For me it's always been "how desperately do I need to find an AC outlet" with my laptops. I've been pretty happy with my M1 MBA in that regard because the answer has been "not desperate at all". I've done a couple weekend trips since getting it and I never even thought of getting the power adapter out of my bag the entire trip. This was despite doing a bit of work.

The same can't be said for the MBPs I've owned over the past decade. They get ok battery life but I always needed to know where the nearest outlet was. While an 11 hour Ryzen might be close to a 13 hour MBA, those extra two hours is the difference between a full weekend worth of work or just a full day.

For anyone wanting long battery life in a laptop those extra couple hours are important.