Apple Macbook Air M1 Chip

The M1 chip from Apple introduced in their 2020 laptops has changed the game for them. It is a lot faster than the Intel chips that Apple had used till this point. The MacBook Air with the M1 chip has a great performance due to this as well, despite the 8GB of RAM it works super smooth.

What the M1 chip brings

An inhouse design from Apple, the M1 is designed for peak performance and super-efficient use of power. This is what gives the MacBook Air a great battery life. It is a very densely packed chip as it was made using the 5nm method, this brings in 16 billion transistors into the fold. This density has also allowed for Apple's Neural Engine to record breakthrough performances regarding Machine Learning.

The M1 chip is 3.5x faster with its CPU performance and 6x faster on the GPU side and an insane 15x on the Machine Learning. All this stepping up is impressive as it makes the laptop so much more effective in its performance. It can handle anything in its time and age, from multiple streams of 4K to 3D rendering. Although the MacBook Air is not for heavy tasks over extended periods, that is something the MacBook Pro M1 is built for.

A few other technologies make more features streamlined so the combined effect is that the MacBook Air M1 is as functionally efficient as possible. These include one of the latest Signal Processors from Apple which improves video quality. Secure Enclave is a top tier security feature among this class of laptops. With an NVMe storage controller and a Thunderbolt 4 controller as well, the M1 is integrated in a manner that it can manage everything to the best level possible.

Internals and OS

One has options with storage with the MacBook Air, it can be 256GB or 512GB (There are also configurations to 2TB), both of these are the Solid State Drive standard which is very quick with its read and write times. For this laptop 8GB of RAM is what one gets stock with options to increase, it is unified memory which means it is used by both the CPU and GPU. This also makes for better working as there is no need for data to be shuffled between the two and both have access to all the memory so it can be delegated based on the specific tasks being executed each second.

One more difference between the 256GB variant and the 512GB one is that the latter's M1 chip features an 8 core GPU vs a 7 core GPU with the former.

The Big Sur macOS is optimised for the M1, so it can make proper use of all the power housed within this processor. This means even the everyday things like the device waking up are noticeably faster. There is also support for all legacy apps as well as iOS apps that are the apps meant for the iPhone and iPad. This also means you can play all those games on your MacBook Air, granting users access to a lot more entertainment.

Hardware and the rest

With a 13.3 inch Retina display that has a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels, the screen is super clear. It also features True Tone, which adjusts the colour tones to be better in different situations. There is support for millions of colours so the display can reproduce almost anything.

There are two Thunderbolt ports that are also are the USB 4 standard. These support charing and a DisplayPort out too, aside from being used for peripherals, thumb drives or external hard drives. The fact that there are only two ports can be a bit limiting and one may need a hub to extend ports if they want to connect more things or older USB standards. You would also need an adapter to connect an HDMI or other such cables. There is also a 3.5mm audio jack for headsets or external speakers. 

The keyboard is the same as the previous MacBook Air and is still as good. With backlit keys that also have ambient light sensing so the brightness is adjusted based on visibility needs. A large trackpad is also featured, giving one ample space to play around.

Wireless connectivity can be achieved via a Bluetooth or WiFi connection. There are slim, long speakers along the sides of the keyboard, for a laptop these are quite good. The MacBook Air also has a webcam that is at 720p so one has clear videos for their FaceTime or other video calls.

The MacBook Air also features Touch ID which allows users to log in with ease.

Comments

This version of the MacBook is available in Gold, Silver and Space Grey; one can choose the colour they like.

Price-wise the MacBook Air M1 is an expensive purchase, a high-value device but it is costly.