The new Silicon M1-powered MacBook Air which Apple unveiled during the "One More Thing" event on November 10 also comes with dedicated keys for Spotlight, Do Not Disturb, and Dictation.
A couple of months before Apple's "One More Thing" event, there were already rumors about the Cupertino-based tech giant working on the new and faster Apple Silicon M1 chip. When Apple finally unveiled its new Silicon M1-powered MacBook Air, many also saw several improvements, particularly on the device's keyboard. The new Mac features dedicated function keys for Dictation, Spotlight, and Do Not Disturb.
While these are small tweaks to the new Apple Silicon M1-powered MacBook Air, they are important as they give you easy access to several functions. The dedicated Dictation, Spotlight, and Do Not Disturb keys replaced the keyboard brightness controls and the Launchpad in the function row. Now, if you want to adjust your keyboard backlighting, you need to access macOS Big Sur's new Control Center. Although the elimination of the Launchpad key is not likely to affect users, the change in how you adjust the keyboard's brightness may take some time getting used to.
The new Dictation key is useful for those who have difficulty using their fingers to type on the keyboard. This is particularly true for users who have injuries or suffer from motor impairments. On previous Mac models, you need to double-press your Fn key to launch the dictation function. With the new Apple Silicon M1-powered MacBook Air, you only have to press the dedicated Dictation key to use the feature. The two other keys are the Spotlight and Do Not Disturb keys. These also offer ease of use for users who wanted dedicated keys for specific functions.
The new MacBook Air has updated keyboard function keys, adding Spotlight, Dictation, and Do Not Disturb - replaces Launchpad and Keyboard brightness. pic.twitter.com/1BM6wTWQZh — Mark Gurman (@markgurman) November 10, 2020
Apart from the dedicated function keys for Dictation, Spotlight, and Do Not Disturb that came along with the Apple Silicon M1-powered MacBook Air, the new Mac also features a function key with a dedicated emoji globe icon on its keyboard. You can find this on a keyboard key located on the bottom left.
keyboard brightness is perfectly understandable. after 2 years of using a MacBook daily I’ve lit the keyboard twice - one to see if it worked and how it looked, another one to use it because I didn’t want to get up to turn the lights on — Diogo Cardoso Pinto (@diogofcpinto) November 10, 2020
The best improvement that Apple implemented with the MacBook Air, aside from the dedicated Dictation, Spotlight, and Do Not Disturb function keys, is its new Apple Silicon M1 chip. The use of this new chip also marked the end of Apple's partnership with Intel in terms of central and graphics processing. The new chip promises a huge improvement in computing performance and battery life. Although there is little change as regards the aesthetics of the MacBook Air, the big change can be found within. You can now order the new Apple Silicon M1-powered MacBook Air today at $999 with its delivery expected on November 17.
