Macbook Air M1 8gb Vs 16gb Music Production

macbook air m1 8gb vs 16gb music production

MacBook Air is a series of Macintosh computers/ laptops from Apple Inc. it was once the flagship series of laptops from the company as it introduced a new category of laptops, the ultraportable. However, it has fallen below the current flagship Pro series in terms of performance and tech over the year. Still, it is an apple from the product, so it still produces gems once in a while, even at affordable. And one of those gems is the MacBook Air M1. Today, we are going to compare MacBook Air M1 8GB vs 16GB music production.

MacBook Air M1:

Let’s look at the key features and specs of the MacBook Air M1.

Key Features:

  • CPU: Apple M1 (8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, 7-core GPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine)
  • 13-inch Retina display
  • Backlit Magic keyboard

Specs:

  • CPU: Apple M1 (8-core)
  • Graphics: Integrated 7-core GPU
  • RAM: 8GB/ 16GB Unified PDDR4X-4266 MHz SDRAM
  • Screen: 13.3-inch, 2,560 x 1,600 Retina True Tone display (backlit LED, IPS)
  • Storage: 256GB PCIe SSD
  • Ports: 2x Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C), 3.5mm headphone jack
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5
  • Camera: 720p FaceTime HD webcam
  • Weight: 2.8 pounds (1.29kg)
  • Size: 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.63 inches (30.41 x 21.24 x 1.61cm; W x D x H)
  • Backlit Magic keyboard
  • Built-in 49.9‑watt-hour lithium‑polymer battery
  • Up to 15 hours of wireless web battery
  • Up to 18 hours of Apple TV app movie playback battery
  • Touch ID sensor
  • HD facetime camera
  • Finish: Gold, Silver, Space Gray

Description:

MacBook Air M1 is equipped with the latest technology from Apple, the famous M1 chip. This allows this ultra-thin and light laptop to be much better than its predecessors in terms of performance and speed. Additionally, the long battery life and stunning display make it a delight. In short, even though this is not a Pro, it still packs a punch.

MacBook Air M1 8GB vs 16GB Music Production:

The MacBook Air M1 is a decent enough laptop for music production, even though it is not Pro. The basic version comes with 8GB RAM, which is the bare minimum requirement for many software like GarageBand and rendering high-quality songs with 20+ tracks at most. However, it still produces good enough songs that will not leave you any complaints. However, it is still not the best the model could give, as many users wish they should have opted for more significant memory.

Compare that to 16GB RAM, and frankly, you will see a lot of improvement. 16GB RAM is more than enough for music production, even on a large scale. This is evident by the fact that the laptop can easily store and run Ableton Live sessions with more than 121 tracks, containing over 100 plugins, 9-10 VI’s (Cremorna Quartet, Noire, Serum, Arturia, Omnisphere), and 60 vocal tracks all with processing. And this is possible because the larger RAM you have, the more processing speed and efficiency increase.

So MacBook Air M1 16GB is hands down the better option vs. 8GB for music production.

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Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Is 16GB RAM suitable for music production?

Ans: 16GB is actually more than enough for many music producers. This is because anything beyond 16GB is for those who have hundreds of tracks, plugins, and samples, all of them running at the same time. Many producers simply don’t need this capability, so 16GB is preferable and affordable.

Q: What accessories should I buy for music production with my MacBook Air M1?

Ans: Here is a list of accessories you should get along with your Air M1 for music production.

  • Blue Yeti USB Microphone

  • EVO 4 USB Audio Interface sound card for music production

  • SanDisk 2TB Extreme PRO Portable SSD 

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