Apple M1 hands-on comparison: MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini

Apple’s Mac M1s are out in the wild now, but ahead of the holidays, you might still be trying to figure out which one to choose, either for yourself or as a gift for someone else. We have all three new Macs available, so we thought we would give MacRumors Readers a handy overview of each machine in our latest YouTube video.

In terms of price, the Mac mini is the cheapest of the bunch at $ 699, while the MacBook Air starts at $ 999 and the MacBook Pro starts at $ 1,299. With the ‌Mac mini‌ you of course need to provide all of your own peripherals, including at least a monitor, mouse and keyboard.

If you already have one on hand, the “Mac mini” is potentially the solution. For laptops, the “MacBook Air” is lighter, but there isn’t a huge difference in size between the Air and the Pro.

The entry-level ‌MacBook Air‌ has a 7-core GPU while the entry-level MacBook Pro has an 8-core GPU, which is why the price is a bit higher. If you get the 512GB SSD with the ‌MacBook Air‌, you are automatically upgraded to that 8-core GPU.

There are thermal differences between Mac M1s, but most people might not be able to tell them apart in terms of performance. The ‌Mac mini‌ has the most space for heat dissipation, while the MacBook Pro has a fan for better thermal management.

The “MacBook Air”, on the other hand, does not have a fan. You might see slightly better performance when doing system intensive tasks on Macs with better cooling, but there’s not a ton of difference between them. In most benchmark tests they’re all pretty much the same, and they’re all huge upgrades from their Intel counterparts. Watch our M1 MacBook Pro vs MacBook Pro 2020 test below to see.

When it comes to upgrades, there aren’t many available. You can increase the SSD storage, which is a good idea if you plan to use the built-in storage and want a machine that will have enough space for years to come, but you can also work with external SSDs if you want to. opt for the minimum of 256 GB.

You can also upgrade the RAM on each Mac M1 from 8GB to 16GB. If you have an extra $ 200, it’s a good idea to do so to protect yourself from the future and because you’re never going to. fool with extra RAM. This year’s Macs have a unified memory architecture, which essentially means all components on the chip can tap into the same memory pool, delivering improvements in speed and efficiency.

Apple is great at optimizing RAM usage and there are no exceptions here. You might not even need 16GB, because in our testing the Mac M1s are super fast, even with the built-in 8GB.

All of the M1 Macs deliver incredible performance at their price points, and in our testing they all outperformed their Intel counterparts. macOS Big Sur works great on M1 Macs, and apps designed for Apple Silicon are fast and efficient. Even applications not designed for “Apple Silicon” and running under the Rosetta 2 translation layer are almost as fast as they are on Intel machines.

If you rely on specific Windows apps and use Boot Camp regularly, the M1 Macs aren’t for you. There is no way to run Windows on an M1 Mac at this time. CrossOver allows you to use some Windows applications, but this solution may not be worth the effort for heavy Windows users.

Touch ID also appears to be faster on M1 Macs compared to Intel Macs, and even small tasks like waking up from sleep or changing resolutions are instantaneous. All Macs are almost silent. There is no sound from the ‌MacBook Air tandis, while the ‌Mac mini Mac and MacBook Pro rarely turn on their fans, even during heavy duty tasks.

Apple made serious promises of battery life with the Mac M1s, and the MacBook Pro can last up to 20 hours. We have seen this impressive battery life in everyday use. Intel Macs have never been able to edit video with decent battery life, but M1 Macs have no issues.

The Mac M1s have been amazing so far, but it should be borne in mind that these are first generation machines. Apple is upgrading the entire Mac lineup to “Apple Silicon” chips, a process expected to take two years. These are low-end Macs that have been refreshed, and there are more exciting and high-end Mac updates in the works, which could be a reason to hold a purchase right now.

Another consideration is the design. Apple hasn’t updated the design of the new Macs, and there are rumors that at a minimum design changes are underway for the MacBook Pro. A new design might also be worth the wait.

If you need an affordable Mac for everyday tasks, the M1 Macs are a solid choice. The ‌Mac mini the is the one for you if you want a desktop, and if you need a laptop, the ‌MacBook Air‌ will work for most people. The MacBook Pro has an additional GPU core in the base model, a brighter screen, and better speakers, which is a consideration. We have a complete guide to the ‌MacBook Air‌ vs.MacBook Pro if you are trying to choose between them.

Do you have a Mac M1 or are you going to buy one? Are you waiting for next year’s “Apple Silicon” offerings? Let us know in the comments.