MacEbook Air vs iMac

Best Prices Today: Apple MacEbook Air (2020) M1

$899.99

Free

$999.00

Free

$1,149.99

Free

The MacEbook Air has at all times been one in all Apple’s hottest Macs, whereas the iMac might be probably the most well-known. The two have a lot in frequent, however so much units them aside.

On one facet we have now two MacEbook Air with M2 chips that be a part of the road up in July 2022 and slot in alongside an M1 MacEbook Air. On the opposite facet are three iMacs all of which function the M1 chip. If you might be deciding between a brand new MacEbook Air or iMac, or in case you are contemplating switching from iMac to MacEbook Air or MacEbook Air to iMac and wish to know whether or not it could be a very good transfer, learn on. In this text we’ll look into what’s the identical and what’s completely different so you’ll be able to remember to make the best determination.

There are a lot of essential issues, however the largest will in all probability be whether or not it is best to merely select the Mac with the latest chip–the M2 powered MacEbook Air–somewhat than the just about two 12 months outdated M1. We’ll tackle the variations between the M2 and M1 under, paying particular consideration to the advantages the design of the iMac can deliver in comparison with the design of the MacEbook Air.

We’ll begin with a have a look at the design variations earlier than shifting onto the worth and specs of those two Mac varieties.

For extra assist selecting the Mac for you learn our information to discovering the perfect Mac. We even have a information to the perfect Mac laptop computer.

MacEbook Air vs iMac: Design

The M1 iMac arrived in 2021 with a model new look and a brand new dimension. The outdated 21.5-inch iMac, with its aluminium body that hadn’t actually modified in over a decade, advanced right into a 24-inch iMac that is available in seven completely different colors. There is a alternative of inexperienced, yellow, orange, crimson, purple, blue or silver, with the tone on the again a darker shade than that on the entrance. The show is surrounded by a white border.

The MacEbook Air with M1 chip (which continues to be on sale) has the identical design that Apple has used since 2018, however the M2 MacEbook Air, which was launched in June 2022 and goes on sale in July, boasts a brand new look. Some had been anticipating the MacEbook Air to observe the design lead of the iMac, with the same vary of vivid colours. That didn’t occur, however there are two new shades bringing the variety of shade finishes you’ll be able to select from to 4: Midnight (blue/black), Starlight (gold), Space Gray and silver.

For the 2022 redesign the MacEbook Air loses the tapered wedge like design, nevertheless it’s nonetheless tremendous slim and light-weight. If you desire a transportable Mac laptop computer it may well’t be beat. As laptops go, it’s one of the crucial engaging laptops you should purchase. In the case of the MacEbook Air (and each different Mac Apple makes, the show is surrounded by a black border).

Of course, what all of it comes all the way down to is whether or not you want to have the ability to carry the pc round with you, or if it should at all times be positioned in the identical place. If you don’t want to have the ability to transfer it the iMac might be a very good choice, but when you can be carrying it to and from work or college then it must be a laptop computer.

There are advantages to the iMac design that shouldn’t be ignored although. The MacEbook Air suits lots of the identical elements into a really small case and there are drawbacks to this. The iMac has two followers the place the MacEbook Air has no followers (the Mac mini and MacEbook Pro every have one fan). It’s potential that having two followers will enable the iMac to take care of cooler temperatures in processor intensive actions, and the place the MacEbook Air can be throttled and due to this fact customers will see a efficiency decelerate, the iMac ought to have be capable to prolong its capabilities and go the additional mile. Indeed, that is what we noticed within the benchmarks for the M1 fashions, extra on that under.

There are different advantages to the bigger case of the iMac, such because the inclusion of a six speaker sound system, which we are going to focus on within the audio part under.

