The MacBook Air now has the speed and battery life to beat the best PCs.
Pros
- Remarkably fast performance
- Strong legacy app support
- Amazingly long battery life
- Comfy Magic Keyboard
- Improved webcam
Cons
- Still has thick bezels
- Light on ports
Your preconceived notion of what a MacBook Air is completely destroyed by the Apple MacBook Air with M1. Yes, the famous wedge design is still present, but Apple Silicon gives it a boost in power and capability that renders Intel's CPUs obsolete and elevates it to the top of the 13-inch laptop market. Thus, a new era for the MacBook Air began, one with professional-grade power that competes with and frequently outperforms Windows PCs built on Intel.
As someone who is considering purchasing a MacBook, I'm pleased to report that the new MacBook Air delivers significant speed improvements over its forerunner as well as significantly longer battery life. Reviewing the MacBook Air with M1 will demonstrate why this is one
The majority of the applications I've used on the MacBook Air are still the Intel versions, which macOS Big Sur translates for usage with its ARM-based CPU using Rosetta 2. When app developers release Universal versions, Apple silicon-based devices like this M1-based MacBook Air will execute their apps significantly quicker.
In this review, I'm going to compare the new M1 MacBook Air against the greatest PC laptops as well as the Intel-based MacBook Air from a year ago to see how much has changed (or not).
Finish
- Gold
- Silver
- Space Gray
Display
- Retina display
- 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors
- Supported scaled resolutions:
- 1680 by 1050
- 1440 by 900
- 1024 by 640
- 400 nits brightness
- Wide color (P3)
- True Tone technology
Chip
- Apple M1 chip
8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
7-core GPU, 8-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
Battery and Power1
- Up to 15 hours wireless web
- Up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback
- Built-in 49.9‑watt‑hour lithium‑polymer battery
- 30W USB-C Power Adapter
Charging and Expansion
Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports with support for:
- Charging
- DisplayPort
- Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s)
- USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s)
- USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)
- 3.5 mm headphone jack
Memory
- 8GB unified memory
Configurable to 16GB
Storage2
- 256GB SSD
Configurable to 512GB SSD, 1TB, or 2TB
Keyboard and Trackpad
- Backlit Magic Keyboard with:
- 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys in an inverted-T arrangement
- Ambient light sensor
- Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures
Touch ID
- Touch ID sensor
Wireless
- Wi-Fi
802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 wireless networking
IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible - Bluetooth
Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology
Camera
- 720p FaceTime HD camera
- Advanced image signal processor with computational video
Display Support
Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and:
- One external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz
Thunderbolt 3 digital video output
- Native DisplayPort output over USB-C
- VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)
Audio
- Stereo speakers
- Wide stereo sound
- Support for Dolby Atmos playback
- Three-mic array with directional beamforming
- 3.5 mm headphone jack
Operating Requirements
- Line voltage: 100V to 240V AC
- Frequency: 50Hz to 60Hz
- Operating temperature: 50° to 95° F (10° to 35° C)
- Storage temperature: −13° to 113° F (−25° to 45° C)
- Relative humidity: 0% to 90% noncondensing
- Operating altitude: tested up to 10,000 feet
- Maximum storage altitude: 15,000 feet
- Maximum shipping altitude: 35,000 feet
Size and Weights
- Height: 0.16–0.63 inch (0.41–1.61 cm)
- Width: 11.97 inches (30.41 cm)
- Depth: 8.36 inches (21.24 cm)
- Weight: 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)3
Operating System
macOS
macOS is the most advanced desktop operating system in the world. macOS Ventura makes the things you do most on Mac even better, so you can work smarter, play harder, and go further.
Learn more about latest operating system
macOS User Guide
Accessibility
Accessibility features help people with disabilities get the most out of their new MacBook Air. With built-in support for vision, hearing, mobility, and learning, you can create and do amazing things. Learn more about Accessibility
Features include:
- Voice Control
- VoiceOver
- Zoom
- Increase Contrast
- Reduce Motion
- Siri and Dictation
- Switch Control
- Live Captions
Built-in Apps4
- App Store
- Books
- Calendar
- Contacts
- FaceTime
- Find My
- Freeform
- GarageBand
- Home
- iMovie
- Keynote
- Maps
- Messages
- Music
- News
- Notes
- Numbers
- Pages
- Photo Booth
- Photos
- Podcasts
- Preview
- QuickTime Player
- Reminders
- Safari
- Shortcuts
- Siri
- Stocks
- Time Machine
- TV
- Voice Memos
In the Box
- MacBook Air
- 30W USB-C Power Adapter
- USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)
Configure to Order
Configure your MacBook Air with these options at apple.com:
- 16GB unified memory
- 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB SSD
MacBook Air and the Environment
MacBook Air is designed with the following features to reduce its environmental impact:5 See the MacBook Air Product Environmental Report
Made with better materials
- 100% recycled aluminum in the enclosure6
- 100% recycled tin in the solder of the main logic board
- 35% or more recycled plastic in multiple components
Energy efficient
- ENERGY STAR® certified7
Smarter chemistry8
- Arsenic-free display glass
- Mercury-, BFR-, PVC-, and beryllium-free
Green manufacturing
- Apple’s Zero Waste Program helps suppliers eliminate waste sent to landfill
- All final assembly supplier sites are transitioning to 100% renewable energy for Apple production
Responsible packaging
- 100% of virgin wood fiber comes from responsibly managed forests
- Recyclable, majority-fiber packaging