But chances are, if you're getting a MacBook Air instead of a MacBook Pro, you probably won't be doing too many heavy duty stuff. And the M1 chip model is still very much a capable machine for at least another 5 6 years if I'm to be honest. Of course, again, depending on what you plan to use it for.
Long term support\n\n Apple generally supports its computers for around seven years from the date Apple last sells them. By my math, that means the M1 series machines should be supported until sometime around 2028 or 2029. That's a good long run for a computer.