Lab – Apple MacBook Air M1: New Master of Autonomy in the World of Ultraportables

Since the release of the MacBook under the ARM (M1) framework, Apple has been loudly and clearly declaring that its computers offer exceptional autonomy. As we often struggle in the high-tech field, that is not one of the marketing jokes, an argument that has been quickly proven to be correct. Our own test 13 inch MacBook Pro M1 Our tolerance record also exploded with more than 20 hours of video playback on Netflix (Safari browser). So we had to see if the MacBook Air M1 would do the same.

Let’s face it, the answer is no, but Ultraportable from Apple hasn’t let us down yet! It worked 16 hours and 14 minutes with Netflix via Safari and 11 hours and 43 minutes for the same test in Chrome. Already excellent results compared to the average of the computers we test in the lab Digital. If Google promises to improve the power management of its browser on the Mac, it is clear that there is still a lot of work to be done before leveling the native MacOS browser. In normal use, i.e. office, web and a few open applications, the MacBook Air M1 is turned off after 9 hours, which is enough to exclude a good day’s work from the power station. Note that Google Chrome has been used and Safari will have to extend this autonomy further.

To compare this to its live parent, we also conducted our battery life test on the 2020 Intel Core i7 MacBook Air. Despite the similar DTP (thermal design power), the M1 varies from 10 W and 8 to 12. W. for the Intel version. The autonomy of the MacBook Air Core i7 clearly does not come close to the M1. We saw an 8 hour 33 minute video playback on Safari. So we go from almost single to double. In Chrome, even worse, the older generation MacBook lasted only 6 h 44 minutes.

Since the MacBook Air M1 and Intel’s chassis are identical and their DTPs are very similar, we can only assume that the optimization of the M1 chip was properly implemented by Apple, with the result that the new MacBook’s excellent power efficiency and battery life are much higher than the Intel versions. For the first iteration, the SoC M1 delivers more than just the corable ravine performance in this area, and we can’t wait to see what the next models have in store for us. AMD and Intel’s response is expected in terms of energy management and the longest war for autonomy between manufacturers begins without a doubt. We look forward to seeing you in a few days to discover a complete test of Apple’s MacBook Air M1 Digital.