The MacBook Air could handle most of what the iMac could handle, but it stuttered a little when I reached 10+ tax returns and a few Sage 50 files open at the same time in the Windows 11 VM. Build 22454 was reasonably solid and allowed me to extensively test the above workflow on the M1 MacBook Air. For this, I had to use the Windows 11 for ARM Insider Preview in Parallels 17. Next, I tested the M1 MacBook Air with 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD. Beaming into an iMac regularly was not my idea of “productive”. If I wanted to work from home during tax season, I’d have to setup all that software on a laptop or I would have to beam into the iMac via Screens 4. Realistically, there’s nothing this iMac hasn’t handled with ease.īut the iMac isn’t a laptop. When testing, I could open 15 tax returns inside Intuit ProFile, 5MB-10MB Excel spreadsheets (not overly big, I recognize, but they certainly make a computer sweat when you search for a specific term), 5 Sage 50 accounting files, and every piece of Mac software I could ask for. It runs Windows 10 in a Parallels VM effortlessly. I have 24GB RAM in my iMac at the office. My workflow involves using Windows inside a virtual machine via Parallels.

My Totally Professional Reviewer Workflow for Testing Performance Specifically, how the extra power under-the-hood has affected my work this last two weeks. Today, I’ll talk unofficially about performance. It also happens to have ports and magically-endless battery life. It’s thin and light and capable of being transported between the office and my home office. It has the RAM capacity to handle two operating systems running semi-intensive apps at all times. It has the graphics power to drive loads of pixels. This setup has met every want and need I discussed a month ago. Two (2) x LG 24-inch UltraFine Displays.But that’s OK, too - I don’t want to work on a Windows PC. There may be Windows PCs that can do this without the virtual machine requirement. And I don’t think accountants are in the “power user” category Apple refers to in its marketing campaigns.īut that’s OK - my particular want was a laptop that could drive two external displays and could handle RAM-hungry apps inside a Windows 11 virtual machine in Parallels. Spreadsheets aren’t the most taxing (ha!) pieces of software available. I am far from the most qualified person to discuss 2021 MacBook Pro performance. 14-inch M1 Pro MacBook Pro: Performance Friday, This M1 Pro MacBook Pro may not be 'needed', but its impact on my workflow is undeniable.

Parallels macbook air m1