It all makes sense. They didn’t need to redesigned anythinng now, but needed to get this out there. And people will buy, which is the whole point. People will be happy, and maybe these are pretty snappy! 
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Anyone else feel that Apple nailed it with the new Apple Silicon machines?
- Thread starter Moakesy
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If this is what Apple can pull off for these first series of Mac Apple Silicon chips, the future is very exciting. I am eagerly anticipating the first M series iMac next year. If my 2013 MBP wasn't running so well right now, I would not hesitate to buy a M1 Air.
Although impressive performance/battery wise, I don't like how the Macbook Air and the Macbook Pro is identical cpu/gpu now.
Like I said, I am unfamiliar with laptops in general and Intel/AMD in particular. Thanks for the explanation.
I like what Apple is doing here, and there's major advantage in creating and owning their own bespoke processors. The specs look excellent right out of the gate!
That said, unless I was in dire need of a replacement machine, I'd wait a few generations. Firstly, I'm sure there are improvements already on the roadmap. Secondly, it makes sense to give Apple time to learn from large scale field usage. They need time to see what works well, and what needs further tuning in either design or manufacturing.
Again, excellent sounding stuff right at the get go. I'm very curious to see how Apple works to unify the iOS and macOS platforms - both hardware and OS.
That said, unless I was in dire need of a replacement machine, I'd wait a few generations. Firstly, I'm sure there are improvements already on the roadmap. Secondly, it makes sense to give Apple time to learn from large scale field usage. They need time to see what works well, and what needs further tuning in either design or manufacturing.
Again, excellent sounding stuff right at the get go. I'm very curious to see how Apple works to unify the iOS and macOS platforms - both hardware and OS.
I'm waiting on the high-end ones and would love to have seen them yesterday but the strategy works I think. This will ease people in and the M1X and potential M1T will come along with some great upgrades at the high-end. My 2015 MBP will have to continue to chug along...A 12-core, 14-inch laptop is within reach...arghhhhhh!!!!!!
These ARM Macs are neutered to 16GB only. It's a locked down iPAD experience we'll be getting. I'll stick to Intel Macs then step off this train.
- Pricing was a disappointment, I've expected more aggressive pricing points across the board
- I was waiting for Macbook air 11inch to be brought back
- Facetime 720p is a shame to be there
- MacBook Air redesign could have been real game changes but instead, it's pretty boring for a non-technical user
- You would think they figured out a way to make Ram cheap but they didn't or even tried to
I'm looking forward to seeing the performance benchmark. I'm glad I bought my iMac 2020, it will be messy for the next two years until they have the design team and developers catch up.
They nailed it for me. I ordered the MBA the second the store went up.
Agree and I find it annoying that they still don’t talk MHz on their chips and just say it’s Xx faster. I’ll wait until benchmarks come out. They basically put the MBA and 13” MBP as the same device with MBP being actually thinner then the MBA and having a fan. ?♂️
I liked how they went with the lower-end stuff first. However, they did stuff I don't like. I don't see much of a difference between the MBA & MBP. Plus, I feel that the MBP line would be fragmented when the higher-end models arrive. I also would've liked 1080P cameras & FaceID.
For the Apple Mini, I don't like how it has less ports than the Intel version, plus no 10GbE option. I can understand if the M1 doesn't have enough speed for everything. If that's the case, I would've liked to see Apple not release an AS Mini until you have the same number of ports. Also, it looks like it has quite a bit of empty internal space. Maybe Apple could have made one of those stick computers that has a male HDMI port, plug it into a monitor/TV. Call it a Mac Nano? Not sure if there's a market for that?
For the Apple Mini, I don't like how it has less ports than the Intel version, plus no 10GbE option. I can understand if the M1 doesn't have enough speed for everything. If that's the case, I would've liked to see Apple not release an AS Mini until you have the same number of ports. Also, it looks like it has quite a bit of empty internal space. Maybe Apple could have made one of those stick computers that has a male HDMI port, plug it into a monitor/TV. Call it a Mac Nano? Not sure if there's a market for that?
Apple hit the easier targets first. The high-end machines will require a bit more work, but it would be silly to leave money on the table in the meantime. And these low-end machines aren’t all that low end. I wouldn’t hesitate recommend them to a great many professionals.
You must be joking. Which MacBook Air or two-port Pro ever allowed more than 16GB RAM? And I'm sorry, stepping of this train to get what? A Dell XPS? A Tiger Lake Lenovo ThinkPad? A Surface Book? You do know that none of these laptops support more than 16Gb RAM?
For me it was pretty much everything I needed to know, I ordered a base spec MBA like one hour after the end of the event. I'm a light user and as an everyday machine the new MBA will be more than enough for me.
