I got my M1 air a few days ago, thinking it could be the mobile side of the i7 Mac mini I have on my desktop, but its completely replaced it, being faster in almost every way!
using a laptop as a desktop is a pain, so now I really cannot wait until the new iMac come out!
Why you dont try out external screens with a dock maybe? My laptop is always a desktop computer when Im home
It might even be a better proposition than before in clamshell mode since they are so much cooler in operation.
I have a Dell U27 and a OWC dock, but I think ill preorder myself one of the new OWC Thunderbolt hub https://www.owcdigital.com/products/thunderbolt-hub
I never never use the clamshell mode in order to keep my mac cool. I leave it open and even use my mbp Screen as a third display.
With the M1: keeping it cool is not an issue. While Intel Macs in clamshell mode could be used to keep your coffee mug warm, it’s insane how cool the new ones are.
We will see in the long term whether the M1 will really meet cooling expectations. However if keeping cool is not an issue, why doees the m1pro has fans? ;-))
NEevertheless I would use my m1 in a laptop mode as well during the connection to a dock: the more dispalys the nicer my worklfow :))
The fans are there for sustained heavy processing. Only once I managed to get the M1 hot and the fans blowing at full speed with a huge photography processing batch job.
“Normal” usage (I even tested two games): doesn’t get hot, barely warm. The Intel MBP was way hotter with similar usage.