MacEbook Air vs iMac: Price

There are three commonplace 24in iMac choices to select from. You can made alterations on the level of sale to extend issues like RAM and storage. Here’s what’s on provide:

24-inch iMac:

• M1, 8-core CPU/7-core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Retina 4.5K show, for $1,299/£1,249
• M1, 8-core CPU/8-core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Retina 4.5K show, for $1,499/£1,449
• M1, 8-core CPU/8-core GPU, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Retina 4.5K show, for $1,699/£1,649

MacEbook Air:

• M1, 8-core CPU/7-core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, for $999/£999
• M2, 8-core CPU/8-core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, for $1,199/£1,249
• M2, 8-core CPU/10-core GPU, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, for $1,499/£1,549

Which Mac is the perfect worth for cash?

If you had been questioning which Mac provided the perfect worth for cash out of the iMac and MacEbook Air the comparability above makes that fairly clear. You can save £250/$300 by shopping for the 8-core CPU/7-core GPU M1 MacEbook Air somewhat than the identically specced M1 iMac. You can see the perfect costs for that mannequin proper now on the prime of this text.

Why then would you wish to pay a premium to get the iMac? What does the iMac provide that warrants the additional expense? We’re all conversant in the advantages of a laptop computer – most clearly portability – however what advantages do a desktop laptop deliver?

Generally desktop computer systems have bigger and extra superior elements inside them – however within the case of the 24-inch iMac and the most affordable MacEbook Air the elements are precisely the identical. Apple hasn’t designed a special model of the M1 chip for the iMac. Desktops are sometimes extra upgradable than laptops, however once more, within the case of the iMac this Mac will not be extra upgradable – in truth it’s even much less upgradable than the earlier technology of iMac was.

However, for those who have a look at the disadvantages of a laptop computer some great benefits of the desktop change into slightly clearer. The MacEbook Air is skinny and light-weight, which is a profit if you’d like the last word in portability, however that additionally means there may be much less room contained in the case for issues like cooling and audio system. Hence the MacEbook Air has no fan whereas the iMac has two. Hence the audio system within the MacEbook Air, whereas completely acceptable, will not be going to match with the six speaker sound system contained in the iMac.

If you desire a transportable Mac the MacEbook Air is right. But there are advantages related to spending slightly extra on a desktop.

Below are the perfect offers we’re seeing for the iMac proper now:

M1 iMac 8-core CPU/7-core GPU, RRP $1,299/£1,249

$1,294.00

Free

$1299.00

Free

$1299.99

Free

The finest value for the M2 MacEbook Air (which works on sale in July 2022) is as follows:

M2 MacEbook Air 8-core CPU/8-core GPU, RRP $1,199/£1,249

For extra MacEbook Air offers see our devoted offers articles.

MacEbook Air vs iMac: Specs

It’s potential to argue {that a} desktop ought to value greater than a laptop computer, however is the iMac price $200-$300 greater than the MacEbook Air? Perhaps a deeper have a look at the specs will assist us decide that.

Screen

We’ll begin with the display screen, as a result of that’s in all probability the obvious distinction between these two Macs – apart from that one is a laptop computer and the opposite a desktop.

The iMac has a a lot, a lot bigger 24in display screen (truly 23.5in) that, at 4.5K, is vastly higher than that on the M1 MacEbook Air, which measures 13.3in.

However, there’s additionally a M2 MacEbook Air that doesn’t merely sport a brand new design, it additionally has a bigger 13.6in show that’s brighter and higher than the show of the M1 MacEbook Air.

Both the iMac and the MacEbook Air have Retina shows, though the M2 MacEbook Air’s show is formally a “Liquid Retina” show, which brings some advances in distinction ratio and the vary of colours obtainable. Both the M2 MacEbook Air and the 24-inch iMac provide 500 nits brightness, which is an enchancment on the M1 MacEbook Air’s 400 nits. All three fashions provide True Tone, which is a know-how that may regulate the brightness and color to make sure that colors look right relying on the sunshine in your environment.

