Common wisdom used to be that Apple’s Mac computers were “premium priced.” Which is a nice way of saying that you don’t get as much bang for your buck as you do with a Windows computer. I think there was always an element of truth to that, especially if you just went by the specs on the side of the box and neglect to take into account the overall user experience, which is of course much harder to quantify.
However, events of the last 12 months seem to have flipped that script. Specifically, I’m referring to the introduction of Apple’s M1-series SoCs. As an example, if you pick up an M1 MacBook Air for under $1,000 you’re getting quite a lot of value for those dollars. Compared to a Microsoft Surface 4, there’s just no comparison. The Air hands down delivers better value for your money.
Here’s a good example of what I mean. In this video they compare a new (at the time in April) Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (in both Intel and AMD configurations) to the M1 MacBook Air. If you’re a nerd, this is pretty interesting video. If you’re not a nerd, let me tl;dr it for you: the M1 crushes the Surface like a grape. There are some truly embarrassing moments here.
The real kicker is the fact that the Air is the cheapest laptop in this shootout.