I feel a bit like when I got the white Macbook in late 2006, just transitioned to Intel. I remember the first Rosetta... as I remember still being young at that time That laptop served me well until 2013 (but I could replace the hard drive with an SSD and put 1 more GB of RAM some years later...).
Now I'll pass from a 2011 MBP (2-core i7 with 4 GB of RAM) to the new MBA... it's gonna be quite a jump I guess.
I feel a bit like when I got the white Macbook in late 2006, just transitioned to Intel. I remember the first Rosetta... as I remember still being young at that time
That laptop served me well until 2013 (but I could replace the hard drive with an SSD and put 1 more GB of RAM some years later...).Now I'll pass from a 2011 MBP (2-core i7 with 4 GB of RAM) to the new MBA... it's gonna be quite a jump I guess.
Starting at the low end is a smart strategy, allowing the software time to catch up for those who make their living on the Mac.
However... limiting the M1-based designs to two Thunderbolt ports will prove to be a regretful mistake I think
The battery life and performance are great stuff, but I believe a lot of people, like me, will hold off until more software runs natively.
For me its somewhere in between.
As much as I was disappointed they didn't do a hardware redesign, I understand the logic in not doing that at this time.
The performance looks amazing, but the statistics about how much faster they are compared to exactly what devices etc was a bit vague. Benchmarks will help.
On the last Intel refresh, the lines between the fast Air and lower MBP were blurred. If they were blurred before, they've disappeared with this one. Assuming the thermals are sorted on the Air and any throttling required isn't major, why would anybody other than people with very specific needs (brighter screen... or lovers of the TouchBar) buy the base MacBook Pro with its 16GB RAM limit.
I totally get why they're not talking about MHz for their processors - those days are long gone and I'm all for it, especially as its very confusing for non-tech people now where the Intel numbers just don't make sense any more.
The lineup does look a wee bit muddled just now, but at the end of the day, for most people who ask me what laptop to buy, I can just say "MacBook Air".
As much as I was disappointed they didn't do a hardware redesign, I understand the logic in not doing that at this time.
The performance looks amazing, but the statistics about how much faster they are compared to exactly what devices etc was a bit vague. Benchmarks will help.
On the last Intel refresh, the lines between the fast Air and lower MBP were blurred. If they were blurred before, they've disappeared with this one. Assuming the thermals are sorted on the Air and any throttling required isn't major, why would anybody other than people with very specific needs (brighter screen... or lovers of the TouchBar) buy the base MacBook Pro with its 16GB RAM limit.
I totally get why they're not talking about MHz for their processors - those days are long gone and I'm all for it, especially as its very confusing for non-tech people now where the Intel numbers just don't make sense any more.
The lineup does look a wee bit muddled just now, but at the end of the day, for most people who ask me what laptop to buy, I can just say "MacBook Air".
As a stockholder, I would be very upset if Apple did that. There’s no reason why other people shouldn’t be able to buy what they want now, just because you don’t want it.
And realise that these are their mobile chips... I can't wait to see what they can achieve in other form factors such as the new (rumoured to be smaller) mac pro towers!
The MBP line was already divided between the two port and four port models which were completely different machines in a similar case.
I think it would have been a terrible idea not to release an AS Mac mini and I am happy they did so. If you need more TB Ports, more RAM or a 10GbE port, buy the Intel model.
Yup exactly- that’s why this tech nerd is receiving his new M1 MacBook Air on Tuesday.
Nailed it. If your are fortunate enough to have a extra grand around, buy the air for amusement buy buying a silicon MBP before late 2021 is just crazytown.
On paper it looks good, but there are big questions remaining...
1. What will native performance really be like? The fact the "high end" 13 Pro remains for sale intel implies to me that the Apple Silicon 13 Pro has lower performance. We shall see.
2. What will NON native performance really be like? Many apps won't be native yet so how will rosetta really perform, in particular with more demanding apps with lots of math or graphics requirements.
The battery life is of course amazing and I have no doubt they will perform well for most, but the lineup only really "replaces" what came before once Apple demonstrates they can be the same or better at EVERYTHING. i'm fascinated to see the reviews and my next Mac will be Apple Silicon but no way I'm pulling the trigger until they prove to be able to handle my most important apps without a downside.
1. What will native performance really be like? The fact the "high end" 13 Pro remains for sale intel implies to me that the Apple Silicon 13 Pro has lower performance. We shall see.
2. What will NON native performance really be like? Many apps won't be native yet so how will rosetta really perform, in particular with more demanding apps with lots of math or graphics requirements.
The battery life is of course amazing and I have no doubt they will perform well for most, but the lineup only really "replaces" what came before once Apple demonstrates they can be the same or better at EVERYTHING. i'm fascinated to see the reviews and my next Mac will be Apple Silicon but no way I'm pulling the trigger until they prove to be able to handle my most important apps without a downside.