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My New Favourite Laptop - MacBook Air 2020 Review

2020-04-11 · Long video (solo, talking head or whiteboard) · Ali · recording, 12:24 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Tools, apps and tech · mode: Review and recommendation · tags: Aimed at students

Ali reviews the 2020 13-inch MacBook Air and makes it his default laptop recommendation again for basic use (browsing, documents, email, Zoom); its only fault is fan noise when hot, and he recommends the i5 processor and 16 GB of RAM, about £1,200 for students.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Upfront verdict: the perfect laptop for basic things; which use cases count as basic

  • ★★ Ali says he would consider buying a MacBook Air as an everyday carry alongside his 15-inch MacBook Pro and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, because the MacBook Pro is a bit big. — 00:00:00 · MacBook, iPad Pro
  • ★★ Ali says the iPad Pro is good but not quite a laptop replacement just yet. — 00:00:29 · iPad Pro

  • ★★★ Ali's main point: the 2020 MacBook Air is the perfect laptop for basic things, so a buyer should ask what their use cases will be over the three or more years a laptop should last. — 00:00:29 · MacBook

    “this is a perfect laptop if you're doing basic things”

  • ★★ By basic things Ali means browsing the web, watching Netflix, typing Word documents, making PowerPoint presentations, crunching numbers in Excel or Google Sheets, email and the occasional Zoom call. — 00:00:56 · Netflix, Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Sheets, Zoom

  • ★★ Ali says the 2020 MacBook Air gets slow very quickly for video editing, is not a gaming laptop, and starts slowing down with larger photo work in Lightroom or Photoshop. — 00:01:25 · MacBook, Adobe Lightroom
  • ★★★ For the first time since 2012, Ali's answer to "what laptop should I get?" is "just get a MacBook Air"; for eight years he could not say it because of the 12-inch MacBook and the butterfly keyboards. — 00:01:54 · MacBook, Apple
  • ★★ Ali says the Microsoft Surface, the Dell XPS and many other Windows laptops at the MacBook Air's price point are very good as well. — 00:02:23 · Microsoft Windows, MacBook
  • ★★ For heavier work Ali says to get a MacBook Pro, but to wait for the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the new keyboard, since the 16-inch costs about $2,500 minimum, too much unless you are a genuine professional. — 00:02:23 · MacBook

00:02:53 — Keyboard and typing test, trackpad, screen, ports, speakers, microphone and webcam

  • ★★ In a typing test on the 2020 MacBook Air keyboard Ali reached 152 words per minute on his first try; on his Apple Magic Keyboard and his mechanical keyboard he had reached about the mid 140s. — 00:03:26 · MacBook, Apple
  • ★★ Ali calls the new keyboard mechanism of the 13-inch MacBook Air and 16-inch MacBook Pro amazing; on the old butterfly keyboards he typed about 130 to 140 words per minute. — 00:03:50 · MacBook
  • ★ Ali finds nothing to fault with the MacBook Air's trackpad, as good as Apple trackpads have been for a decade. — 00:04:22 · MacBook, Apple
  • ★ Ali gives the 2020 MacBook Air's Retina display as about 2560 by 1440 resolution with 400 nits of brightness. (hedged) — 00:04:51 · MacBook
  • ★★ Ali says the MacBook Air's 400-nit screen may be hard to see in bright sunlight but is bright enough for almost every other use. — 00:04:51 · MacBook
  • ★★ Ali counts the MacBook Air's two USB-C ports as a disadvantage, but says two are more than enough for most people. — 00:05:34 · MacBook
  • ★ Two USB ports are a bit annoying for Ali, who often uses all four on his 15-inch MacBook Pro for his monitor, wired ethernet, a USB dongle and a hard drive. — 00:05:34 · MacBook
  • ★ Ali calls the MacBook Air's speakers fine; for an immersive film he says to use headphones or external speakers with any laptop. — 00:06:33 · MacBook
  • ★ Ali calls the MacBook Air's microphone very reasonable for FaceTime, Zoom and remote working. — 00:07:02 · MacBook, Zoom
  • ★★ Ali calls the MacBook Air's 720p webcam a bit crap, which he noticed when FaceTiming his mum. — 00:07:02 · MacBook, Ali Abdaal's mother
  • ★ Ali says the MacBook Air's webcam gets the job done, since no one really needs to see your face in full HD on a Zoom call. — 00:07:28 · MacBook, Zoom

