I got the MacBook Air last year and am considering buying the Minecraft Java Edition. Do you think that would work, i.e. That it runs halfway smoothly? I would play without mods.
https://www.minecraft.net/...free-trial
Find it out. Scroll down a little and you will find the Java version.
I own a Macbook Air (2019) and to be honest: it's absolutely no fun with 10 fps on the lowest graphics settings. Unfortunately, I can't tell you how the new Macbooks with the M1 chip work.
I was about to write too.