The review can be considered absolutely reliable as it is made after about three years of use. Purchased 1/2022 just before the new one came out, from a well-known chain. I also made the three-year warranty extension (and as it turned out, I did well). What I remember when I activated it was the SHOCK from the incredible sound performance. Coming from the previous model (which I sold and added the difference), I can only say that it is extremely good, noticeably better. Three years (almost) later, the battery performance is still epic. It has NEVER frozen and runs like a champ, stays on standby for days and I have no problems at all. Twenty days ago, I had an accident, while searching in my library I tripped and fell from the stool onto it. The screen broke. I took it to the company's service. The insurance, which I didn't hesitate to pay for back then, covered everything. They sent it to Athens. They replaced the screen with a new one. Inside, nothing was broken (in the keyboard, processor, etc.) despite the fact that 62 kilos landed on it. Now, I'm writing on it.

In the meantime, I needed to borrow a computer from the Master's program at the University where I work as I had to continue working. They gave me one that I had again, I had it since new, a DELL Vostro, with 15.6, purchased 08/2021, which I had used very little as I preferred the size of my own. Essentially, it was a new machine.

It broke my nervous system. The battery drained easily. I couldn't be outside without being next to a socket. I won't mention the rest (Windows froze every now and then) nor that it was a heavy, colorless, and clumsy machine. What really annoyed me was that the battery wouldn't last. Tragic.

Therefore, with my hand on my heart, I will say that:

If you want to have resale value, performance, ergonomics, epic battery (I won't mention design, etc.) only ONLY Macbook.

If you want a computer that will simply run out of battery after 5 hours and will drive you crazy, anything else will be fine.

We have all found ourselves in the difficult position of choosing a new laptop. The truth is that if it comes down to choosing between Windows and macOS, the whole endeavor becomes even more challenging. So before someone proceeds to purchase a laptop, they must consider what they need the most. In 2024, the Macbook Air M1 continues to be a very commendable choice, four years after its initial release. Personally, I currently use this particular device mainly for office work, while in the future, I will also use it for photo editing. It is the first Apple device that I use, and for this reason, I will also provide some impressions from the transition from Windows to macOS.
The first impression one initially forms is that the laptop is of high quality and gives a premium feeling. It is thin, the logo on the back is not illuminated, it comes in three color options (Space Grey, Gold, Silver), and it is lightweight. It weighs only 1.29kg, which means it is easy to carry. On the downside, it only has two USB-C ports and one 3.5mm headphone jack. For most users, it is certain that they will need to purchase an external docking station to have access to more and different types of ports, such as HDMI.
The keyboard works flawlessly and has backlighting, which is a significant advantage for dark spaces. It also has a fingerprint sensor in the upper right corner that can perform many functions. For someone who uses shortcuts in Windows (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V), it will be difficult at first to get used to the Apple shortcuts like Command+C, Command+V, etc. To be honest, I believe that due to the position of the Ctrl key in Windows, it is easier for someone to use the corresponding shortcuts during typing. In general, Apple tends to change the "known" key positions and various other functions, not always making them more user-friendly, just to differentiate itself from the competition. On the sides of the keyboard, there are two speakers that produce quite good and clear sound, and their volume is satisfactory for my needs. At the bottom, there is also the trackpad, which has several useful functions and offers a very pleasant browsing experience on the internet, as well as in applications. I believe that many users will find the trackpad convenient and will not need to purchase a mouse due to its responsiveness.
As for the Retina display, it has a size of 13.3 inches and a resolution of 2560X1600. The colors and clarity are realistic and will satisfy the majority of users, from those who perform simple tasks to those involved in photo editing, video editing, and graphic design. At the top of the screen, there is the laptop's HD camera, which, although it does its job, should be Full HD in a device of this category. The brightness is high, allowing it to perform well in both dark environments and direct light. There are numerous accessibility and customization settings so that everyone can adjust the colors, contrast, and many other aspects to achieve the optimal result.
Obviously, what sets this laptop apart from laptops of other companies is the operating system. macOS is a completely different operating system from Windows, and transitioning from one to the other will be difficult. Many features that are taken for granted in Windows are either missing or require a separate application to enable them in macOS. A simple example is multitasking. Additionally, instead of Microsoft Office, Apple offers Numbers, Pages, Keynote, and many other applications that are exclusively designed for this operating system, resulting in smoother performance on a MacBook. Needless to say, everything works without the slightest bug and without any increase in temperature, even with multiple applications open. One thing that impressed me is that I never heard any noise from the laptop, even when using it for extended periods of time, despite the fact that it does not have a fan.