00:07:57 — Thermal performance and fan noise, the one thing he dislikes

  • ★★★ The only thing Ali dislikes about the 2020 MacBook Air is its thermal performance: with many tabs, Lightroom, or Chrome, Safari, Slack and Zoom open together, the processor gets very hot. — 00:07:57 · MacBook, Adobe Lightroom, Safari, Zoom
  • ★★ On the sofa with the i3 dual-core MacBook Air in his lap and his jeans covering the air vents, Ali found the processor easily reaching 100 degrees Celsius and the fans annoyingly loud. — 00:08:27 · MacBook
  • ★★ Against the MacBook Air's fan noise, Ali suggests the add-on Turbo Boost Switcher to disable Turbo Boost, at the cost of a little speed under heavy load. — 00:09:40 · MacBook
  • ★ Ali also used the MacBook Air a whole evening in his lap on the sofa without hearing the fan once, even without the add-on. — 00:09:40 · MacBook
  • ★★ Anyone who really dislikes occasional fan noise should perhaps not get the 2020 MacBook Air, Ali says. — 00:10:09 · MacBook
  • ★★ Ali says the 2020 MacBook Air starts at $999, with $100 or £100 off for students, so the base model with the dual-core i3 is £900 or $900 for students. — 00:10:09 · MacBook

00:10:16 — Recommended configuration and price, Windows laptops as the cheaper option, sign-off

  • ★★★ Ali recommends paying an extra £100 or $100 to upgrade the 2020 MacBook Air from the dual-core i3 to the quad-core i5, which future-proofs it. — 00:10:38 · MacBook
  • ★★★ Ali would also upgrade the MacBook Air's RAM from 8 to 16 GB for $200 or £200, calling more RAM one of the best ways to make a laptop last. — 00:10:38 · MacBook
  • ★★ Ali's recommended MacBook Air configuration, with the i5 and 16 GB of RAM, costs $1,299 or £1,300, about £1,200 for students. — 00:11:09 · MacBook
  • ★★★ If you cannot afford £1,200, Ali suggests a cheaper Windows laptop that does basically the same; a MacBook Air is for those who like macOS and have other Apple devices. — 00:11:09 · MacBook, Microsoft Windows, Apple
  • ★ Ali says Apple is not paying him for the review and does not sponsor his videos, despite what people think. — 00:11:37 · Apple
  • ★★ Ali has used MacBooks since 2012, when he got his first MacBook Air. — 00:11:37 · MacBook

In the description and comments

  • ★★ Ali says he is returning the 2020 MacBook Air and waiting for the 14-inch MacBook Pro. — creator comment · MacBook
  • ★ Ali says he mostly returns the tech he buys for reviews. — creator comment
  • ★ Ali usually gives the tech he no longer uses to friends or family. — creator comment
  • ★★ To a student choosing between a MacBook Pro and a MacBook Air for school, YouTube and Netflix, Ali answers the Air. — video title · MacBook, Netflix
  • ★★ Asked whether he would recommend a MacBook Air for medical school, Ali says yes. — creator comment · MacBook
  • ★ Ali has had no issues with the macOS Catalina update himself. — creator comment
  • ★ Asked whether his USB-C hub is a Satechi and how it is holding up, Ali says it works beautifully. — creator comment

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: MacBook

Also: People: Ali Abdaal's mother

Organizations: Apple · Logitech · Netflix

Products: Adobe Lightroom · Adobe Photoshop · Apple Magic Keyboard · Dell XPS · Google Sheets · iPad Pro · iPhone 11 Pro Max · IQUnix F96 · macOS · Microsoft Excel · Microsoft PowerPoint · Microsoft Surface · Microsoft Windows · Microsoft Word · Turbo Boost Switcher · Zoom

Only in the description or credits: macOS Catalina

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