The Apple MacBook Air with M1 tosses off your preconceived notions of what a MacBook Air is. Yes, it retains the famous wedge design, but Apple Silicon makes it considerably more powerful and capable than ever before, eliminating Intel’s CPUs and putting it on par with the MacBook Pro. As a result, the MacBook Air entered a new age, with Pro-grade performance that rivals, if not outperforms, Intel-based Windows PCs.
Here we’ll discuss the features of the Apple MacBook Air.
Features of Apple MacBook Air
1. Power/Performance
The performance of the Apple MacBook Air is excellent, thanks to the M1 CPU and 16GB of RAM. I never noticed anything close to a hitch when I divided the screen between 20 Chrome (Intel, not Universal) tabs and a 1080p YouTube movie — plus Apple’s Mail and Photos app, Pixelmator (again, an Intel program), and 1Password (Intel, again) in the background. Oh, and 20GB of 4K footage was being AirDropped in the background, all while everything remained smooth and steady.
This Macbook comes with an Intel Core i3, an Apple M1 chip, a single-core Intel processor, and more, but it also comes with a new M1 Macbook Air model. Both the M1 chip and the M1 model can compete with Intel Core i5, and even Intel Core i7 CPUs. It may be utilized for applications like video editing and Apple TV because of this and the Retina display. After reading our Apple Macbook 16-inch review, choose a laptop with a bigger screen.
2. Battery
This laptop, like the Dell Latitude 7490, has a battery life of roughly 12 hours before it has to be recharged. There are certain options that the user may change to ensure that the battery lasts that long. Some of the most successful ways to do this include turning off the backlit keyboard function, not allowing the screen to become too bright, and avoiding launching too many apps at once.
3. Ports
Only two Thunderbolt ports are included in this set of ports. While there isn’t much variance, these ports are current at the time of this review and provide the best file transfer and device charging rates available. The Dell XPS 13 7390, on the other hand, offers three ports: Thunderbolt, SD card reader, and an audio/microphone combination jack. Both laptops, on the other hand, have gigabit wireless connections, quick file transfer and device charging rates, and a wide variety of device compatibility. Check out our Apple Macbook Air 13 if you need a nice laptop with a long battery life.
Like its Intel-based predecessor, the M1 MacBook Air sports two Thunderbolt 3 USB 4 ports on the side, as well as a headphone jack (which I pray Apple never removes). While the XPS 13 has two USB-C ports on the left side, they are split between the left and right sides, making it easier to connect devices on your right side. Other laptops just have a larger number of ports. The XPS 13 also includes a microSD card reader, something the Apple MacBook Air lacks. There is no headphone jack on the ZenBook 13, although it does include a complete HDMI out and a USB-A port.
4. Build Quality
There is very little clearance for stray components to roam within the chassis of this tiny, space-gray laptop. Because it uses a solid state drive rather than a regular hard drive, it’s as thin as it is, and it only has Thunderbolt connections. It also weighs 2.8 pounds, which is significantly less than the Dell G5 15 5590, which weighs 6.13 pounds. In addition, unlike the Dell laptop’s plastic frame, its chassis is built of aluminum.
5. The Retina Display
Then there’s the display, which is as dazzling as ever. This time, Apple’s 13.3-inch Retina Display is used, with a resolution of 2,560 by 1,600 pixels and a 16:10 aspect ratio. This is far greater than the full HD (1,920-by-1,080-pixel) resolution seen on most standard laptops, but it’s still a long way from 4K. The latter is often reserved for high-end content-creator laptops (and desktops) that benefit from the higher pixel count, but it depletes battery life and is significantly more expensive. The Retina Display’s resolution is incredibly crisp without being overkill for the lighter type of general usage tasks that an Apple MacBook Air is built for.
The display is beautiful, however, the bezels aren’t as thin as they are on some other high-end Windows laptops, such as the Dell XPS 13. In comparison, the black borders appear a little dated, but that’s hardly a deal breaker. This screen doesn’t have HDR compatibility or an OLED option (which is becoming more common in Windows laptops), but it does include Apple’s True Tone technology, which changes the display’s white balance to match the ambient lighting. This is more aesthetically pleasant and easy on the eyes, although you can turn it off completely in System Preferences if you choose.
6. Touch ID Sensor
the Touch ID sensor in the top right corner of the keyboard allows you to power on the laptop and sign in with your fingerprint, putting the need for passwords on the back burner. There’s no Touch Bar option on the Apple MacBook Air as there is on the MacBook Pro, which means you get a physical escape button on the top left corner of the keyboard. Some shoppers will consider this a plus; the Touch Bar is polarizing.
7. MacOS 10.15 Catalina
Apple’s newest macOS 10.15 Catalina, which continues to be a mature and well-thought-out operating system that makes the most of Apple’s computers, comes preinstalled on the Apple MacBook Air. Sidecar, which converts an iPad into a second screen for your Mac, is the most beneficial feature this time around, especially if you’re trapped working from home and have both a Mac and an iPad. It works wirelessly and seamlessly as long as you’re on the same wifi network, or you may utilize a cable.
Catalina also included more app compatibility for those created using Mac Catalyst, a tool that lets developers move their iPad apps to the Mac. One example is Twitter’s app, but decent ones are hard to come by right now.
