Apple’s shiny new M1 MacBook Air and Mac Mini haven’t been out for long but they’re already on sale for Black Friday.
The new M1 chip is good, actually
Despite being the first generation of Apple’s new M1 chips, the reviews of the new MacBooks and Mac Mini have been insanely good.
Because the M1 is a SoC processor it has the CPU, GPU and RAM on a single chip. Apple has also done the same thing with its new A14 bionic chipset for the iPhone 12.
This is supposed to allow all of these components be more effective, faster and efficient. It’s also supposed to reduce power consumption and increase battery life since its optimised for low-power systems.
Usually you need to compromise a ton of power for efficiency like that, but apparently not anymore. And according to the majority of reports so far, Apple has been successful in this venture.
Considering they include a complete overhaul in chipset architecture, not to mention the fact its ARM-based, this is unprecedented but welcome.
Here’s what we had to say about the new M1 MacBook Air in our recent review:
“The new MacBook Air is not a radical departure in terms of laptop design, but underneath the hood, this thing is wildly different from every other MacBook Air — largely thanks to the new M1 chip. In fact, it even outpaces Windows laptops that can cost far more.”
“I didn’t expect 2020 to be the year of the Mac, but, well, I didn’t expect anything about this year to unfold as it did. If you’re already a fan of Apple’s laptops, buying a new version with M1 is a no-brainer.”
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Apple M1 Black Friday Deal: Mac Mini and MacBook Air
Being two of Apple’s cheaper machines, the new M1 MacBook Air and Mini were already relatively well priced. But now you can get them even cheaper.
Mwave has the 8GB/256GB 2020 MacBook Air for $1435, which is $164 off the RRP.
If you prefer the Mac Mini, Mwave has the 8GB/256GB version for $989, which is $110 off the RRP.
Key Specs
And if you’re after the key specs of both M1 machines, here you are:
Mac Mini
- 8-core M1 ARM-based chipset
- 8GB RAM
- 256GB – 2TB storage
- 2 x Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, 2 x USB-A ports
- 1.4 inches x 7.7 x 7.7-inches , 1.2kg
MacBook Air
- 1.3.3-inch retina display
- 8-core M1 ARM-based chipset
- 8GB RAM
- 256GB – 2TB storage
- Up to 18-hours video playback battery. Up to 15-hours web browsing. 30W USB-C power adaptor
- 2 x Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports
- 0.16–0.63 inch x 11.97 x 8.36-inches , 1.19kg