Should You Buy an M1 MacBook Air Now?

We may earn compensation from reviewed products. Learn about our editorial policies.

Thinking about treating yourself to a new M1 MacBook Air as a present to yourself? Christmas is nearing, after all.

But what about the rumours? Oh, the rumours.

There’s a new one on the way. It’ll have an M2 in it. A new design. A better screen. Maybe even a notch. Ooh, and new colours, too!

What to do?

Don’t listen to the old me

Earlier this year, I made a video suggesting that people shouldn’t buy the M1 MacBook Air. I’m not going to link to it, because it’s embarrassing. I was simply (over)reacting to rumours that the next MacBook Air was imminent.

As it turns out, it wasn’t, at all.

This has been a consistent theme with Apple rumours during 2021; they have been so wide of the mark. Unfortunately, I paid rather too much attention to them and based my buying advice on the witterings of people like of Jon Prosser.

Don’t worry – I’ve changed.

We’ll start today by looking at what the next MacBook Air could be like, and then figure out which buyer camp you fit into. That way, you’ll know whether it’s worth waiting or simply picking one up now.

Although, I’m pretty confident you already know the answer to that.

What will the next MacBook Air be like?

We don’t know. All we have to go on is a bunch of loose rumours and renders made by a kid called Ian.

But the likelihood is that the next MacBook Air will look rather different. It’s time, after all; that tapered design has had its day, as loved and cherished as it still is today.

I think we’ll probably see a more squared-off design without any form of tapering. Indeed, the new MacBook Air will almost certainly follow the lead of the new MacBook Pro; consider it a ‘mini chunk’, if you will.

The screen will probably feature white bezels and it may or may not be adorned with a notch. I highly doubt we’ll see Face ID, but there will be new colours, most likely matching – and perhaps building upon – the palette on offer with the 24” iMac. I’d like a white one please, Tim.

The chip powering the new MacBook Air will probably be called ‘M2’ and focus intently on power and, more notably, efficiency, rather than significantly increasing the number of cores or unified memory options.

But this is all guess work, and I’m bored of writing the words ‘probably’ and ‘perhaps’.

Why SHOULD you buy an M1 MacBook Air now?

There are three issues with the next generation MacBook Air:

• we don’t know when it’s going to arrive;
• we don’t know how much it’s going to cost; and
• we have no idea what it’ll be like.

Ask yourself this: would you wait for something with those three concerns in mind? More importantly, would you wait for it if you either wanted or needed something right now?

If you sit in either of those camps, be it for work purposes or simply because you’d like to treat yourself to a shiny new MacBook Air for Christmas, just buy the M1 version. Honestly – you will not regret it.

The current MacBook Air will go down in history for being my most favourite laptop ever. I bloody love this thing.

I’ve flirted with using the iPad Air and Magic Keyboard as an alternative for my daily writing and worky-type activities, but I always come back to the MacBook Air. I even love the fact that it’s a little bit beat up and thrown around more than it once was.

If you can push your budget a little and get yourself the 16GB version with as much onboard storage as you can afford, you’ll end up with a laptop that will last many years and in which I promise you’ll fall in love immediately.

There will always be something new around the corner, but it may not be what you expect. What if the next MacBook Air takes away something you rely on now? What if it’s over budget? What if there are manufacturing defects only early adopters experience?

Why SHOULDN’T you buy an M1 MacBook Air now?

If you don’t technically need or want a MacBook Air right now, and if you have decent willpower, then hold on. More importantly, if you’re fascinated to see what Apple does next with its own silicon and have no desire to own the current generation MacBook Air, wait. Simple!

Providing you accept the caveats I’ve outlined today about the next MacBook Air, and realise that you could be waiting for as long as a year to see it in the flesh, then you may indeed feel a little shortchanged if you instead bought the current one on a whim today.

I doubt that many of the people reading this article fit into this buyer category. If you’re still searching for reasons to wait for the next MacBook Air, you probably want the current device. So, just buy it.

But if you’re curious and have that all-important willpower, there’s certainly no harm in waiting.

What are you going to do? Let me know in the comments.