Remember at the beginning of 2020, Apple updated the MacBook Air, bringing back the scissor-switch keyboard. I was so excited that I bought a low-spec i3 version, which I have been using ever since.

In the same year, the M1 version of the MacBook Air was released. It has no fan, yet it achieves lower temperatures and higher performance. However, many professional software still needs to run through Rosetta 2 translation, and full ARM compatibility still has a long way to go.

What professional software does the MacBook Air need?!

It is just a thin and light laptop. Apple has transformed it into a fanless thin and light laptop with the M1, which is called“returning to the essence”.

Recently, I bought another MacBook Air with my own money, also to replace the i3 version that has served me for many months.

How does it perform in real tests?

Today, I will provide a simple analysis:

Apple MacBook Air

Swipe left to see the ports

Left side of the body

Right side of the body

Its specifications are as follows:

Apple M1 Processor

8GB 4266MHz RAM

256GB SSD

13.3 inches 2560*1600 resolution 100% P3 color gamut IPS screen

Battery capacity 49.9Wh

Thickness 16.1mm

Weight 1.29kg

Adapter weight 157g

Current price 7999 yuan

Its advantages and disadvantages are as follows:

Advantages!

1. Extremely high screen quality, perfect color management

2. Fanless design, 0 running noise

3. Exquisite workmanship, excellent touchpad feel

Disadvantages!

1. Fewer types of ports, only Thunderbolt port + headphone jack

2. The screen bezel is wider than the industry average

3. The low-spec version has a smaller memory and hard drive capacity

[Upgrade Suggestions]

This computer is not difficult to disassemble. Remove the 10 pentagon screws on the bottom, and you can use a suction cup to take off the back cover,the back cover does not have the troublesome metal clipsThis point must be praised.

The dual-channel 8GB memory can only meet daily office and audio-visual needs. The memory is onboard and cannot be replaced, strongly recommend directly choosing the 16GB version.

The 256GB solid-state drive, based on actual speed tests, is a PCIe 3.0 SSD, and like the memory, cannot be replaced. It is recommended to choose a larger capacity hard drive.

[Purchase Suggestions]

1. Former 13-inch MacBook Air users

2. Those who have very high requirements for battery life

3. Those with low performance requirements, only for normal office use

The biggest feature of the M1 version of the Apple MacBook Air is its fanless cooling. This product used to have a fan, but now it has switched to a self-developed chip + removed the fan, and the performance still surpasses the old version with a fan, providing a greatly improved user experience.

In terms of the screen, the actual measured color gamut volume is 101.3% P3, color gamut coverage is 96.7% P3, average △E is 0.85, and maximum △E is 3.05, which is quite good for this price range, coupled with Apple’s perfect color management, the overall viewing experience is excellent.

In terms of battery life, we tested by playing videos. In the INNA player, at 120 nit screen brightness + 50% volume playing a 1080p HEVC 10bit animation, it completely ran out of power after 11 hours and 40 minutes, which is 1 hour and 13 minutes less than the same configuration MacBook Pro.

In terms of noise, since it is fanless, the noise under full load is 0dB.

Although the official price is 7999 yuan, Apple has a very convenient education discount policy, or you can buy it from third-party e-commerce platforms, where it can even go down toaround 7400 yuan.

If you usually do not have high performance requirements and only use the computer for normal business office work, video conferencing, and video entertainment, then the fanless MacBook Air is both lightweight and quiet, and the performance is completely sufficient.

However, if you are used to using the Windows system, or if you are an accountant or HR, often dealing with online banking and financial U-shields, then the Mac may not be suitable for you.

[Final Thoughts from the Author]

The above image shows the teardown of the MacBook Air, which features a fanless design. You can see that Apple has continued to use the old mold, and the interior is still neat and pleasing to the eye.

Room temperature 25℃

Reflectivity 1.00

Under full load, the CPU power consumption is about 2.8W, the large core frequency is maintained at 0.828GHz, and the small core frequency is maintained at 2.064GHz, with the highest core temperature being 90℃.

The GPU power consumption is about 2.8W, frequency 540MHz.

The total power consumption of the M1 chip is about 6.9W, with significant frequency reduction for both the CPU large core and GPU.

In extreme stress tests, the cooling disadvantage of the fanless MacBook Air compared to the Pro is significantly amplified.

During stress testing, the CPU can only maintain full frequency with the small core, while the large core is less than 1GHz, and the GPU drops from a maximum of 1.2GHz to less than half its frequency, causing a substantial drop in overall chip power consumption due to high temperatures.

Setting aside stress tests, even in lower load Cinebench R23 loop tests, the MacBook Air cannot unleash the full performance of the M1 due to cooling issues.In a 10-minute R23 loop test, the MacBook Air scored 6678, while the MacBook Pro scored 7686 in a 30-minute loop.

Swipe left to see the back temperature

Back temperature of the body

The surface temperature is shown in the above image, with the maximum keyboard keycap temperature at 46℃, the WASD key area around 35℃, and the arrow keys at 32℃. The maximum temperature on the back is 45.5℃, with the center point at 38.1℃.

Overall, the cooling performance of the MacBook Air is average, far inferior to the 13-inch MacBook Pro in extreme environments, and the keyboard temperature is also higher under full load.

This result is inevitable; if the M1 cannot perform better with or without a fan, then having a fan is meaningless.

Remember when we tested the MacBook Pro last November, there was no software that could monitor the M1’s core temperature. Now, software has been adapted and supported in less than two months, showing how high the developers’ support for the Apple ecosystem is.

In my opinion, compared to the MacBook Pro with a different SoC, the improvement of this MacBook Air is greater.

At the same price of less than 8000 yuan, the new Air hasstronger performance, lower heat, zero noise, and the software originally applicable to the MacBook Air is still usable, while the large software that was not suitable for running on the Air is irrelevant.

The M1’s【high energy efficiency advantage】is fully demonstrated in fanless models, so among the first batch of M1 Macs, the MacBook Air is the most complete product.

This morning, I happened to be at the hospital accompanying a family member for a checkup, so my responses may be slower. Thank you all for your understanding!