Oh. Well, then... Maybe it actually IS worth spending 70-hours per week on a straight-backed chair. a. Also, if you are now using a Mac Air 2019 manufacture date (even though, of course, I detest ALL Apple products) then I would say that the fault very well may lie with the computer hardware. b. The CPU is probably an Intel i5, and so: Your 2019 MacBook Air (1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 CPU and Intel UHD Graphics 617) meets the basic requirements for Google Meet, but it will struggle with heavy or all-inclusive presenting. Performance Limits Basic Presenting: Sharing static tabs, PDFs, or Google Slides works fine because it requires minimal processing power. Heavy Presenting: Sharing video clips, animations, or using live background/camera effects will cause high CPU usage, fan noise, and potential lag. Multitasking: Running many background apps or heavy browser tabs while presenting on this dual-core chip can freeze or slow down the laptop. c. But, if you have a 2021 year laptop, then this is the bare minimum: the Apple M1 chip (with its 8-core CPU and 7- or 8-core GPU) in a 2021 MacBook Air is fully powerful enough. Google lists the Apple Silicon M1 explicitly in its optimal specifications tier to run high-quality video, handle animations during screen shares, and manage heavy multitasking. Performance Strengths for Google Meet Hardware Acceleration: The integrated M1 media engine and GPU use WebGL 2.0 to efficiently encode and decode video streams, keeping video smooth. Neural Engine: The 16-core Neural Engine easily handles real-time background blur, visual effects, and noise cancellation. Silent Operation: Because the MacBook Air is fanless, it will stay completely quiet even when pushing the processor during a long presentation. [1] Potential Bottlenecks to Watch Out For RAM Limits: Base models feature 8GB of unified memory. While efficient, having dozens of heavy browser tabs, Slack, and a high-resolution screen share open simultaneously can strain 8GB. Thermal Throttling: Because there is no internal fan, a prolonged multi-hour presentation in a very hot room might cause the M1 chip to slightly lower speeds to cool down. d. NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE REALIZE (IMHO) that when a laptop begins to get hot, the CPU will begin to throttle down to avoid burnout. This means that laptop performance will slow down, sometimes markedly. You need a GPU working fast to deliver HD video, especially when sharing video, etc. So, a HOT computer is not like a HOT wife. Hot wife good, and Hot computer bad.
