Anyone starting to think that the MBP 14" with M1 Max might be a bad idea?

[Fomalhaut]

I initially had my heart set on a MBP 14 with 32GB RAM and the M1 Max with 24-cores. I had decided that my normal usage consistenlty uses 25-30GB RAM so would need the 32GB. Considering the switch from M1 Pro to M1 Max is only $200 beyond this point, it sounded like a good deal.

However, recent videos from MaxTech (

), The Tech Chap (

), and another guy using his MBP14 for music (

), plus reviews from The Verge, Wall Street Journal and Mobile Tech Review, have shown that the MBP14 with M1 Max seems to consistently have higher temperature, high fan speeds (& noise) and poor battery life (maybe only 6-8 hours of "web + youtube + video conferencing" and maybe only 3-4 hours under heavy load.

It does look like Apple has taken the approach of making the 14" M1 Max almost equal to the 16" M1 Max in peformance (which is good if you need it) but at the cost of really high temperatures (MaxTech measured 106C processor cores), fan noise and a subsequent hit on the battery, maybe losing 2-3 hours to the 16" model.

I'm now wondering whether running the M1 Max in the 14" is turning the computer into a niche model for people who want the power, and the small form-factor, but don't need to do much work unplugged. It looks like that they sacrified the "general purpose small laptop" approach of the MBA and MBP13 and have gone for brute power, by compromising on qualities that distinguish Macs for their competitors (i.e. quiet with good battery life).

One of the main reasons for wanting to move from my current MBP16 would be to get better battery life (I often only get 5-6 hours and much less when editing video) and to have something that runs cooler and quieter. It doesn't look like the MBP 14 with M1 Max would really be that much of an improvement, apart from being smaller and faster. Perhaps I'm just being greedy!

Do you think apple went too far by cramming the M1 Max into a 14" body?

 

[xraydoc]

Do you think apple went too far by cramming the M1 Max into a 14" body?

Nope. It's there if you need it. That's why the M1 Pro is also offered and with up to 32GB of RAM. Better to have more choices than fewer. More choice is a rarity with Apple.

 

[CarbonCycles]

Something has to give and it looks like the 14" form factor can't shed heat fast enough...it's straight forward thermodynamics (unless Apple put in some exotic materials or very impressive engineering to account for heat dissipation, which I doubt they would do for a single product in a huge line of choices).

Choice is good...let's hope Apple doesn't go the other way and offer so many choices that everything gets compromised.

 

[lowkey]

It was only a month ago that you had to buy the 16” MBP to get a decent GPU. Now the 14” has 16,24 and 32 core GPU options. Of course it’s going to run a bit hotter under sustained GPU tests!!

The 14” M1 Max is not a “general purpose small laptop”.
It’s “the power of a 16” MBP in a smaller package”.

 

[TrueBlou]

It has a smaller battery, smaller fans, smaller heat pipe assembly and a smaller chassis.

It’s only natural that battery life and thermal performance will be lower than the 16” model. The laws of physics can only be pushed so far and fitting the 16” components into the 14” case is a step too far

But it’s good to have the choice. Getting the exact same CPU and GPU options in a smaller MacBook is quite a rarity for Apple. Let’s hope it continues, for the people who will happily sacrifice things like battery life, for a smaller laptop.

 

[Gnattu]

Well, the reason for me to have Max is the number of monitors supported, and the GPU is more than overkill to me.

 

[bobcomer]

Do you think apple went too far by cramming the M1 Max into a 14" body?

First off, I cancelled my M1 Max 14" with 32GB RAM, since I had such a long time to wait for it, shipping was middle of December, the price and weight finally got to me.

But no, I don't think they went too far -- they could have gone further and not made it out of metal so it would be lighter! I'll miss the speed and the miniLED, but oh well. Maybe I'll trade my M1 MBA in on the next level Mac Mini to come out and buy an Alder Lake laptop instead.

 

[Gnattu]

shipping was middle of December

Me too, but I decide to wait. I highly doubt if an AlderLake Laptop could ship earlier than this.

 

[Fomalhaut]

First off, I cancelled my M1 Max 14" with 32GB RAM, since I had such a long time to wait for it, shipping was middle of December, the price and weight finally got to me.

But no, I don't think they went too far -- they could have gone further and not made it out of metal so it would be lighter! I'll miss the speed and the miniLED, but oh well. Maybe I'll trade my M1 MBA in on the next level Mac Mini to come out and buy an Alder Lake laptop instead.

The “weight” or “wait”?

 

[mi7chy]

This is the 'tock' cycle. Need the 'tick' cycle with 3nm node shrink to get power consumption, heat and battery life more in check.

 

[bobcomer]

Me too, but I decide to wait. I highly doubt if an AlderLake Laptop could ship earlier than this.

