Watch the M1 Apple Silicon MacBook Air Blaze Through Opening Every Default App

At this point, we've seen enough reviews and benchmarks to know that the Apple Silicon M1 MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini offer incredible performance compared to prior-generation Intel models, but there are still new tests coming out that demonstrate just how impressive Apple's chip really is.


MacRumors forum member iChan did a test on the base model M1 MacBook Air, opening up every default app in the dock on a new user profile and then opening up Activity Monitor at the end to see the RAM utilization.

The ‌MacBook Air‌ is able to seamlessly open every app with no lag time even as the number of open apps grows. Safari, Maps, Mail, Messages, Keynote, Numbers, Pages, the App Store, Notes, Reminders, and more are all running by the end and the 8GB unified memory in the machine handles it all without an issue. By the end, with every app up and running, App Memory comes in at 3.38GB.

Apple's ‌M1‌ ‌MacBook Air‌ achieves this with 8GB RAM and no internal fan for cooling purposes, which is an impressive feat. The ‌MacBook Air‌ and Apple's other ‌M1‌ Macs have been excelling in all manner of benchmarks and speed tests, beating out much higher-end Intel-based machines across the board.

Related Roundup: MacBook Air
Related Forum: MacBook Air

Popular Stories

imac video apple feature

Apple Unveils First New Products of 2026

Monday January 26, 2026 1:55 pm PST by
Apple today introduced its first two physical products of 2026: a second-generation AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided Solo Loop for the Apple Watch. Read our coverage of each announcement to learn more:Apple Unveils New AirTag With Longer Range, Louder Speaker, and More Apple Introduces New Black Unity Apple Watch BandBoth the new AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided...
Second Generation AirTag Feature

Apple Unveils New AirTag With Longer Range, Louder Speaker, and More

Monday January 26, 2026 6:07 am PST by
Apple today introduced the second-generation AirTag, with key features including longer range for tracking items and a louder speaker. For those who are not familiar, the AirTag is a small accessory that you can attach to your backpack, keys, or other items. Then, you can track the location of those items in the Find My app on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and iCloud.com. The new...
iPhone 5s

iPhone 5s Gets New Software Update 13 Years After Launch

Monday January 26, 2026 3:56 pm PST by
Alongside iOS 26.2.1, Apple today released an updated version of iOS 12 for devices that are still running that operating system update, eight years after the software was first released. iOS 12.5.8 is available for the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 6, meaning Apple is continuing to support these devices for 13 and 12 years after launch, respectively. The iPhone 5s came out in September 2013,...
Apple Logo Spotlight

Apple to Launch These 20+ Products This Year

Sunday January 25, 2026 6:02 pm PST by
2026 promises to be yet another busy year for Apple, with the company rumored to be planning more than 20 product announcements over the coming months. Beyond the usual updates to iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches, Apple is expected to release its all-new smart home hub, which was reportedly delayed until the more personalized version of Siri is ready. Other unique products rumored for ...
M5 MacBook Pro

Apple Reportedly Aiming to Upgrade the MacBook Pro Twice This Year

Sunday January 25, 2026 11:46 am PST by
Apple plans to release new MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Studio Display models in the first half of this year, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman added that redesigned MacBook Pro models with an OLED touch screen "should be hitting toward the end of 2026," meaning that the MacBook Pro line would be upgraded twice this year. First up...

Top Rated Comments

AngerDanger Avatar
68 months ago
For the best viewing experience, watch in fullscreen so you can pretend it's your M1 MacBook.

?
Score: 92 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spock Avatar
68 months ago
I just closed the lid on my 2014 MacBook Pro in shame..
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tzm41 Avatar
68 months ago
So that means the Intel Macs twice the price we’ve been using are now obsolete...
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lounge vibes 05 Avatar
68 months ago
Did you guys know that the M1 it’s fast? I just thought you should know that it’s fast.
i’m not sure if anyone’s told you yet, but it’s fast.
that’s definitely fast.
it’s extremely fast.
it’s exponentially faster than the Intel versions.
A $700 Mac mini is now faster than a $6000 iMac Pro, a $10,000 Mac Pro, or even a $52,000 Mac Pro.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Billyk711 Avatar
68 months ago

Cool story bro ...

Now open Xcode, FCP X, Apple Configurator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom and Android Developer (thought probably not available) all at once!!!
Why would anyone want to open android developer?
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iChan Avatar
68 months ago

Can somebody film opening /Applications, cmd-A then cmd-O ! That’d be great!
Here you go...

Nary a hiccup.
[Click to view video attachment]
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)