Are there any alternatives?

The same competition that applied to the Intel MacBook Air applies here as well, only you’ll find them to be slower in many cases and they won’t last as long on a charge. The Dell XPS 13 is the obvious choice, which you can get for $980 with a Core i3-1115G4 CPU and the same amount of RAM and storage — but the MacBook Air M1 will blow it out of the water. Go ahead and configure the XPS 13 with its fastest CPU and you’ll still find it slower than the MacBook in many uses.

　　The HP Spectre x360 13 gives you the option of a better OLED display and the flexibility of a 2-in-1 for a few hundred dollars more depending on the configuration. But again, the MacBook Air M1 is the faster laptop.

　　Finally, the MacBook Pro 13 M1 is for anyone who wants the fastest M1 machine available (although the difference isn’t nearly as stark as you might imagine). The display will be better and the speakers will blow you away. You’ll also spend at least $300 more.

　　

How long will it last?

The MacBook Air M1 should last you for five years or longer, given how good Apple is about keeping its laptops updated. Certainly, the machine itself will last forever given its build quality, and you’ll love Apple’s support (if not its industry-standard 1-year warranty). And the MacBook Air M1 will just keep getting faster as more software is optimized for the M1 CPU.

　　

Should you buy it?

Yes. The MacBook Air M1 isn’t just for MacBook fans looking for something smaller. It’s for any laptop buyer who’s OK with the switch to Mac OS and wants to join the real future of ARM-based computing.