Who Should Use A MacBook Air for Graphic DesignĬonsidering all of the pros and cons - as well as the hardware requirements of various design applications - the MacBook Air is a good option for the following uses: This means that if you’re going to be doing CPU-intensive design work, like animation or video editing, then the MacBook Air would probably not be the best choice. One of the tradeoffs of not having to endure obnoxious fan noise is the lack of a GPU, which is required for certain types of animation and can boost the performance of other design apps. As reported by the GIMP team, users are experiencing slowdown and invisible selection outlines, and I can confirm this myself as I’ve had many of my academy students reporting similar problems. Instability When Using Open Source Applicationsįor those of you who like to use Open Source applications, like Inkscape and GIMP, you may want to look elsewhere.īoth applications tend to be slow and unstable on the MacOS, especially since the release of the Big Sur update. This can be remedied by screen mirroring to an external monitor or TV. I like to have lots of space when designing (but this is just personal preference.) The biggest disadvantage I’ve noticed when using my Air for design work is that the screen isn’t quite as big as I like it to be when designing.Įven though it has a resolution of 1680 x 1050 (which is rather impressive for a screen this size,) the 13.3 inch screen size doesn’t quite cut it for me. Consĭespite all of the benefits that you’ll enjoy as a MacBook Air user, there are some aspects where it falls short: Screen Size It also means that you can easily work with photos you’ve taken with your iPhone much more efficiently. This means that if you routinely use a drawing app for the iPad - like Procreate or Affinity Designer - you’ll be able to transfer files between devices without having to use something like DropBox or Google Drive. MacOS Compatibilityįinally, the biggest benefit you’ll enjoy when using a MacBook Air for graphic design is the cross-platform combability between your other Apple devices, like the iPad. This, combined with its slim, sleek, and lightweight design, makes it a convenient device for travel. On a test done by Linus Tech Tips, the MacBook Air’s battery lasted for nearly an entire weekend before running out! Quite the contrast from my MSI gaming laptop, which drains battery life so quickly that you can nearly watch it drop in real time. Long Battery LifeĪnother benefit you’ll enjoy as a MacBook Air user is the outstanding battery life. One of the benefits of using a MacBook Air for graphic design is that there’s no fans and no fan noise (hence the name “air”.) Using this sleek new laptop has been a refreshing change of pace for when I’m working on the go. However, after using the MSI laptop for a while, I found the fan noise to be too obnoxious (not to mention how hot it gets!)
#GIMP MAC M1 PRO#
No Fan NoiseĪ couple of years ago I wrote a post comparing the MacBook Pro with an MSI gaming laptop, explaining why I chose to go with MSI. I don’t know if this is because the Adobe apps were designed to run on the MacOS, or if it’s because of how well Apple’s components communicate with each other, but somehow Photoshop and Illustrator both run better on my MacBook Air than they do on my Threadripper rig with a RTX 2080 Super that I built last year. As you can see from the specs table above, it’s more than enough to handle the likes of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer, and so on.Īnecdotally, my experience with using the Adobe Creative Suite on the new MacBook Air has been nothing short of flawless. The pros of going with the new M1-powered Air are as follows: ARM-Powered M1 ProcessorĪpple’s new M1 chip provides more power than previous generations, and it’s enough to challenge its Intel-based adversaries. If you’re considering using a MacBook Air for graphic design then there are some pros and cons you should consider for deciding to do so.
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