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What do you think of the of the new AS Macs?

  • Apple nailed it, right strategy for such a major change

    Votes: 294 56.9%
  • They messed up, should have gone high end first

    Votes: 21 4.1%
  • I'll wait and see what the first reviews are like

    Votes: 202 39.1%

  • Total voters
    517

v3rlon

macrumors 6502a
Sep 19, 2014
925
749
Earth (usually)
Considering the fact they heavily showcased Cinema 4D in the presentation (a 3D software), I would definitely expect the Mini and the MacBook Pro to be able to work on complex projects. They could do it in the previous generation why not now? Especially the Mac Mini is hindered by the limitations of the first gen chip. (Thunderbolt, eGPU, memory, ethernet)
Sure, you can do it - to a reasonable extent.

There are extreme cases where that 16GB of memory won't be enough though. I am trying to allow for that.
 

dmccloud

macrumors 68040
Sep 7, 2009
3,146
1,902
Anchorage, AK
Clock speeds have been largely irrelevant for years, going back to AMD's first launch of the Athlon 64 and their multi-core (X2 and X4) CPUs. The key metric is IPC (instructions per cycle). When Intel bumped their processors from the 7th to 8th generation Core series, the average performance gain was 20%, which meant that a 2.0GHz 8th gen CPU had the same performance as a 7th gen running at 2.4GHz. That was because the 8th gen had a higher IPC count. The Performance per Watt metric is a useful tool to compare mobile devices, but it doesn't work as well with a desktop machine where they will at a higher wattage because of the additional room for cooling. Leman's comment regarding the A14 compared to the Tiger Lake CPU is a prime example of how a higher IPC count can offset (if not completely reverse) the advantages associated with raw CPU/SoC speeds.
 
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SmOgER

macrumors 6502a
Jun 2, 2014
805
89
Looking at benchmarks (geekbench, cinebench) gotta say they did an impressive job with M1 fanless 2020 MBA
 

name99

macrumors 68020
Jun 21, 2004
2,410
2,322

Apple ALWAYS does this! Look at history.
The first round of Intel machines used the same shell as their predecessors.
The A7 came in the the same looking iPhone 5S shell.

Changing a device's case is way more expensive than you think, because the entire tooling and assembly flow has to be changed. The first round of new SoC is in the old cases for "safety" reasons; get all the basics out the way and working. Then when that's done, figure out the new things that the new CPU/SoC allows you to do, and redesign the cases appropriately (after the A7, for example, Apple moved on to the much larger screen iPhones).

Consider eg the MBA camera. Yes it sucks. But why bother just putting in a slightly better camera? If you're going to do it right, you use the iDevice camera and provide FaceID. But now you need space for the IR camera and receiver, so you have to change the bezel. And so it goes.

The present THIS year is faster CPU. If you want a new case, that'll be the present probably next year. (That would be my guess, though Apple may have their hands so full with moving the entire Mac line over that it may have to wait two years.)
 

EmlynDewar

macrumors regular
Aug 17, 2011
175
96
Chengdu, China
When Intel bumped their processors from the 7th to 8th generation Core series, the average performance gain was 20%, which meant that a 2.0GHz 8th gen CPU had the same performance as a 7th gen running at 2.4GHz. That was because the 8th gen had a higher IPC count.
The 8th gen basically uses the same core. I'm not sure they managed even a 10% increase from 6th to 9th gen. :D
 

Macisperfect

macrumors newbie
May 8, 2015
23
19
The 2017-onwards iMac Pros also have a 1080p camera.
Gnarly! If it has come down to the relatively affordable iMac 5K it should be in the new MacBook Pros. That's literally the only disappointing part of this new M1 device. I LOVE using it, fan has never come on despite hardcore work and the keyboard after my 2017 MacBook Pro is heaven.
 

delsoul

macrumors 6502
Mar 7, 2014
459
718
Aside from their debacle with reinstalling the OS issue, I’d say they got it right on. Imagine the price for the new air...it’s the same price as when it first released. Think about that. It’s actually cheaper, in terms of inflation, than originally released and infinitely more powerful.
 
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laptech

macrumors 601
Apr 26, 2013
4,134
4,455
Earth
People are being overjoyed at the fanless design of the M1 but could this overjoyness be a bit premature considering another mac model was fanless, the A1534 and as time went on in it's life, it suffered badly from thermal throttling causing many to die due to the CPU failing. Or do you think Apple has learned it's lesson with the M1 in that it will not suffer the same CPU issues as the A1534 did.
 

wyrdness

macrumors 6502
Dec 2, 2008
274
322
Just a thought - a new processor architecture means that Apple will have to have been extensively testing these machines for many months. Perhaps the reason that they've kept the same designs was in case any of the test machines were spotted in the wild. No-one would have noticed if they looked exactly like the old ones, but people would have easily have spotted new designs.

