Intangibles
Laptops are ranked on their processors, screen size, available RAM, and the number of ports. You should also consider crotch comfort as well.
Statistics can be used to argue how much better one thing is over another. In baseball, that might be measuring a player's position, their OBS, on-base percentage, and RBI. Measuring a team's win percentage, their home & away win record, or runs scored compared to runs allowed may also give you a broad sense of how good a team is. Then, of course, there are the accolades: the division titles or championships won that help solidify one team's superiority over their competition.
Computers aren't any different. There are hundreds of metrics used to help rank a device. This includes the processor speed, amount of RAM, connectivity standards, the webcam quality, or the number of peripherals. We run benchmarks & rank devices based on their Geekbench, Blackmagic, & Cinebench scores. These tangible qualities play an important role in the overall experience of a product, and they can go a long way to helping make a product successful.
But they paint only a partial picture. Tangibles don't define the experience of using a product. Back to my sports comparison, there is no quantitative way of pinning down team camaraderie, the thrill of late-game heroics, or the players' cheekiness and post-game personalities. As valuable as the metrics are, the intangibles have a massive sway in our enjoyment and appreciation of something, whether our favourite sports team or product purchase.
Here are some of the intangibles that made using MacBook Air over the past week such a joy. I'll try to make it as M1 specific as possible, though some of these points may invariably bleed into other Macs or other computers more generally.
Intangibles
HONOURABLE UNMENTIONABLES
This laptop doesn't get warm. You might be thinking, "but it probably gets warm eventually, right?" Nope. This laptop doesn't get warm. I can't overstate how much I've appreciated the thermals of using this new Air because one of my favourite places to use my laptop is... well... on my lap. And having a computer that doesn't become warm, never mind hot, means I can remain in my flow for extended periods without any discomfort. You could be butt naked with this laptop resting on your bare thighs, and you won't break a sweat worrying about this laptop toasting your unmentionables!
The issue of heat also extends to the decision-making about where to sit and use the computer. Historically, if I was doing something less demanding, writing, for example, I could opt for a desk or have the laptop on my lap. But, if I were doing something more intensive, I would always opt for a desk (and plug) to limit the heat's discomfort and make sure I had enough power to complete the task.
SWEATY PALMS
Previously, working on my laptop for long periods with heat radiating off the computer could become unpleasant. At one point, I switched my setup to using a separate Bluetooth keyboard for the sole purpose of preventing first-date-level sweaty palms anytime I tried to work. With M1, this isn't an issue. Whether editing photos, streaming videos, or just writing, the laptop remains cool and comfortable regardless of the task.
OUT(LET) HUNTING
In the before time, as I entered a coffee shop, I would be scanning the walls to locate whatever table was nearest to a wall outlet to plug in my computer.
And if I left the house with my laptop under 50% charged, I began to play the game of making sure the brightness wasn't set too high or that I wasn't running too many intensive tasks, so that the limiting factor of my outing wasn't determined by running out of battery. I even purchased an app that tamped down on my Intel processor turbo-boosting to extend battery life. With M1, I can picture myself comfortably taking this laptop out and not giving a second thought to where I need to sit, when I last charged it, or what I should or shouldn't do to make sure my battery life survives my stay.
WHAAA?
Like so many of you, I've spent the last ten months living inside of a Zoom window. I've used Zoom for every meeting this year, in my day-to-day clinical work, and in the evenings when connecting with friends or doing online trivia (humble brag: I placed 17th (out of 74 teams) in a The Office trivia night). And every fucking time I would go to open up Zoom on my Intel MacBook Pro, the fans would instantly spin up and remain on for 40-50% of the conversation.
These past ten months have done little to improve my already low tolerance for fan noise. So it was a no-questions-asked 1-click purchase when I found out the M1 MacBook Air came without a fan. I couldn't be happier with the quality of life improvement that comes from not having a fan humming in the background every time I am in a videoconference.
That's one extreme, but I also need to note how peaceful I've found writing at night to be, with everything around me, apart from the taps on the keyboard, remaining completely quiet.
Legendary Combination
The M1 MacBook Air has struck a rare balance of fantastic performance metrics paired with the unmatched quality of use improvements. It performs exceptionally well, and I find myself looking for excuses to use it. Still early days, but this laptop might be in the running as one of my favourite devices of all time.
