to implement, are features that
help set the MacBook Pros apart from the Air, they're easy value-adds, and they're things
that a lot of MacBook Air owners won't care much about.
I think it will be a Magsafe power port, 2 thunderbolt USB C ports and a headphone port,
nothing more, although I do think you might be able to run more than one external display
off of those ports, if that's of value to you.
Where it all becomes a little bit more difficult to predict then, is in terms of the power
of the new computer, at least specifically.
The M2 chip will undoubtedly be faster, more capable, more efficient than the M1 chip,
but it's likely that it won't be as powerful overall as the M1 Pro or Max chips, which
is important if you think about it, if Apple were to release the M2 MacBook Air in the
first half of this year, they need to ensure that it sits very firmly in it's own product
category, and doesn't pull sales away from the pro models.
But when you consider that the current M1 MacBook Air is an insanely capable computer,
adept at everything from major office tasks, to music production, to 4K video editing,
that's still pretty exciting.
Technologies like an improved neural engine and a slimmed down version of the media engine
found on the new MacBook Pros are both possibilities for the new MacBook Air.
**Who is the MacBook Air for these days?**
An important question that I think needs answering is around the target audience of the MacBook
Airs.
It's easy to dismiss these as the consumer computers, and in my eyes, a consumer is anyone
who doesn't regularly complete paid work on their computers.
But, to suggest that everyone who completes paid work on their computers needs to purchase
a MacBook Pro is also a bit short-sighted.
Yes, the MacBook Air, in bright colours, would appeal to the Starbucks drinking TikTok generation,
but in more muted tones, it would also appeal to the business traveller who wants a capable
computer that takes up as little room as possible.
Because, I think with clever marketing, Apple have an opportunity to position the new MacBook
Air as the best of both worlds.
This is the best 'fun' computer on the market, but it's also the best non-Pro, entry level
computer in terms of bang for your buck.
**Buy now or wait?**
This is probably the trickiest question to answer, simply due to the number of unknowns.
In terms of when we might see this new computer, there's not much go to on, and we live in
uncertain times.
Looking back at the past couple of years, Apple's biggest updates to their computer
hardware have typically come towards the end of the year, the M1 Macs launched in November
of 2020, and the M1 Pro and Max MacBook Pros launched in October of 2021.
September is almost certainly off of the cards, that's usually reserved for the iPhone and
iPad, and companies tend not to launch major new computers in the Summer.
So, I think it's going to come down to how big of a redesign we're talking here, and
whether Apple want to announce the new computer alone, and give it time to breathe, before
announcing anything else.
Because remember, Apple set themselves a 2 year silicon transition, and if we assume
that the 2 years began in November of 2020, we're more than halfway into that transition
period.
That means we're waiting on a new, larger iMac, a new Mac Pro and probably a redesigned
Mac mini, within the next 8 or so months.
How and when Apple release anything new right now, is anyone's guess.
Add to that the global pandemic, and the global shortage of computer chips, and predicting
something like the release date of a new tech product is starting to feel like predicting
the outcome of a game of Rock Paper Scissors.
The price of the M2 MacBook Air isn't likely to change very much I don't think.
Apple want to keep this as their entry level computer, and pushing the price much above
the current $999, even in the event of a redesign, is going to significantly reduce the number
of people who could buy one.
**So, what should you do?**
If none of the things that I've talked about in terms of possible updates, upgrades and
new features matters to you, then you could be in for a bargain, if you purchase a MacBook
Air right now.
In the US, the base level MacBook Air is available on Amazon for $899, here in the UK it's £889.
It's still not a cheap computer, but when you take a $900 M1 MacBook Air and put it
up against an equivalent Intel laptop from any of the top PC manufacturers, there's simply
no contest in terms of power and battery life.
The M1 chip puts the M1 MacBook Air in a class of it's own in that regard, and if you're
willing to wait, and perhaps sign up for some price alerts, you might be able to get an
even better deal, a bit later on in the year.
Oh, and don't discount refurbs, or even second hand models.
The absolute oldest M1 MacBook Air you could buy right now is going to be 14 months old,
so if it's been well looked after, you could grab yourself a steal.
Check eBay, Facebook Marketplace etc.
But, if you're the type of person who would like to have the latest technology where possible,
you'd be foolish to buy an M1 MacBook Air right now, and the longer you leave it, the
more foolish I think you would be.
A redesign has been on the cards for a while now, and I just can't see a situation where
we get to the end of this year, without a totally redesigned MacBook Air.
If you're the type of person who would kick yourself should you buy now, and a redesigned
model launches in the next 6 to 8 months, hold on to your cash.
So there you go, my thoughts on whether you should buy an M1 MacBook Air today, or wait.
What do you think?
Are you waiting for an M2 MacBook Air?
Or, have you recently bought an M1 MacBook Air?
If yes, what do you think of it?
Would you try and swap it out for whatever comes next?
Drop me a comment, and let's talk about it.
And as ever, if you found this video useful, do please consider leaving me a like, and
subscribing to my channel for more content like this in the future.
See you on the next video.