MacBook Air (M1, 2020) review

Apple has made some big changes to the MacBook Air (M1, 2020), making it the best 13-inch laptop money can buy.

5 Star Rating
MacBook Air (M1,2020)
(Image: © Apple)

Our Verdict

Running Apple’s powerful new M1 chip, and with an updated display that supports the P3 colour gamut, the new MacBook Air (M1, 2020) is the best 13-inch laptop digital creatives can buy right now.

For

  • Great performance
  • Very good price
  • Screen supports P3 wide colour gamut
  • Excellent battery life

Against

  • Same design last previous models
  • Lack of ports
  • Still pricey

Why you can trust Creative Bloq Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Apple’s new MacBook Air (M1, 2020) is an absolutely fantastic laptop, and thanks to some brilliant new additions in the form of Apple’s own M1 chip (which replaces the Intel processors the company used to use), and an improved screen, the MacBook Air no longer feels like a compromise for creatives who don’t want to (or can’t) pay the higher asking price for the MacBook Pro.

In previous years, the MacBook Air has been a pared-down version of the MacBook that was a great thin and light laptop for day-to-day use, but due to its low specs wasn’t really suitable for intensive creative workloads like editing ultra high definition videos or rendering complex 3D animated scenes. However, this latest version comes with the same M1 chip that’s featured in the new MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020), which means for the first time, the MacBook Air can pretty much compete with the more expensive laptop. So much so, it certainly deserves a spot in our round up of the best laptops for graphic design, as well as the best laptops for students

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The Verdict
10

out of 10

Apple Macbook Air (M1 2020)

Running Apple’s powerful new M1 chip, and with an updated display that supports the P3 colour gamut, the new MacBook Air (M1, 2020) is the best 13-inch laptop digital creatives can buy right now.

Matt Hanson

Matt has been a technology journalist for over 15 years, writing for publications such as T3, MacFormat and Creative Bloq. He's a managing editor of TechRadar, Creative Bloq's sister site, where he can be found writing about and reviewing laptops, computers, monitors and more. He often writes for Creative Bloq, helping creatives find their perfect laptop or PC.