Which M1 MacBook should you buy? | Air vs Pro | Mark Ellis Reviews

On the face of it, the differences between the M1 MacBook Air and the M1 MacBook Pro are relatively minor. But they both have their merits, and one of these devices will be right for you. So, let's look at the M1 MacBook Air vs the M1 MacBook Pro and ask 5 questions to help you make that big decision.

CHAPTERS
00:00 - Intro
01:27 - Key differences
03:18 - Your workload
05:12 - The Touch Bar
05:58 - How mobile are you?
06:57 - Do you work outside?
07:40 - Do you WANT a MacBook Pro?
08:36 - Conclusion

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WHAT IS THIS CHANNEL ALL ABOUT?
I have zero interest in deep spec dives or long-winded comparisons. I review laptops, smartphones, tablets, headphones and the latest tech based on real experience. I'll tell you how it'll make you feel, whether or not it's worth your time (and money) and help you find the tech you need to get stuff done.

WHO AM I?
I'm a UK-based freelance marketer and broke free of a regular job many years ago. Watch my videos to find the tech you need, without the jargon.

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Oh, and some of the links in this description are affiliate links from which I earn a small commission!

[fionaswaters]

Replacing my old Pro for the new Air - thanks for the info!

[ifoundvictor]

Man, I predict you are going to be big on YouTube soon. Great points made, easy and simple to understand. On a personal level If I may, you also have a great voice and nice to hear to. Congrats to you and thanks for the work you have put into this video.

[dombower]

The uk had a discount on the pro coming in at 1192 for Xmas till new year.
For me the brighter screen, better battery, non handicapped gpu, and fan for intense use temp control. The extra sub £200 was very easy to part with.

[thecharlotte]

This is literally the best tech video I have ever seen, so accessible and so good for addressing this common issue and breaking it down into different factors to consider, I’ve never seen someone else do that before. After researching for hours and your head feeling like a buzz storm this is a lovely way to clear and organise all the info you have to make a decision. Thank you !!!!

[GlovellerPrateek]

Happy to say, I watched approx 50 videos related to this, yours is best. Really helpful in decision making

[YuStudios]

Base additionals vs. Base Air. (1300cad vs. 1700cad)
-Has Fans
-8core vs. 7core
-no touch bar
-4usb c vs 2usb c

Personally, the base model air would be a perfect second device to pair with a PC or iMac. Its battery life is long enough to watch netflix for a few hours during dinner and covers zoom meetings for work/school just fine. Not worth spending the extra $400cad for more cores & usb ports when the macbook air is already so efficient.

As a video editor, I'll wait until all the professional softwares like adobe suite are fully compatible to take advantage of the M1 as well as the 16" macbook coming out with it. For now, it's an incredible casual use laptop. Holds its value over years to come and basically a leap ahead of the previous intel macbook air.

[katunik.]

Thank you for this video! I really like it.
I ordered my very first MacBook and I’ll receive it in 2-3 weeks.
I chose an Air 512GB cuz I really need that space but only 8Gb RAM cuz in Russia where I live we have an awful margins. (+350$ for a 16GB version which is kinda.. sad)

[elliotresnick]

Swapped out my M1 MBP 8/512 for M1 MBA 16/2GB, and really like form factor of the Air!

[mightymouse]

Out of the box the M1 was really slow and I was really worried. But once I got my stuff in it was zoom and swoosh. Excellent.

[MrShikasta]

That is hands down the best comparison video I've watched, and I've watched a lot. Thanks

[UCFLauren-umps]

Snagged the M1 MacBook Air 8/512 today and I am blown away by this machine so far. I've been wanting to make the jump to a MacBook for a while, and I'm happy that I finally made the jump. If there wasn't a month wait for the 16, I would have opted for that...but I needed a new laptop for work before that would have arrived, and I really think this will do everything and then some for my needs. So excited. This video was incredibly helpful as I made the final decision. Thanks for the great content!

[jesselynindia]

I’ve been scrolling through comments on the couple videos of yours that I’ve just watched and I’m definitely not alone with loving and being so grateful for your content! I can also tell you’re so good at responding to comments, even just to say thanks, but a lot of your replies are super helpful too

[AFD]

VERY helpful my friend. Been on the fence but have decided on the M1 Air.

[TransplantHelper]

Excellent video, I have m1 mini and just ordered the m1 Air. I’m excited. I’ve had a very well built 17” HP laptop for years. It runs fine (but can’t touch the M1) but I’m just sick of the huge size and weight. I’d imagine I will like this even more that my iPad Pro and magic keyboard.

[thangvu]

Thx you so much. I have watched like almost 10 videos but only this one go straight to the point and I found the answer here. Now I know I’m going to pick a MacBook Air as a self-gift for my 22nd birthday. ^^ wish you all the best

[AntonioDal.]

The difference between Air and Pro has never been this small. This is why Apple is likely to release a new design for MacBook Pro next year while the MacBook Air design will likely stay similar for 1-2 years. This is another reason why the Air is such a good bang for buck device. New designs hurt resale values.

[ericfulcher]

Thanks for the great video! I'm torn for this reason: I'm JUST getting into video editing as a hobby with my Go Pro Hero 8 camera. I'd like to develop a YouTube channel (fishing and kayaking, outdoors oriented videos!), and I don't have the experience yet with video editing to know which M1 to go with. I'm currently using a 2013 Macbook Pro and it can't read H.265 files, which is a huge annoyance. I see so many of these videos recommend 16gb for video editing, but it seems to be for more professional oriented editing. Would 8gb be fine for an amateur like myself?

[g.ndiegebuchanan]

Love your channel and approach to making technical things more approachable. +1 new subscriber.

[edtkw]

I cancelled my order for a MBP 16/512 for a MBA 8/256. No regrets so far everything runs great.

[mitchdodgemusic]

Loving the Air thus far, Ableton 10 and Ozone run flawlessly. Most of my friends with the Pro also say they never hear it really kick on.