If dimension is what issues to you the 24-inch iMac show is superior just because it’s greater than the MacEbook Air show – it presents 4,480 x 2,520 decision in comparison with 2,560 by 1,664 pixels for the M2 13.6in MacEbook Air. But the standard of the M2 MacEbook Air show is a leap on from the M1 MacEbook Air, giving consumers a very good cause to look past the M1 mannequin.

If your solely cause for selecting the desktop is the big display screen then remember that you can at all times plug an exterior monitor right into a MacEbook Air and have two screens. Read about How to make use of a second display screen with a Mac. Of course, you can do precisely the identical with the iMac for those who assume even a 24in show will really feel cramped. Incidentally, the MacEbook Airs solely help one further show… formally – learn How to attach two or extra exterior shows to Apple Silicon M1 Macs to learn the way so as to add extra.

Processor

In this text we’re contemplating Macs that function two completely different Apple-made chips: the M1, launched in November 2021, and the M2 which arrived in June 2022. We don’t but have benchmarks for the M2 within the MacEbook Air, however we have now examined the M2 within the MacEbook Pro, so we have now an concept of what to anticipate (though the MacEbook Pro does sport a greater model of the M2 with extra graphics chips and it additionally has a fan so count on higher outcomes from that mannequin).

To recap, that is how the road up appears:

24-inch iMac:

• M1, 8-core CPU/7-core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Retina 4.5K show, for $1,299/£1,249
• M1, 8-core CPU/8-core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Retina 4.5K show, for $1,499/£1,449
• M1, 8-core CPU/8-core GPU, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Retina 4.5K show, for $1,699/£1,649

MacEbook Air:

• M1, 8-core CPU/7-core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, for $999/£999
• M2, 8-core CPU/8-core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, for $1,199/£1,249
• M2, 8-core CPU/10-core GPU, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, for $1,499/£1,549

The entry-level iMac and MacEbook Air share the identical M1 with 8-core CPU/7-core GPU.

The different two iMacs function yet one more GPU core – an M1 with 8-core CPU/8-core GPU.

The M2 MacEbook Air presents both an 8-core CPU/8-core GPU, or an 8-core CPU/10-core GPU.

That 8-core GPU within the M2 is prone to beat the 8-core GPU within the M1 as a result of there are a variety of enhancements within the newer chips.

We have run benchmarks on the M2 MacEbook Pro, which can offer you some concept of what to anticipate from the M2 MacEbook Air. As you’ll be able to see from the desk under, the M2 MacEbook Pro with 8-cores performs higher than the M1 iMac with the identical variety of cores.

Graphics

In phrases of graphics there may be fairly a spread of choices right here, from the M1 with 7-core or 8-core GPU to the M2 with 8-core or 10-core GPU. The extra cores you might have the extra succesful the Mac might be of intensive graphics, so when you’ve got the necessity to run significantly graphics heavy apps or video games, you may be pondering that the 10-core MacEbook Air might be preferable.

We haven’t run benchmarks on the M2 MacEbook Air but, however the M2 MacEbook Pro does give us an concept of what to anticipate.

If you have a look at the Metal tab above you’ll see that the 8-core M2 sweeps forward of the 8-core M1, however the 8-core M1 within the MacEbook Air wasn’t pretty much as good because it’s equal within the iMac, so you’ll be able to count on that the M2 within the MacEbook Air will underperform.

So, when you could also be drawn to the MacEbook Air due to its lower cost and extra GPU cores on provide, remember that for those who await an M2 iMac, which may arrive later in 2022, you can see even higher outcomes. Another Mac to contemplate if you really want a robust machine can be the MacEbook Pro. Read about how the MacEbook Pro compares to the iMac.

RAM and Storage

All M1 Macs ship with 8GB RAM as commonplace and the choice of upgrading to 16GB, the M2 MacEbook Pro will increase RAM help to 24GB, however nonetheless ship with 8GB as commonplace.