Most likely true, but it will probably be more useful to me and my job situation.

 

[bobcomer]

The “weight” or “wait”?

I meant weight, but wait works too.

 

[metapunk2077fail]

Do you think apple went too far by cramming the M1 Max into a 14" body?

Too far? Yes, only in the sense that they have achieved a very impressive feat and given people more than they expected in the first place.

 

[Joniz]

I initially had my heart set on…

The first sign that you should not buy something.

 

[Eallan]

I've got a 14" Max with 64GB and it's been great. I'm not obsessing over battery life or testing head to head. It feels like it sips power when I'm not doing anything demanding.

I'm coming from a 2020 M1 MBP which maybe felt like it had a bit more stamina, but I'm happy with either. It's a great computer and the 16" is just too big to lug around on trips with me.

 

[Realityck]

It does look like Apple has taken the approach of making the 14" M1 Max almost equal to the 16" M1 Max in peformance (which is good if you need it) but at the cost of really high temperatures (MaxTech measured 106C processor cores), fan noise and a subsequent hit on the battery, maybe losing 2-3 hours to the 16" model.

As Homy posted and was stated by others.

That is most likely a misinformation that Max Tech is spreading due to a bug in the new TG Pro they used. In their latest video they use iStat Menus. Many have reacted to that and noted the bug in TG Pro. Other such apps don't show such high temperatures, like Luke Miani showed. CPUs are designed to throttle at near 100 degress C for safety reasons but in Max Tech's review it didn't throttle even at 106. TG Pro is off by 10 degrees.

 

[ksj1]

First off, I cancelled my M1 Max 14" with 32GB RAM, since I had such a long time to wait for it, shipping was middle of December, the price and weight finally got to me.

My original ship date was mid-December, UPS tells me it will be here Monday.

 

[bobcomer]

My original ship date was mid-December, UPS tells me it will be here Monday.

<jealous> When did you get the notification of shipping? And what config?

 

[ksj1]

<jealous> When did you get the notification of shipping? And what config?

They told me the date had moved up about a week after I ordered (10/19). Notified about shipping Tuesday. 16" Max, 64gb, 32 cores, 1TB

 

[bobcomer]

They told me the date had moved up about a week after I ordered (10/19). Notified about shipping Tuesday. 16" Max, 64gb, 32 cores, 1TB

Interesting, mine was only 32G RAM, but otherwise yours was identical to mine. Monday is when I cancelled it.

Maybe I jumped the gun a bit, but I kind of doubt it.

 

[cp1160]

This is the 'tock' cycle. Need the 'tick' cycle with 3nm node shrink to get power consumption, heat and battery life more in check.

Umm...isn't the very first release of a chip normally a Tick Tock release as in here it is since there was nothing like it before. Sure there was a M1 before, but very different chip now. Perhaps I'm just blathering perhaps. As a first release the M1, M1 Pro and M1 Pro Max are stunning releases. Others will catch up, and the move to the smaller process will improve things even more.

 

[KeniLF]

I absolutely love mine. It looks like you'd established criteria that are not being met by this config. Are you able to move to the 16 inch instead and still achieve your goals? Or could some of your concerns be mitigated - power-switching automation, cooling pads, etc?

 

[robco74]

I don't think they went too far. I think it depends on your workflow. For burst performance, it's probably fine. But if you need sustained performance, the 16" is probably the way to go.

 

[Fomalhaut]

The first sign that you should not buy something.

Too true! It should be the head informing such decisions, not the heart....but...ooh shiny!

 

[Fomalhaut]

I absolutely love mine. It looks like you'd established criteria that are not being met by this config. Are you able to move to the 16 inch instead and still achieve your goals? Or could some of your concerns be mitigated - power-switching automation, cooling pads, etc?

Yes, possibly I set unrealistic expectations of the M1 Max, thinking that it would be all "upside" (performance) and no "downside" (reduced battery).

The 16" is arguably less affected (I haven't yet seen an in-depth 14" Pro vs Max comparison, but MaxTech will be doing one I understand). But one of my main criteria was to choose a smaller and lighter computer for travel / commuting...so that isn't the direction I want to go in.

It is great that Apple is even offering this choice, as many of you have said, so I'm not complaining....just wishing that life were perfect and there were no trade-offs.

If I'm honest with myself, my aspirations for high performance (mainly for video editing) are not aligned to my actual requirements, which are fairly basic edits with a few effects, color correction, stabilization and noise reduction. From what I've seen, I can do all of this on the M1 Pro - it just might take 30-50% longer than the M1 Max. It's just a hobby and I don't have paying customers, so it really doesn't matter how long it takes, as long as the machine can handle the workload without locking up.