In the Windows world, those have already shrunk considerably (see XPS 13). Only the large display bezels strike us as out of date. Apple was only concerned about inner values, and there are no external changes compared to the 2020 refresh of the MacBook Air.
To come to the point right away: there is nothing new in terms of the case. We purchased our test unit from regular commercial sources, deciding for the most affordable entry-level version with a seven-core GPU, 256 GB SSD, and 8 GB of RAM in silver color. The device that is most well-known is the Dell XPS 13, whose newest version 9310 is also available with Tiger Lake. You can find a constantly updated list of all the top competitors to the MacBook Air here. There are numerous competitors among the Windows notebooks. As a cheaper Apple alternative, we could also mention the iPad 4 with the keyboard cover. But it has the advantage of optional pen operation. However, with the 256-GB version you are already in a comparable price range, and an iPad Pro with keyboard is even more expensive. For example, the recently updated iPad Air 4 with a Magic Keyboard presents itself as a more compact alternative. And positioned below the Air are the iPads with the optional keyboard cover / Magic Keyboard. Two of the direct competitors come from Apple's own camp: The MacBook Pro 13 offers a fan for better performance under continuous load, a Touchbar, a larger battery (and also case), and a slightly brighter display. For a hefty premium, you can also order the Apple M1 SoC with 16 GB of RAM. Because the RAM is placed on the same board right next to the SoC, it cannot be upgraded. However, the maximum clock speeds of the GPU and CPU are comparable, and if necessary, you can get the eighth graphics core in the more expensive Air model with the larger SSD. You only have to accept a limitation of the integrated graphics card in the most affordable version, since Apple has deactivated one of the eight graphics cores. The new Air is particularly exciting. While it offers the same powerful M1 SoC as the Pro model, it is quiet with its fanless cooling, and costs significantly less.
After many years of rumors and an announcement in June, the time has finally come: With the new MacBook Pro 13 and the MacBook Air, we are testing two notebooks with the Apple M1 processor.
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