Apple is refers to its RAM as unified reminiscence structure, or UMA, and it’s accessible to each the CPU and the GPU. Apple signifies that there must be efficiency advantages as a result of this, as a result of the reminiscence may be allotted in line with the place it’s wanted most. For those that had been delay the M1 Macs due to the RAM limitations the M2 chip does reply that grievance. If you want much more RAM the M1 Pro expends help to 32GB, the M1 Mac to 64GB and the M1 Ultra even additional to 128GB RAM.

As for storage, there are principally two decisions 256GB or 512GB.

If 256GB is sufficient for you select from a $999/£999 or$1,199/£1,249 MacEbook Air or a $1,299/£1,249 or $1,499/£1,449 iMac.

If you need 512GB then the choices are a $1,499/£1,549 MacEbook Air or a $1,699/£1,649 iMac.

It’s arduous to not see these costs and conclude that the MacEbook Air is healthier worth for cash. It definitely is in the case of the storage on provide.

The solely query is whether or not you want 512GB storage. If you employ Apple’s iCloud for storage you may discover that you just don’t want a lot bodily storage inside your Mac. Read: How a lot does iCloud value?

If you do want quite a lot of storage then you might wish to contemplate the boundaries of how a lot storage you’ll be able to add to those completely different Macs. The factor is, all of them provide as much as 2TB – and that may value you a further $600/£600 no matter which Mac you might be buying. (The entry degree iMac solely presents as much as 1TB storage, whereas the costlier fashions can prolong to 2TB).

Ports & Peripherals

Finally a piece the place the iMac trumps the MacEbook Air.

The M1 MacEbook Air presents two Thunderbolt ports (which double up as USB 4 ports), the M2 MacEbook Air provides a MagSafe port to the providing, so no less than one in all your USB ports isn’t being given over to charging. The entry-level 24in iMac additionally presents two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, whereas the costlier 24in iMac provides 2 USB 3 ports, which may very well be useful when you’ve got older peripherals. The iMacs additionally provide Gigabit Ethernet (though that’s a build-to-order choice on the entry-level mannequin). You can at all times buy a separate USB hub for extra ports.

Apple

The different distinction is the keyboard. The MacEbook Air encompasses a keyboard with Touch ID. Not all of the 24in iMac fashions ship with the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID – for those who purchase the £1,249/$1,299 iMac is ships with a Magic Keyboard with Lock Key, however that is configurable to have the Touch ID choice.

To select the Touch ID keyboard whenever you buy the entry-level iMac it’s worthwhile to click on on Change to a different keyboard, and select Magic Keyboard with Touch ID (and which ever language applies to you). It prices a further £50. The different iMacs ship with the Touch ID keyboard.

Touch ID lets you unlock your Mac, register to apps, and pay for issues utilizing Apple Pay utilizing your fingerprint. You can arrange a number of fingerprints for numerous customers of the Mac – so there isn’t a hazard than one other person can spend your cash.

Gigabit Ethernet is barely provided for the iMac, however each the MacEbook Air an iMac provide 802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6.

Both the MacEbook Air and that iMac can help one exterior show with as much as 6K decision at 60Hz.

Both the MacEbook Air and the iMac have a FaceTime HD digicam built-in into the display screen. The M1 MacEbook Air has a 720p FaceTime HD digicam, whereas the iMac and the M2 MacEbook Air each trump that with a 1080p FaceTime HD digicam with picture sign processor.

MacEbook Air vs iMac: Verdict

Every time we have a look at how the 24-inch iMac compares to a different Mac we’re struck by how badly the iMac competes. Apple’s desktop can’t compete with the M2 MacEbook Air, and it’s significantly costlier. While we recognize the advantages of a desktop and the 4.5K show, it’s arduous to suggest it when it prices a lot extra. It would have been simpler to defend the iMac if Apple had given it an M1 Pro chip, then no less than we may have anticipated an influence enhance. But because it stands, the iMac is just too costly when you will get the identical specs in transportable kind.