At this point, I would like to emphasize the Apple ecosystem. Based on the experiences of acquaintances who own other Apple devices such as the iPhone and iPad, I noticed that these devices work together better than any others. For those involved in design or other graphic work, the combination of an iPad and Apple Pencil with a MacBook or Mac computer is excellent. The transfer of images and documents is very easy and immediate, so there is no time wasted on sending processes.

The battery of the MacBook Air M1 offers great autonomy. Apple claims that the battery lasts up to 18 hours. The M1 processor, created by Apple, exceeds all expectations in terms of performance. Obviously, newer versions of this processor may offer better performance, but I don't know if they are significantly superior enough to justify investing significantly more money to acquire the latest version of the MacBook Air with the advanced processor. In terms of other specifications, it has 8GB (or 16GB) of RAM, a total of 15 cores (8 CPU, 7 GPU), and storage space of 256GB (up to 2TB).

This particular device will meet the needs of most users. Its main weakness is the camera resolution, but its advantages are clearly more significant, which is why I couldn't give it anything less than five stars. Although it is a four-year-old device, I believe it does not have any significant weaknesses that would justify the nearly 300 euros extra required for the MacBook Air M2. For those who already own other Apple devices and are looking for a laptop, I would say that getting a MacBook is the way to go, and this specific model is the most reliable choice. Pair it with a case or bag for better protection and a docking station for additional and different ports.

