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Is the weakest M1 MacBook worth it in 2026?

Carter Nolan

245,292 views

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The M5 chips recently came out, so instead of seeing how much better the the M5 Max is compared to my M4 Max- I decided to do the exact opposite and find the cheapest M1 MacBook (the air) I could, and see what it's like to use in 2026.

Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
0:34 - Finding the MacBook
2:54 - Unboxing & initial thoughts
6:39 - User experience
12:12 - Battery test #1
13:10 - Video render test #1
14:47 - Battery test #2
15:26 - Heavier task performance
18:35 Video render test #2
19:25 - Who is this for?
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20 Comments

@alanperez5694 6 months ago

Watching this vid on my smart water bottle

@afrizzyy 6 months ago

Watching this on an 8/256 m1 air

@Jcobud 6 months ago

I use 16GB 512 M1 MacBook Air right now and it still runs great!

@deairreoh 5 months ago

I got my m1 MacBook Air for $80 with a broken screen , bought a donor iCloud locked MacBook Air for $60, swap the screen, still have plenty extra parts

@aurora902 6 months ago

I can't believe I just sat here and watched a review of my own laptop (on my laptop).

It's still a great machine and I never feel a need to upgrade! I'm glad you love yours!

@GeneMemory 6 months ago (edited)

Buying an M1 Air used for half the price of a new MacBook Neo, with identical ports, same size screen, but better multicore performance with the same amount of RAM and storage is an ultra-big brain move. I had a 2012 MB Air in college, and I like how the M1 Air still has the tapered chassis.

@Ultragearshift 6 months ago

i got mine for $300, seller offered 300 instead of 340 because he saw i was a university student

@riomarchello7080 6 months ago

Millions of Macbook Air M1 user still use this machine for editing, typing, graphic designing, and even light gaming on it. And people are still looking for used MBA M1 on the market and it's crazy

@omarmendoza7150 6 months ago

Wow that is dope. I have the MacBook Air M1 with 512gb. Going on 5 years with it and don't plan on upgrading no time soon.

@michiganman4398 5 months ago

My M1 air is still going strong. The battery life is still phenomenal. I typically only upgrade my apple computers every 10 years.

@OO7JAMS 6 months ago

Years later & still rocking a M1 512GB / 8GB daily with Photoshop & Lightroom and still works flawlessly. Luv this machine ❤

@ahosteltraveler6104 6 months ago

This is why tech companies dont make a great product because people wont by the newer models

@SimSim-zf9if 4 months ago

bought mine in1966 and and its still going strong

@MrMelodyCold 5 months ago

FUN FACT: safari consumes more ram than chrome but it consumes so much less battery while watching videos because safari has direct access to the decoders and request VP9 videos instead of AV1 like chrome