Plausible theory, or are I being dumb here?
 

NT1440

macrumors Pentium
May 18, 2008
15,093
22,159
Apple ALWAYS does this! Look at history.
The first round of Intel machines used the same shell as their predecessors.
The A7 came in the the same looking iPhone 5S shell.

Changing a device's case is way more expensive than you think, because the entire tooling and assembly flow has to be changed. The first round of new SoC is in the old cases for "safety" reasons; get all the basics out the way and working. Then when that's done, figure out the new things that the new CPU/SoC allows you to do, and redesign the cases appropriately (after the A7, for example, Apple moved on to the much larger screen iPhones).

Consider eg the MBA camera. Yes it sucks. But why bother just putting in a slightly better camera? If you're going to do it right, you use the iDevice camera and provide FaceID. But now you need space for the IR camera and receiver, so you have to change the bezel. And so it goes.

The present THIS year is faster CPU. If you want a new case, that'll be the present probably next year. (That would be my guess, though Apple may have their hands so full with moving the entire Mac line over that it may have to wait two years.)
Right?

FaceID will be in the new chassis, when it’s released. These machines were to roll out the new architecture to users and developers. Now that Apple has the thermal envelope that Intel has been promising for 5+ years they can design what THEY see as the future of MacBooks rather than the best they can get with the Intel space heaters.
 
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NT1440

macrumors Pentium
May 18, 2008
15,093
22,159
People are being overjoyed at the fanless design of the M1 but could this overjoyness be a bit premature considering another mac model was fanless, the A1534 and as time went on in it's life, it suffered badly from thermal throttling causing many to die due to the CPU failing. Or do you think Apple has learned it's lesson with the M1 in that it will not suffer the same CPU issues as the A1534 did.
Even when throttled the M1 is far ahead of the current Intel machines. The highest temps of the M1 aren’t anywhere near a threat to the lifetime of the chip, its astonishingly cooler.
 
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Moakesy

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 1, 2013
576
1,209
UK
People are being overjoyed at the fanless design of the M1 but could this overjoyness be a bit premature considering another mac model was fanless, the A1534 and as time went on in it's life, it suffered badly from thermal throttling causing many to die due to the CPU failing. Or do you think Apple has learned it's lesson with the M1 in that it will not suffer the same CPU issues as the A1534 did.
It's only the M1 MBA that is fanless, the MBP and Mini both have fans. And we know the Air is thermally throttled under sustained load, but unless you're doing heavy work it doesn't reach that point quickly.

The big difference here though is the wattage draw for the performance. It doesn't need significant power for significant performance. Even at peak load, external case temperatures (not a great indicator, but all we have as we can't get chip temp) is about 35 to 38 degrees. This is far, far lower than any Intel MBA or MBP, with or without a fan.

Time will tell of course, but I reckon they lesson has been well and truly learned.
 
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thenewperson

macrumors 6502a
Mar 27, 2011
992
912
People are being overjoyed at the fanless design of the M1 but could this overjoyness be a bit premature considering another mac model was fanless, the A1534 and as time went on in it's life, it suffered badly from thermal throttling causing many to die due to the CPU failing. Or do you think Apple has learned it's lesson with the M1 in that it will not suffer the same CPU issues as the A1534 did.
Your concern trolling is cute, but I'd look to iPads and iPhones and how they've managed with Apple's chips in them before going back to something with Intel inside.
 
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spacedcadet

macrumors regular
Mar 5, 2009
202
53
This launch has thrown a spanner in my upgrade plans. None of the new M1 machines are good enough for my needs. But the potential performance when the higher end Apple silicon Macs launch make me think it's not worth getting an iMac Pro/Mac Pro at current prices (even on refurb). Perennial "maybe they will do something akin to the 5,1 Mac Pros again" hopes. Not astronomically expensive like the 2019 ones, but still easily upgradeable. They can do a pretty powerful iMac which includes a 5k retina display for under £2500, surely they can do a middling powerful Pro without monitor at the same price point? Can doesn't mean will of course, as we've seen.
 
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jeyf

macrumors 68020
Jan 20, 2009
2,173
1,044
i still have apple burn out over the butterfly keyboard i own. Maybe just for me but every time i power up that MBP i get a reminder apple... just dont do it.
 

Gudi

Suspended
May 3, 2013
4,590
3,267
Berlin, Berlin
Just a thought - a new processor architecture means that Apple will have to have been extensively testing these machines for many months. Perhaps the reason that they've kept the same designs was in case any of the test machines were spotted in the wild. No-one would have noticed if they looked exactly like the old ones, but people would have easily have spotted new designs.

Plausible theory, or are I being dumb here?
It’s the scientific method. If you change only one parameter - the chip and keep everything else the same, you know for sure any new occurring issue was caused by the chip. Much easier debugging.
 
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