I will mention some flaws, which are almost exclusively related to the operating system:
1. You cannot set different scrolling settings for touchpad and mouse wheel, even though there are separate menus for each. If you choose reverse scrolling on the touchpad (which is the most common), the same will happen with the mouse wheel, which is completely unusual and strange.
2. By default, if a folder contains subfolders and files, they are all listed together, not showing the subfolders first and then the files. You have to sort them by type to organize them in a more logical way. And this has to be done for each folder and subfolder (there is no general setting for all folders).
3. If you want to view photos in full screen that you have in a folder, you have to first select the ones you want to see (good luck when the folder contains other files and subfolders) and then open them in full screen. The MacBook will ask you beforehand if you are sure you want to open so many files. While in Windows, you can open one image in full screen and simply use the arrow keys to go to the next one.
4. Even worse is when you want to listen to some music tracks that a friend brought, for example, on a USB stick, expecting to enjoy them through the machine's great speakers. Instead, however, of what is obvious and simple on any "common" music-playing device (e.g. Bluetooth speaker, TV, laptop, etc.), here you will first receive a question asking if you are sure you want to open, let's say, 500 files (!?). You say yes, because you don't believe what will follow. Then you realize that the MacBook actually starts "opening" and "processing" one by one the 500 music tracks before you can listen to them, a process that takes several seconds for each track. But what does this processing, which ultimately makes you and your MacBook look ridiculous, consist of? Honestly, I didn't want to find out, as I didn't have the patience and rudeness to deal with this mess instead of enjoying my time with friends. It probably copies the files to the hard drive and organizes them in the playlist according to the artist, title, album, etc.
5. When you choose to close a window (red button), the application doesn't close. It remains open and essentially it's like you have minimized it. This is bad because it allows some applications, as long as they remain open, to record the computer's activity for advertising (and not only?) purposes based on, for example, stored cookies and browsing history. I realized this when I received a message in my email that I hadn't registered with Apple, promoting products for "my new Mac". Is that good? And this happened even though I had set my browser to delete all cookies and history every time I close it. So, I understood that in order to close an application, I have to right-click on its icon every time and choose exit or quit. Very helpful.
6. You cannot install Microsoft Access on a Mac (this hurt me quite a bit).
7. You can't simply connect an Android phone and have access to your files.
8. There is no way to delete text forward (the delete function in Windows).
9. If you connect an external hard drive with NTFS format, it doesn't recognize it.
10. There is no option to move files from one location to another (e.g. cut and paste). There is only the option to copy. You have to know some shortcuts that involve using the command or drag the file to its new location (which means you have to have two windows open).
11. It only has two USB-C ports. Good luck connecting a traditional mouse to this machine. I searched for a silent mouse with Bluetooth and found very few options. So you resort to using inconvenient extensions.
12. Word and Excel are considerably slower on the Mac.
13. The button for switching languages (bottom left on the keyboard) often doesn't respond, possibly because it has a very slow response time, which is extremely problematic when typing a text quickly. In practice, you end up pressing it and pressing it again until it responds. However, the shortcut control + space always works.
14. Searching for a file is not so easy. You open Finder, click on File, at the bottom of the list you click on Find, or alternatively, you click on the icon with the magnifying glass on the top right of the Finder window. Then you type the term and it immediately presents you with files that either include the search term or have it in the title, although in a mixed order. Then you choose whether you want the search term to be in the title of the file or to be included within it.
15. It is extremely difficult and time-consuming to select between different open windows of the same application. In Windows, when you hover over the icon of the open application, it shows a preview of the open windows and you can choose the one you want. Here, you have to make a gesture on the touchpad to display the open windows from all the open applications. You can also right-click on the application icon and choose from the list of names of the open files the one you want. There is also the "Mission Control" setting, which is quite fancy, but you can't do your work when the open windows are in full screen. You have to make a special selection for the left screen and the other open windows of the same application to continue appearing on the left, but you can't choose the one you want. You have to click on the left icon with the grouped open windows again and again until the one you want appears in the foreground.
16. Insufficient support, perhaps intentional neglect, for the Greek language. While some applications and system settings have Greek names (e.g. System Preferences, Control Center, Background Management), others have English names (e.g. Finder, Launchpad, Dock).
17. Splitting a window to the left or right of the screen, which is very useful when working with 2 open windows, works very poorly on the Mac and this setting is lost at the slightest provocation. For example, when you need to do something else with the computer, one of the two windows inexplicably switches to full screen view.
18. Slow response of the touchpad in some functions. The right click, for example, takes a long time to load when selecting with two fingers. Even worse is when you choose to drag on the screen with a double click instead of pressing the surface. The machine takes a while to respond when you release your finger at the end of the movement, so when you click again somewhere on the screen, the screen moves again as if you never lifted your finger from the surface. I searched for a solution and some suggest disabling complex touch gestures to prevent the machine from being slow to understand what you want to do. Seriously now? I never had similar problems with Windows, even with machines that are a decade old or older.
19. User switching: Initially, it does not appear in the Apple menu. There is only the option to log out the user. You have to make a setting for this option to appear. However, you still cannot display it as a choice in the Apple menu, along with the options to log out, shut down, and restart. NO, of course not. Basic things here seem like luxuries. This option will appear either in the menu bar or in the control center. Only then can you switch users.
20. If for some reason someone wants to perform a clean installation of the operating system, they will definitely need to call a technician or be very careful because there are traps here: When you reach the window to delete the disk through the Recovery Menu, you will find that there is no indication to return to the Recovery Menu to select the installation of the operating system. You will have to guess that here, except for a few cases, when you close a window, you return to the previous menu. But if you make the mistake of shutting down the computer, hoping to enter the recovery menu again by pressing command + R during startup, you're out of luck. Because then you can only install via the internet. And guess what... No matter how many times I tried, the installation would freeze at the final stage and tell me to restart the process. In technical support, they suggested (believe it or not) that I connect with mobile data to download some gigabytes of the operating system from there because if the network is unstable, the process gets stuck! They didn't even know to tell me that the system time may have changed after erasing the disk, causing the installation to fail for this reason. And in my case, the time was correct, but the time zone had shifted to the US, so I was... in the future. And how do you adjust the time? Well... of course, through a command in the terminal, or better yet, by taking the mac directly to someone to fix it. The funny thing is that, amidst all this chaos and having complained strongly, I heard the ultimate comment from someone in technical support, that macs are made to better serve the user.

