All in on M1 from Intel?

[Kierkegaarden]

I’m considering getting rid of my Intel Macs and just sticking with my M1 Macs, just for the sake of simplicity. It seems like there would be no issues for me, but I wonder if there are things I haven’t considered yet.

Has anyone here made a clean break and later regretted not keeping an Intel Mac around for specific reasons?

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Could you be more specific? What are your needs and wants? Do you use the Macs for work or leisure? What software do you use? Which Macs do you currently have etc.

From personal experience, I got a good deal on an M1 Mini and it's been fine as a transition machine. It has the drawbacks that I expected, such as poor Bluetooth and memory leaks in various apps, but I got it more out of interest than need.

 

[rmgbenschop]

I am with above, you will need to be more specific to get some advice if it's smart to make the plunge to the M1 Macs.

My own experience is very good. I had a M1 MacBook Pro and now have a 14" M1 Pro MacBook Pro and I am very happy with the overall experience. With the slight sidenote that the experience wasn't good on MacOS 12.0.1 as there were a lot of bugs. Since 12.1 all the annoying bugs are resolved for me (memory leaks, sluggish performance, software crashes). I am now on 12.2 beta as now Safari enables 120Hz scrolling but that isn't mandatory to enjoy your Mac.

I think the main point which you will need to cover is if the software you are using is compatible on a M1 Mac. Not sure if there is software which doesn't run on the new Macs but you should research that for yourself.

 

[Abazigal]

I’m considering getting rid of my Intel Macs and just sticking with my M1 Macs, just for the sake of simplicity. It seems like there would be no issues for me, but I wonder if there are things I haven’t considered yet.

Has anyone here made a clean break and later regretted not keeping an Intel Mac around for specific reasons?

No issues from what I can see. Only thing is that I don't really see a need to run out and dump your existing intel Macs right away unless their performance is sucky. For example, I currently own the 2017 5k iMac and since it still does what I need it to do, I will upgrade only when it breaks down. I am not in a rush to replace it because (1) I spent a pretty penny on it and (2) well, there isn't a direct upgrade for it yet.

 

[wonderings]

Not sure what simplicity you get from computers running the same basic CPU. I think what you do get is a Mac more future proof as they will eventually stop supporting Intel chips, think that is some years away though and the current M1 Macs will be slow as snails before Intel is completely dropped. I have been debating moving from my MacBook Pro i5 to an M1, the only downside I have come across is not being able to install Windows or an older Mac OS as a VM. This is not a common need for most people so probably not for the OP. You can install Windows 11 ARM but that is still different then a full release of Windows 10 or 11. Other then that I think if your software works in the current MacOS then it will work on M1 and will eventually be updated and optimized for the M1 chip.

 

[bobcomer]

I’m considering getting rid of my Intel Macs and just sticking with my M1 Macs, just for the sake of simplicity. It seems like there would be no issues for me, but I wonder if there are things I haven’t considered yet.

Has anyone here made a clean break and later regretted not keeping an Intel Mac around for specific reasons?

Do you need Windows compatibility? Are you a serious gamer? Do you have an x86 Mac app that you have not tested on an M1 for performance problems?

If any are true, keep one intel machine, if not switch away. I'd personally keep one anyway just in case something comes up. (I'm personally going the other way, but I answer yes to the first question.)

 

[mj_]

How exactly would getting rid of Intel Macs that run the exact same operating system and the exact same applications as M1 Macs simplifly your setup?

 

[spiderman0616]

I use two different Macs: my work one, an Intel MBP, and my personal one, an M1 MBA. If I had to pick one to get rid of, it would be the Intel. I may be losing that temporary safety net of Intel compatibility, but that won't be a problem for very long, and hasn't been for me so far anyway.

 

[spiderman0616]

How exactly would getting rid of Intel Macs that run the exact same operating system and the exact same applications as M1 Macs simplifly your setup?

I would guess it would be in the interest of not having a zillion computers sitting around just for that one application you might need but probably never will.

 

[wonderings]

Do you need Windows compatibility? Are you a serious gamer? Do you have an x86 Mac app that you have not tested on an M1 for performance problems?

If any are true, keep one intel machine, if not switch away. I'd personally keep one anyway just in case something comes up. (I'm personally going the other way, but I answer yes to the first question.)

Not sure if any "serious" gamer is using an Intel Mac. Your dollar is much better spent on a PC for gaming than it is an any Mac.

 

[fourthtunz]

I dipped my toes in last year and got the cheapest M1 MacBook air..maybe try one of those?
I still have my 3 intel macs as well but hell for $700-$800 I don't think you can go wrong.
Happy Holidays!

 

[bobcomer]

Not sure if any "serious" gamer is using an Intel Mac.

There's at least some of them, but they use bootcamp.

Your dollar is much better spent on a PC for gaming than it is an any Mac.

Or a console! (That's what I use for gaming, but I'm not a serious gamer, I just game when i need a distraction for awhile.)

 

[cmaier]

I’m considering getting rid of my Intel Macs and just sticking with my M1 Macs, just for the sake of simplicity. It seems like there would be no issues for me, but I wonder if there are things I haven’t considered yet.

Has anyone here made a clean break and later regretted not keeping an Intel Mac around for specific reasons?

The only gotcha I’ve run into so far is there is currently no way to update the firmware on sony cameras from an M1 mac.

 

[elvisimprsntr]

No regrets leaving Intel in the rear view mirror.

