As the first Macs containing Apple Silicon processors began arriving to customers today, reviewers have shared their first impressions of the new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini. In particular, reviewers praised the M1 chip’s ability to deliver excellent performance, thermals, and battery life.
MacBook Air
The Verge‘s Dieter Bohn remarked that “The MacBook Air with the M1 chip is the most impressive laptop I’ve used in years.”
Forbes‘s David Phelan described the experience as similar to “every time you switch to a new iPhone with the latest processor – everything seems preposterously fast and responsive.”
Bohn noted how well the M1 performs, even when using demanding “pro” apps or using multiple apps at a time:
The MacBook Air performs like a pro-level laptop. It never groans under multiple apps. (I’ve run well over a dozen at a time.) It handles intensive apps like Photoshop and even video editing apps like Adobe Premiere without complaint. It has never made me think twice about loading up another browser tab or 10 — even in Chrome.
Phelan also noticed a considerable improvement in speed when starting-up the MacBook Air:
One small thing is the way the computer is instant-on, something we’re used to from phones and tablets but not so much from computers. This works brilliantly. In fact, I’m mostly just waiting for the Apple Watch or Touch ID to unlock it if I’ve been away from the laptop for long enough for it to lock.
Read more at MacRumors.com