Apple MacBook Air M1, a model released in 2020, nearly four years ago, is going to be available for under ₹53,000 during the Amazon Great Indian Festival Sale 2024. Don’t get me wrong—yes, it’s almost four years old now, but the value this laptop offers for this price is simply outstanding. Let me share some of the reasons why you should consider buying the MacBook Air M1, even as 2024 draws to a close.
I bought my MacBook Air M1 (base 8GB + 256GB variant) in 2022, and since then, I’ve used it extensively for all kinds of work—video editing, writing articles like this one, and even for entertainment, thanks to its colour-accurate display. While doing all this, one thing remained consistent: its battery life.
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I’ve been consistently impressed by the battery life the MacBook Air M1 delivers. I won’t dive into numbers, but I’ll explain my workday: I typically charge the MacBook Air M1 at the end of the day (sometimes I top it up in the middle of the day if I’m doing something intensive). I use the laptop for an average of 8-9 hours daily and still end up with about 30-40% battery left. This means you can take your laptop anywhere, work remotely, and not worry about plugging it in. Just in case you’re curious, my work involves having at least 10-15 tabs open on Safari, editing 4K videos daily (about an hour), and lots of typing.
Let me address the elephant in the room first: yes, 8GB RAM can be insufficient at times, but mostly, I’m okay with it and can do my work smoothly. Back to video editing: I use Final Cut Pro X to cut through 4K footage from both my iPhone and mirrorless camera. In fact, I’ve even graded cDNG RAW files from the Sigma fp, and it went smoothly on DaVinci Resolve 18. Yes, you’ll struggle with motion graphics work, and the laptop can lag when working with too many layers, but for everyday editing—like vlogs and short videos—it should be more than sufficient. So, in terms of performance, it’s great for a laptop that’s going to be sold for around ₹52,000.
To cut to the chase, if you compare the MacBook Air M1’s build to similarly priced Windows laptops, you’ll be shocked by the difference in quality. The MacBook is simply leaps and bounds ahead. The hinge is rock solid, the fit and finish are top-notch, and the laptop feels premium. I wish I could say the same about some Windows laptops, but that’s not the case, at least not right now. So, if you’re after a premium and well-built laptop, the MacBook Air M1 is a no-brainer.
Apple, at WWDC 2024, announced that Apple Intelligence would be coming to Macs with M series chipsets, which also includes the MacBook Air M1. So, you can expect useful AI features like writing tools, summarisation, an improved iMessage experience, the brand-new Siri, and even image generation. This will be introduced as an update to macOS Sequoia later this year. Read;