"The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades!" - Timbuk3

 

[wonderings]

There's at least some of them, but they use bootcamp.


Or a console! (That's what I use for gaming, but I'm not a serious gamer, I just game when i need a distraction for awhile.)

Even in bootcamp they are not going to get the performance of the big GPU's, unless of course they are using EGPU.

 

[rocketpig]

I went all-in by replacing an Intel laptop and mini with an M1 laptop and mini. Only two things really impacted me in a significant way:

1. My scanner no longer worked but that was due to macOS driver support and I knew it was coming. Not Apple's fault at all, just crappy third party support.

2. My USB hub was unreliable af with the M1 Macs, which is "meh whatever". I was using a hub to split four external HDDs, which was a crap solution and I knew it. I replaced the external drives with a NAS four bay solution, which works great. I should have done it ages ago, I was just being cheap.

Most of my dedicated app work is done in the Adobe suite and thankfully, Adobe reacted to Apple Silicon MUCH FASTER than they did the Intel transition in 2006, which was agonizing. My other actual work is done primarily in coding apps, which use so few resources that I honestly didn't even know if they were using Rosetta or not most of the time.

At this point, I suspect most people can transition to Apple Silicon pretty seamlessly, though it may force some legacy hardware upgrades so do your research first.

 

[wonderings]

I went all-in by replacing an Intel laptop and mini with an M1 laptop and mini. Only two things really impacted me in a significant way:

1. My scanner no longer worked but that was due to macOS driver support and I knew it was coming. Not Apple's fault at all, just crappy third party support.

2. My USB hub was unreliable af with the M1 Macs, which is "meh whatever". I was using a hub to split four external HDDs, which was a crap solution and I knew it. I replaced the external drives with a NAS four bay solution, which works great. I should have done it ages ago, I was just being cheap.

Most of my dedicated app work is done in the Adobe suite and thankfully, Adobe reacted to Apple Silicon MUCH FASTER than they did the Intel transition in 2006, which was agonizing. My other actual work is done primarily in coding apps, which use so few resources that I honestly didn't even know if they were using Rosetta or not most of the time.

At this point, I suspect most people can transition to Apple Silicon pretty seamlessly, though it may force some legacy hardware upgrades so do your research first.

The performance I hear from the M1 chips is the only reason I would even contemplate a new Mac. Have not been impressed with Apples direction since Cook start running things, but the performance I hear coming out of these new CPU's sounds amazing. I make my living with Adobe CC so that has me considering and reevaluating my own future with Apple.

 

[JMacHack]

If you have no concrete incentive to get rid of your Intel Mac, then I’d keep it around. Simplicity can be nice but as the old saying goes “better the devil you know, than the one you don’t.”

That way, if there’s any issues you have with your day to day tasks, you can complete them with your old machine.

This advice goes for any computer, not just a Mac.

 

[Analog Kid]

The only gotcha I’ve run into so far is there is currently no way to update the firmware on sony cameras from an M1 mac.

Huh. That’s not what I would have expected the failure mode to be. Only thing I can imagine is Sony never stopped using kernel extensions and Rosetta is where Apple finally drew the line? That would sound like Sony…

 

[cmaier]

Huh. That’s not what I would have expected the failure mode to be. Only thing I can imagine is Sony never stopped using kernel extensions and Rosetta is where Apple finally drew the line? That would sound like Sony…

Yep that’s the issue. You need to install a kext that handles the communications, and then the downloaded firmware updater uses it. Not available on M1 macs until and unless they rearchitect the whole process.

 

[ADGrant]

Yep that’s the issue. You need to install a kext that handles the communications, and then the downloaded firmware updater uses it. Not available on M1 macs until and unless they rearchitect the whole process.

The firmware updater for my keyboard requires Windows, no MacOS support at all.

 

[ADGrant]

Even in bootcamp they are not going to get the performance of the big GPU's, unless of course they are using EGPU.

The 2020 27" iMacs are available with the 5700XT GPU with 16GB of VRAM which is more than the PC version of that card.

 

[anthonyd]

As others have said, depends on your needs/use. For me, my intel MBP needs to stick around until x86 Windows & programs work on a M1

 

[mcnallym]

Once the M1 Pro/Max Mini launches I will be moving from Intel to Apple silicon.

Mm2018 is iTunes server and my hack for video editing with FCP X.

Can consolidate down to 1 machine.

Handbrake already M1 native and FCP X certainly is. iTunes will work as well. Makemkv apparently as well.

Macxdvd seems behind the curve at the moment however I figure importing recordings into fcp x should utilise the pro/max media engine to encode ProRes so shouldn’t be an issue.

 

[throAU]

I’m considering getting rid of my Intel Macs and just sticking with my M1 Macs, just for the sake of simplicity. It seems like there would be no issues for me, but I wonder if there are things I haven’t considered yet.

Has anyone here made a clean break and later regretted not keeping an Intel Mac around for specific reasons?

I have my intel macs but I haven’t had to use them.

There are a couple of things I can’t run on m1 yet but those things aren’t critical, important or annoying enough in my case to grab one of my intel machines out of storage.

Those things being: the wireless driver for my AirConsole and WINE

99% of things are fine. Most of the rest can be worked around.

But if you have some intel only hardware driver that’s likely the thing that will hurt. Ditto if you need windows apps. Wine is getting updated for x64 on arm support but still early. Some hardware drivers are not updated yet and some may never be.

For windows, for me I have plenty of windows machines I can Remote Desktop to if I have to