Overall, as I live with this tool, I discover other things that I CANNOT do or that I do with considerable time delay. I made this choice because I wanted a laptop that would not need replacement every so often. It has a very good screen, speakers, and battery life. Also, the price I bought it for (999 euros) was about 300 euros lower than a similarly equipped laptop with not-so-good Windows 11, so I preferred to take the risk.

3/3/2023:
Now, this specific macbook is owned by someone else, who is very happy with it and will hardly ever worry about the things I mentioned before, as they don't heavily use the machine, especially for office applications. I am now using an Asus Zenbook UM3402Y, 50 euros cheaper with a much better screen, which does its job quickly, without any unnecessary delays.

I bought it in the first days of July, used, in very good condition (93% battery performance - about 100 charging cycles) for 750 euros as I was struggling to pay the 1150 it cost new at the time from here.

The use I give it is for school work (Department of Computer Science), from programming to writing text for several hours in a row, even at night. The backlit keyboard helped me tremendously, something I didn't have on my old Dell laptop that cost 650 euros, please!

What never ceases to amaze me about this machine is:
1) Its battery: 8 hours of use easily as I sometimes go to the library and read. Even with the battery performance dropped to 88% from when I got it, it still surprises me until now as I write this review.
2) Its minimal weight: Super lightweight, with a thin screen that is almost like it doesn't exist. Literally, you can carry it around with a little care. In the morning, while making coffee, I bring it to the kitchen and play podcasts on Spotify and on a JBL speaker I have. At noon, I work in the living room or bedroom, and at night, in the living room again for work or a movie, as I am a bit of a homebody, especially in winter.

It's really amazing how much this particular machine can do with the combination of the above 2 positive characteristics.

Conclusion (2 months of use): I'm not sure yet if it's worth/giving personally the 1000+ euros, but it was worth every euro for the 750 I paid and snagged it. It really is a tool that, if you take care of it, can last you 7-10 years.

512GB/16GB RAM model

Very lightweight laptop, fantastic battery, stable temperatures at 30-35 degrees and user-friendly. However, because it is quite expensive, it requires careful consideration. I recommend paying in installments unless someone else pays for it (for the few).

The laptop is exclusively for the factors I will mention.

Unfortunately, no matter how good the hardware is, the damn company doesn't want to make games fully functional. There are clients like Parallels and Crossover, but their prices are pure rip-offs. Come on, Asahi Linux, release the full version to get rid of the software.

The processor rewards programmers with extremely fast compilation. Even in battery save mode, you can get rid of it faster than a beast x64. If you're interested in the platform but not necessarily the laptop, there's also the mini, which is far cheaper.

I think graphic designers are a bit exaggerated unless you want to combine it with an iPad?

Video editing, such as DaVinci Resolve, renders demanding projects very quickly if you see reviews.

Good luck and happy burning! (This also goes to your wallet)

By far the best overall laptop! Although this laptop will satisfy even demanding users with requirements in image/video editing, programming, etc., my review is aimed at simple users.

So, here's what I have to say: if you have this amount of money to spend, this laptop is by far the best choice for the simple user! We're talking about an ultralight laptop, with a battery that lasts up to 20 hours of use, absolutely silent, doesn't heat up, has incredible performance that, as I said, will satisfy even demanding users, and especially for simple users, it will satisfy them for years (easily a decade!) and of course, it's the Apple experience in terms of the operating system and build quality, the speakers, the screen, the keyboard, the trackpad, the camera, the microphone, etc., all of which are top-notch!

