Were Charles Darwin here today, once he’d finished screaming at us for tinkering with necromancy and demanding to know what the heck a Lexus was, I think he’d want to see the new MacBook Air.

Apple M1 is astonishingly fast; Excellent battery life; Compatibility with non-native apps is impressive

720p webcam is still underwhelming; Lack of an embedded 4G/5G option is frustrating

With the 13-inch MacBook Pro already upping the ante, the new M1-based MacBook Air really throws down the gauntlet for rival ultraportable laptops. It might seem expensive for an entry-level offering, but the performance of the M1 chip gives the late 2020 MacBook Air a new lease of life.

Speedy M1 SoC; Outstanding battery life; Rosetta 2 emulation works well with Intel-native apps; Slimline; lightweight design

Design is looking a bit dated; No CPU upgrade options; Expensive RAM and storage upgrades; Only two Thunderbolt ports

“The MacBook Air M1 finally fulfills the promise of a small laptop without performance restraints.”

Apple's M1 blows Intel away; Phenomenal battery life; Excellent keyboard and touchpad; Rock-solid build quality; Simple good looks

Supports only one external display

It's difficult to recommend against the M1-based MacBook Air. Apple Silicon support still needs a little work, but rivals all have compromises versus the Air in terms of performance, price or portability.

Crisp display; Performance is super-fast; Fanless design; Brilliant keyboard; Not a bank-breaker; Apple Silicon transition is going well; 256GB minimum storage welcome

Maximum memory of 16GB; Large bezels beginning to look dated; No Face ID login; Some key apps don't run on Apple Silicon natively yet

The MacBook Air (M1) takes everything that was great about the previous generation and brings it to a new level....

Apple M1 Processor Iconic design Build quality Impressive battery life Large trackpad Good audio for a laptop

Lack of ports 720p camera Possible app incompatibly during the transition phase

Have you ever seen a bird sitting contently on a tree and wondered whether it will be afraid of the branch breaking? The bird in all likelihood doesn’t have that fear because fundamentally it’s trust doesn’t lie in the branch — it lies in its wings.

Sleek design, Impressive performance, Great battery life

In a week of testing, I have pushed this computer and its new Apple-made processor to its limits and found that those limits exceeded my expectations on nearly every level.

Fast; Intel-based apps work well; Excellent battery life

Awful webcam; iOS apps are a whiff; It’s time to admit Macs would be better with touchscreens

Blazing speeds, better battery - but a disappointing camera

Super-fast; Great battery life; Retina display is superb

Webcam poor; Thick bezels

The MacBook Air (M1) is a small revolution. As much power as you could need in a light and silent design, with giant battery life.

Stunning performance; Fantastic battery life; Excellent build quality; Good screen

More ports would be nice; Webcam still not great; Some potential niche software compatibility issues

M1 Apple MacBook Air (2020): M1 Apple MacBook Air (2020): Why buy anything else?

Fast and quiet; Great battery life; Superb display

Some software may not run; M1 MacBook Pro has better sustained performance