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If you’re thinking about buying an M1 Mac – be it the M1 MacBook Air, M1 Mac mini, MacBook Pro, or 24” iMac – you’ve probably got lots of questions!
Ever since Apple introduced the groundbreaking M1 chip back in 2020, I’ve worked extensively with pretty much every iteration. I’ve reviewed them, pushed them to their limits, and run many of these M1 Macs as daily do-it-all computers.
Along the way, I’ve put together a bunch of buying guides, tips, short- and long-term reviews, and revelations of where these M1 Macs both beat my expectations and fall short.
If you’re after an M1 Mac buying guide, you’ve come to the right place. It’s time to save you a bunch of time – and some money.
Wondering which M1 Mac to buy?
Whether you’re trying to choose between 8GB or 16GB of unified memory for your M1 MacBook Air or Mac mini, or tussling between the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips for your next MacBook Pro, my guides below will help point you in the right direction.
Equally, if you have no idea whether the 14-inch or 16-inch MacBook Pro is right for you, I can help you there, too.
Apple doesn’t always make it easy to buy the right machine, thanks to an ever-expanding Mac range, and countless configuration options. What’s more, the merits of each choice you can make during the checkout process aren’t particularly obvious unless you undertake lots of research. Even then, it’s far too easy to inadvertently buy the wrong Mac.
I don’t want that to happen for you.
Good news: I’ve done most of the research for you! I’m also acutely aware that you’re probably about to spend a considerable amount of money on a Mac that you want to last the test of time and do everything you ask of it.
So, without further ado, here’s my current list of M1 Mac buying guides and useful articles!
M1 Mac mini buying guides and reviews
- M1 Mac mini Buying Guide
- M1 Mac mini First Impressions: This Changes Everything
- M1 Mac mini review – 2 Weeks Later
- M1 Mac mini 3-Month Review
- Would I Buy the M1 Mac Mini Again? M1 Mac mini long-term review
- M1 Mac mini Bluetooth Issues: It’s a Huge Problem
- Bad News About the M1 Mac mini (the Blog I Didn’t Want to Write)
- The Best Accessories for the M1 Mac mini
- A Day in the Life of My M1 Mac mini
M1 MacBook Air buying guides and reviews
- M1 MacBook Air Buying Guide
- 8GB vs 16GB M1 MacBook – Does It Even Matter?
- My First Week With the M1 MacBook Air
- M1 MacBook Air 4-Month Review
- One Dent and Seven Months of Use: M1 MacBook Air Update
- How I Use My M1 MacBook Air
M1 24” iMac buying guides and reviews
- 8GB or 16GB 24” M1 iMac?
- iMac 24” M1 First Impressions
- I Moved My 24″ iMac to the Kitchen and It Changed Everything
- 5 things I’ve learned about the M1 24″ iMac
- 24” M1 iMac Review – 3 Months Later
- 5 Reasons a Smaller iMac Might Be for You
MacBook Pro buying guides and reviews
- M1 MacBook Pro 13” Buying Guide
- 8-Core or 10-Core M1 Pro MacBook Pro 14”?
- 16GB, 32GB or 64GB MacBook Pro? How to Decide
- Apple M1 Pro vs M1 Max – How to Choose
- MacBook Pro 14″ 8-core First Impressions – Is This the One?
- I Was Wrong to Disregard This MacBook Pro Feature
- Is the 16-Inch MacBook Pro a Good All-Round Business Laptop?
- The Accessory (Nearly) Every Macbook Pro Owner Needs
- Why the 16″ MacBook Pro Has Transformed My Business
- Solving the MacBook Pro Notch ‘Problem’
- 14-Inch or 16-Inch MacBook Pro? (Buying Guide)
- Is the 16” MacBook Pro Battery Really That Good?
- Living With the New 16-Inch MacBook Pro
- How Many GPU Cores Do You Need in the New MacBook Pro?
- Just How Good Is a Specced-up M1 Max MacBook Pro?
- I Repeat: The MacBook Pro Notch Doesn’t Matter
Useful articles
- This Is the Best Thing About the M1 Chip
- The Most Important Pros and Cons of the M1 Chip
- The best macOS Monterey features Worth Trying Now
- Avoiding Apple Buying Remorse: 4 Brilliant Tips
- 5 Tips for Making the Most of Safari on macOS
- 5 Reasons You Need an M1 Mac
- 5 Awesome Time-Saving Tips for Mac Users
- How I Use Three M1 Macs
- 5 Ways to Ruin Your M1 Mac Experience
- What’s on My Mac: My 3 Favourite Power Apps
