MacBook Air (Apple silicon)
The MacBook Air with Apple silicon is a line of notebook computers developed and manufactured by Apple Inc. since 2020. In the current product line, the MacBook Air is Apple's entry-level notebook, situated below the performance range MacBook Pro.
 | |
 MacBook Air (2020) | |
| Developer | Apple Inc. |
|---|---|
| Product family | |
| Type | Subnotebook |
| Release date |
|
| Operating system | macOS |
| System on a chip | Apple M1 (current) |
| Predecessor | MacBook Air (Intel-based) MacBook (2015–2019) (indirect, fanless) |
| Related articles | MacBook, MacBook Pro |
| Website | www.apple.com/macbook-air |
Apple announced its first Apple silicon MacBook Air on November 10, 2020, a 13-inch model based on the Apple M1 system on a chip.
History
On June 22, 2020, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the Mac would transition away from Intel processors to Apple's own in-house designed processors that use the ARM64 architecture, branded as Apple silicon.
On November 10, 2020, Apple announced an updated MacBook Air with an Apple-designed M1 processor, launched alongside an updated Mac Mini and 13-inch MacBook Pro as the first Macs with Apple's new line of custom ARM-based Apple silicon processors.[1] The device uses a fanless design.[2] It also adds support for Wi-Fi 6, Thunderbolt 3/USB4 and Wide color (P3).[3] The M1 MacBook Air can only run one external display; the previous Intel-based model was capable of running two 4K displays.[4] The FaceTime camera remains 720p but Apple advertises an improved image signal processor for higher quality video.[5]
Reception
The M1 MacBook Air has received positive reviews, with much of the praise going to the capabilities of the M1 chip.
In his review for Engadget, Devindra Hardawar gave the MacBook Air a score of 94/100, praising the performance as "shockingly responsive" and highlighting the lack of fan noise and "excellent" keyboard and trackpad as among some of the pros. Other than that, he only lightly touched on the notebook's design and feel, citing the fact that it hadn't really changed much since the early 2020 MacBook Air. He did, however, praise the case as feeling "sturdy as ever".[6]
Writing for Wired, Julian Chokkattu bemoaned the fact that the Air only came with 2 USB-C ports, but praised the keyboard and battery life. He also lauded the fanless design, saying it was something he found himself "appreciating over and over again".[7]
Technical specifications
| Current |
| Model | M1, 2020[8] | |
|---|---|---|
| Timeline | Announced | November 10, 2020 |
| Released | November 17, 2020 | |
| Discontinued | In production | |
| Unsupported | Supported | |
| Model details | Model identifier | MacBookAir10,1 |
| Model number (on underside) | A2337 | |
| Part number (order number) | MGN63, MGN93, MGND3, MGN73, MGNA3, MGNE3 | |
| Operating System | Initial Release | macOS 11 Big Sur |
| Latest Release | macOS 12 Monterey | |
| Display | Surface | Glossy display |
| Display Size | 13.3 in (340 mm) (diagonal) | |
| Native resolution | 2560 × 1600 (227 pixels per inch) | |
| Pixel Density (ppi) | 227 | |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:10 | |
| Supported UI Scaling Resolutions | UI: 1680 × 1050 | Display: 3360 × 2100 UI: 1440 × 900 | Display: 2880 × 1800 (Default) UI: 1280 × 800 | Display: 2560 × 1600 (Native) UI: 1024 × 640 | Display: 2048 × 1280 | |
| Brightness ( cd⁄m2) | 400 | |
| Color Gamut Support | Display P3 | |
| True Tone Display | Supported | |
| Refresh Rate | 60 Hz | |
| Performance and Storage | ||
| System on a chip | Apple M1 | |
| CPU Cores | 4 × 3.2 GHz Performance Cores (Firestorm) and 4 × 2.064 GHz Efficiency Cores (Icestorm), 8-core overall | |
| Cache | Performance Cores: 192 KB L1i, 128 KB L1d, 12 MB shared L2 Efficiency Cores: 128 KB L1i, 64 KB L1d, 4 MB shared L2 System Level Cache: 16 MB | |
| GPU Cores | 7-core Apple G13G (112 EUs, 896 ALUs) or 8-core Apple G13G (128 EUs, 1024 ALUs) | |
| Neural Engine | 16-core (11 Trillion operations per second) | |
