Is the MacBook Air M1 worth $699?

[lenuxfrance]

Hi, I'm on vacation in the USA and I saw the offer at $699.
Is the offer interesting?
My use: internet, Netflix streaming, some light photo retouching and a little bit of editing to put the video on Facebook.

Is the warranty international? My country French

My current computer

Intel® Core™ i5 8265U (1,6 GHz Basisfrequenz, bis zu 3,9 GHz mit Intel® Turbo Boost Technologie, 6 MB Cache, 4 Cores)
SDRAM DDR4-2400, 8 GB (1 x 8 GB)
Intel® UHD 620 graphics card
256 GB PCIe® NVMe™ M.2 SSD drive
1 TB, 5,400 U/min


I'm a little disappointed with the autonomy on the weight side, I'm at 1.69kg


Thanks you

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

If it’s the Intel version then absolutely not

Edit: don’t know why I read your current config as the laptop you’re looking at but I did. Yes, the M1 is worth it.

 

[mystery hill]

I saw the offer at $699.
Is the offer interesting?
My use: internet, Netflix streaming, some light photo retouching and a little bit of editing to put the video on Facebook.

Yes, it’s a good price for an M1 Air, and it will be fine for everything you’ve listed.

Is the warranty international?

12 months international warranty.

 

[mystery hill]

If it’s the Intel version then absolutely not

It’s for an M1 Air. The Intel specs are for what the OP is currently using.

 

[jb310]

It's a very good laptop, though since it's already over 3 years old, there IS the question of how much longer Apple will support it. 🤔

But you are getting a great laptop for $699.

 

[JustAnExpat]

Hi, I'm on vacation in the USA and I saw the offer at $699.

It's a good deal. HOWEVER..

1. Make sure it's from an Apple Certified Reseller (Best Buy, Apple Store, WalMart, etc. are all Apple Certified Resellers in the USA).

2. If this is a from a website, make sure you're buying from Best Buy, et. al. Some online stores allow third parties to sell on it too :O

Otherwise, the M1 MacBook is wonderful!

 

[lenuxfrance]

If it’s the Intel version then absolutely not

My current computer is Intel

 

[lenuxfrance]

It’s for an M1 Air. The Intel specs are for what the OP is currently using.

Hello , OP is currently using ?? Op ??

 

[lenuxfrance]

C'est une bonne affaire. CEPENDANT..

1. Assurez-vous qu'il provient d'un revendeur certifié Apple (Best Buy, Apple Store, WalMart, etc. sont tous des revendeurs certifiés Apple aux États-Unis).

2. S'il s'agit d'un site Web, assurez-vous que vous achetez chez Best Buy, etc. Al. Certaines boutiques en ligne autorisent également des tiers à vendre dessus :O

Sinon, le MacBook M1 est merveilleux !

Hello , Walmart shop US

 

[spamabyss]

Yes.

 

[Brandon42]

Hello , OP is currently using ?? Op ??

OP is an abbreviation for Original Poster. So OP is referring to you in this case.

 

[philstubbington]

Hi, I'm on vacation in the USA and I saw the offer at $699.
Is the offer interesting?
My use: internet, Netflix streaming, some light photo retouching and a little bit of editing to put the video on Facebook.

Is the warranty international? My country French

My current computer

Intel® Core™ i5 8265U (1,6 GHz Basisfrequenz, bis zu 3,9 GHz mit Intel® Turbo Boost Technologie, 6 MB Cache, 4 Cores)
SDRAM DDR4-2400, 8 GB (1 x 8 GB)
Intel® UHD 620 graphics card
256 GB PCIe® NVMe™ M.2 SSD drive
1 TB, 5,400 U/min


I'm a little disappointed with the autonomy on the weight side, I'm at 1.69kg


Thanks you

I'm very happy with mine - probably less heavy use than you - and it's 1.2Kg so very lightweight.

 

[lenuxfrance]

Does this MacBook resemble my current computer in terms of power?

 

[Apple_Robert]

Does this MacBook resemble my current computer in terms of power?

It is a lot more powerful.

 

[mystery hill]

Does this MacBook resemble my current computer in terms of power?

The M1 Air is much more powerful than your current machine.

 

[philstubbington]

Does this MacBook resemble my current computer in terms of power?

Take a look at Geekbench.....

From a quick glance.... (if I'm reading it correctly).

Intel® Core™ i5 8265U, single core 1232, multi core 2492

Apple M1, single core 2276, multi core 8025

My own Apple M1 with 7 cores, single core 1695, multi core 7245 (not sure, but that may have been on battery rather than mains which might account for the lower score).

Just rerun it now on mains power and getting 2367 / 8623.

I noticed you have 1TB storage on your current PC - I got the same on the M1.

 

[casperes1996]

I would call it expected price for an M1 Air. Given the new ones can be had gor 1,000. If French prices are like Danish prices though it’s a lot cheaper than the local market.

And it’s about a billion times faster than your current machine. Not actually of course but experientially it will probably feel like it. Especially as your current machine is with single channel memory

 

[Euroamerican]

And if you buy while in the USA, it would be a cost saving in regards to VAT... I assume......
;-)

 

[ignatius345]

I'm currently using an M1 Air, and I can't quite justify buying an M2 or M3 Air because it's doing everything I need (writing, email, photos, some Illustrator and InDesign work) quite decently -- in short, a similar use case to the OP. The biggest sticking point with the base model is the 256 GB SSD. Pretty easy to blow through that you're working with photos and video much.

 

[Howard2k]

I'm currently using an M1 Air, and I can't quite justify buying an M2 or M3 Air because it's doing everything I need (writing, email, photos, some Illustrator and InDesign work) quite decently -- in short, a similar use case to the OP. The biggest sticking point with the base model is the 256 GB SSD. Pretty easy to blow through that you're working with photos and video much.

Seconded. My use case is also similar and the M1 is more than capable. I don't anticipate upgrading until M5 or M6.

 

[tis100]

From a performance and quality of life point of view, the Apple M1 will be about twice as fast as the Intel i5-8265U with little noise/heat and extremely good battery life.

From a value point of view, it's generally better to get the latest model. Apple provides about 7 years of OS updates and the 2020 Apple M1 Macbook Air has already had about 3.5 years of updates. So expect another 3.5 years of support.

If you pay $699 now for an Apple M1 Macbook Air, you will be essentially paying $199.71 per year until end of life.

However, if you get the just released 2024 Apple M3 Macbook Air at $1099, it works out to $157.00 per year until end of life.

 

[Total Respray]

Depending where you are in France, you could pop over the border to Switzerland where it is sometimes at CHF 679 (but right now CHF 699) with a 2 year warranty. Though it will have a Swiss German or Swiss French keyboard.

 

[mtrm]

Id like to just add an heads-up. Keep in mind the differences in keyboard layouts. If you’re French, I guess you’re probably used to type in Azerty keyboards, whilst the US uses Qwerty. Sure you can just change it in the settings, but the physical keys will always be qwerty.
Same for all the other special characters and symbols, they are in different spots on the keyboard.

For some people this might not be problematic, but for others it might be a deal breaker

 

[ouruniverse06131986]

It's a very good laptop, though since it's already over 3 years old, there IS the question of how much longer Apple will support it. 🤔

But you are getting a great laptop for $699.

ITS NOT A LAPTOP unless it has macOS.

 

[bousozoku]

My current computer is Intel

The M1 MacBook Air will be surprisingly faster than your current machine.

Make sure it's a reputable company selling it.