This laptop has incredible performance without even fans and with a battery that lasts 20 hours thanks to the M1 chip, which is something completely different from anything else on the Windows camp since we're talking about an ARM technology chip that has been developed by Apple for the first time! Older Mac models used Intel processors and anything else from another company also uses Intel or AMD chips, which are x86 technology chips that are much more energy-consuming, overheat, and are far less efficient.

So, I've been using my laptop for 6 months now and after getting a full picture, I decided to evaluate it. Generally, I've bought quite a few laptops, gaming and non-gaming, used and new. This is the second time I've bought a MacBook specifically, I had the MacBook Air 2012 before. Just so those who have the laptop don't think that the Mac OS is light, etc. with the Air 2012, when you opened a YouTube video, the temperature would instantly go up to 100 degrees, the fan sounded like an airplane, and as soon as you tried to do something else at the same time, the machine would freeze like a cheap Android phone from 2013. With the M1 Air, things are completely different. It's not that it does everything instantly and runs smoothly all the time quietly and coolly, the most important thing is that it does everything together and doesn't lag at all. I have about 10 tabs open in Google Chrome and the same in Safari, playing music (with excellent sound, please), syncing with Viber and Messenger, GarageBand open because I'm too lazy to save and close, and finally Steam and Football Manager permanently running in the background, and it's as if I just opened the laptop, at 38 degrees Celsius and completely silent. For heavy games, I wouldn't say it does well, it's likely to run them correctly but it will heat up quickly and without a fan, it starts to burn a little. Playing Dirt 3 for about an hour, the temperature exceeded 80 and because I plan to keep it for years, I prefer not to push it that much. Note that when I saw 80 degrees on the Air 2012, I said, "Nice, it didn't heat up," I still have it until 100.

I tried very hard to find a reason to deduct a star from it, maybe the fact that it only has 2 ports, but on the other hand, with a cheap adapter that I bought with the laptop, I have connected a microphone, MIDI, speakers, and guitar all at the same time for a little music. It would be good to have more ports, but I can't deduct a star for that.

Along with the 5 stars, this will be the first time I say a big bravo to Apple for the product it offers at this price and I hope it honors us with an Apple Store in Greece soon to improve the service. Buy without fear.

The ultimate laptop. With all the meaning of the term laptop. I use it for programming, office applications, photo & video editing, and browsing/multimedia. In short, the laptop is the best on the market for what I mentioned at its price point.
2. Exceptional display, with ideal clarity and very good for photo/video editing.
3. Extremely good battery. 3 days with full use. Charges in 2 and a half hours.
4. Excellent keyboard, I don't miss the mechanical one on my desktop at all.
5. Simply the best trackpad on the market, very sensitive and gestures work perfectly.
6. Incredible performance. They did an amazing job with the M1. It handles simple tasks with ease and difficult ones perfectly, especially if the applications are optimized for the M1.
7. Apple ecosystem. If you have an iPhone, it's a breeze. Many useful features that you simply don't have with a Windows laptop, even with third-party applications. And something that impressed me positively is that Apple gives you their office suite for free without subscriptions and nonsense. And their files are compatible with Microsoft Office. And PDF editor.
8. Build quality. Aluminum body with no flex on the keyboard and screen.
9. Completely silent as it has no fan.

Many say that adapters don't allow for 60fps on a 60hz monitor, but only 30. With this adapter https://www.skroutz.gr/s/17710472/Baseus-Thunderbolt-C-Pro-Seven-in-One-Smart-Hub-Docking-Station.html I have 144hz on an external monitor with HDMI 2.0, tested on Chrome with UFO FPS test.

So the laptop is simply the best in everything except gaming. Whoever wants games gets a gaming laptop. End of story. Macs are tools. And this one is the ultimate value for money. I was and still am tough on Apple. But this product of theirs will satisfy most people who want to do their work safely and securely. Without miserable blue screens and silly bugs.

Negatives: The caps lock doesn't always work on the first try.
I'll come back if I find more.