| Cooling System | Aluminum heat spreader, no fan included | |
| Memory Type | 128-bit Dual Channel LPDDR4X-4266 Unified Memory (68.25 GB/s) | |
| Memory Capacity | 8 GB, not upgradeable Optional 16 GB at time of purchase, not upgradable after | |
| SSD Type | PCIe-based SSD | |
| SSD Capacity | 256 GB or 512 GB, not upgradeable Optional 512 GB (For 256 GB models), 1 TB or 2 TB at time of purchase, not upgradable after. 128 GB available for educational institutions only.[9] | |
| Keyboard and Trackpad | Keyboard type | Backlit Magic Keyboard with (scissor-switch) mechanism and ambient light sensor |
| Number of Keys | 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys in an inverted-T arrangement | |
| Trackpad | Force Touch Trackpad | |
| Touch Bar | No | |
| Secure Authentication | Touch ID | Yes |
| Video and Audio | Video Camera | 720p FaceTime HD Camera with advanced image signal processor with computational video |
| Speaker | Stereo speakers with wider stereo sound | |
| Dolby Atmos Playback | Supported | |
| Microphone | Three-mic array with directional beam-forming | |
| 3.5 mm Headphone Jack | Included | |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.0 | |
| Ports | 2 × Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C 4) ports supporting charging and DisplayPort protocols among others. No eGPU support[10] Transmission speeds up to 40 Gbps (Thunderbolt 3 or USB4) and 10 Gbps (3.1 Gen 2) | |
| External Display Support | One display up to 6016x3384 at 60 Hz | |
| Power | Battery | Non-removable lithium-ion polymer 11.4 V 49.9 W·h (4,379 mA·h)[11] |
| Battery cycle count[12] | 1000 | |
| Included Power Adapter | 30 W USB-C Power Adapter | |
| Greenhouse gas emissions | 161 kg CO2e with 256GB storage or 181 kg CO2e with 512GB storage[13] | |
| Dimensions and Weight | Width | 11.97 in (30 cm) |
| Depth | 8.36 in (21.2 cm) | |
| Height | 0.16 in (0.4 cm) to 0.63 in (1.6 cm) | |
| Weight | 2.8 lb (1.3 kg) | |
Timeline
| Timeline of all portable Macintoshes |
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References
- "Apple Announces New 13-inch MacBook Pro With M1 Apple Silicon". MacRumors. Archived from the original on 2020-11-25. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
- Hollister, Sean (2020-11-10). "The biggest difference between the new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro is a fan". The Verge. Archived from the original on 2020-11-10. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
- "Buy MacBook Air site". Apple. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
- "How Apple Silicon on a M1 Mac changes monitor support and what you can connect". AppleInsider. Archived from the original on 2020-11-13. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
- Potuck, Michael (2020-11-10). "Apple Silicon M1 MacBook Air and Pro get improved cameras but still stuck at 720p". 9to5Mac. Archived from the original on 2020-11-18. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
- Hardawar, Devindra. "MacBook Air M1 review: Faster than most PCs, no fan required". Engadget. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- Chokkattu, Julian. "Review: MacBook Air (M1, 2020)". Wired. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- "MacBook Air (M1, 2020) - Technical Specifications". support.apple.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
- "US Education Institution – Hardware and Software Price List" (PDF). November 10, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
- "Apple made a BIG mistake - M1 MacBooks Review". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-01-18. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
- "MacBook Air 13" Retina 2018 Teardown". iFixit. 2018-11-08. Archived from the original on 2020-11-27. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
- "Apple support: Mac notebooks: Determining battery cycle count". Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
- "Product Environmental Report 13-inch MacBook Air" (PDF). Apple. November 10, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2020.