I spent a decade using 15” MacBook Pros expecting the same thing: moderate power in a thermally-constrained chassis. But I recently traded my base model 2018 15” MacBook Pro to make the M1 MacBook Air my daily driver. The one I purchased came with an 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16GB of unified memory, and 1TB of storage. In this review I want to share my personal experience with Apple’s MacBook Air and why I think it’s probably the most compelling computer this decade.

The single greatest aspect of the M1 MacBook Air is its performance. If you think you’ll need more power than the M1 can provide, then Apple would be happy to sell you computers that are twice as powerful and cost more than twice the price. But believe me when I say that this thin and light laptop should be quite sufficient for nearly everyone.

I’m a professional video editor, and my primary editing application is Final Cut Pro X. While I can’t speak to other editing applications, I can say that Final Cut Pro runs faster on this fan-less MacBook Air than it does on my company’s fully specced out 2019 16 inch MacBook Pro. I was editing a 4K multi-cam edit (shot on a couple of Canon c300s and a Sony FS7) on the MacBook Pro and noticed that scrubbing through the 20+ minute timeline was less than smooth. Playback stuttered from time to time, with many beach balls appearing on the screen during long editing sessions.

Normally I wouldn’t even think about trying to edit a project like this on a thin and light laptop without a fan. In fact I probably wouldn’t have tried on my older 15 inch MacBook Pro either. But I decided to give it a shot. The M1 MacBook Air handled it with aplomb. For seven hours I worked on that project on the Air, and it never once skipped a beat. In short, it handled that massive project better than the $5,000 MacBook Pro. I was astounded.

It’s nice to have normal scissor switches in the keyboard.

This is a very non-scientific and highly specific case. Nevertheless, the M1 MacBook Air’s complementary qualities make it the most well-rounded laptop I’ve used. It’s a capable computer when I need it to be, and when I’m not editing photos or videos, it’s a fantastic web-browsing and video streaming device that I can easily take on the go.

Using this machine has been a joy. I don’t miss the larger screen and form factor of my MacBook Pro. In fact, 13 inches seems to be the perfect size. Its wedge-shaped design is inviting to travel with, and its fan-less operation means I don’t have worry about blocking its airflow when I’m in bed or using it as a laptop. The Magic Keyboard is leagues better than the butterfly-switches of yore. And trackpad is just as good, though smaller than my previous 15 inch MacBook. I haven’t even talked about its all-day battery life!

If you’re on the fence about buying an M1 MacBook Air, I would highly suggest you give it a try.

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