Macbook Air M1Source: Daniel Bader / Android Central

What you need to know

  • Apple's M1-powered MacBook Air can build apps in Xcode faster than a decked out iMac Pro.
  • You should buy a MacBook Air.

Apple's M1-powered MacBook Air, with 16GB of RAM, can build apps in Xcode faster than a 10-core iMac Pro with 32GB of RAM.

That's it. That's the post.

Well, it could be. But let's continue.

We learn this from Dave Lee's review of the new M1 Macs in which he shares a slide that outlines the time it took a number of machines to complete a build in Xcode. Some of those machines are big, powerful machines like the 10-core, 32GB iMac Pro. Others are the lowly, fanless MacBook Air.

And the Mac without a fan more than held its own.

Dave2d Xcode Build Times M1 MbaSource: Dave 2D

Maybe Apple wasn't wrong when it called the M1 "a breakthrough" after all.

M1 is here. Our first chip designed specifically for Mac, it delivers incredible performance, custom technologies, and revolutionary power efficiency. And it was designed from the very start to work with the most advanced desktop operating system in the world, macOS Big Sur. With a giant leap in performance per watt, every Mac with M1 is transformed into a completely different class of product. This isn't an upgrade. It's a breakthrough.

Based on that it's entirely possible that developers could dump their expensive iMac Pro and buy a $999 (base model, admittedly) MacBook Air and be perfectly happy. They'd need a display to attach it to, but still – the capabilities of this M1 chip are pretty insane. Imagine what M2 and M3 will be capable of!

Be sure to check the full video out below – it really is quite the watch! After you've read our M1 MacBook Air review, of course!