iOS Development experience using Silicon MBP

[patent10021]

Using 2014 MBP 15" 16GB on Monterey. I installed Monterey using OpenCore so I could use Swift 5.5 frameworks like Async/Await since it requires macOS 12.

I'm considering upgrading to a 14" Silicon MBP/32GB/24 Cores/2TB. Mainly interested in Xcode/SIM performance. Saw some YT videos but most developers also use Adobe, Docker, etc as well so I thought I'd ask some devs who are using M1 as their daily driver.

 

[Kalzem]

I had a MBP 15" 2018 (CPU maxed option, 512Go, 16Go RAM) and now I have a MBP 16" M1 Pro (1To, 16Go).

I use Xcode (2D game), always with Firefox with 30+ tabs and 6-7 other softwares (MongoDB Compass, Highland 2, Slack, SourceTree, iTerm, etc), sometimes some music composing softwares, or even an actual game engine (like Defold, Godot but not Unity thought).

Well, my opinion is that I honestly don't understand people who do not want to update to M1 Pro. They probably never tried it, I guess?
It's like when iPhone released its first retina screen, people were like "Oh just more pixels lol, who needs them?". And once you try it, you can't go back.


As for actual numbers, I've been working on this game CRIMO Stories (only available in the US). It's a 2D game heavily using UIKit and CoreAnimation - has 10 cocoapods and 2 SPM dependencies.
On my previous Intel mac, it took me something like 5-8min for its first run. 30sec for the next runs when I change 2-3 files. Archiving could take up to 10min.
On my M1Pro, it takes me 30-40sec for its first run. 5-10sec for the next runs. Archiving is done in 50-60sec.
The exact same project which keeps growing.

 

[patent10021]

On my previous Intel mac, it took me something like 5-8min for its first run. 30sec for the next runs when I change 2-3 files. Archiving could take up to 10min.
On my M1Pro, it takes me 30-40sec for its first run. 5-10sec for the next runs. Archiving is done in 50-60sec.

Impressive gains. You have 1TB 16GB 16 Core M1? Don't you find 1TB too limiting? I guess you have external disks. Do you think you need 16" display? That 16" MBP is so huge and heavy? Do you think you could be just as productive with a 14"?

What sucks is Xcode 13 still uses Rosetta2 in some areas. Not even fully M1 native yet.

Building on an Apple Watch is even worse than an iPhone with old Intel Macs.Everything takes forever.

A Reddit engineer was talking about how much more productive engineers can be with the M1.

 

[Kalzem]

I also use Google Drive (professional) that comes with 2To, so my local 1To is enough so far.

I would rather say that the day I'll change my M1Pro for - let's say - a M3/M4Pro, I would probably opt for 32Go RAM rather than 2To disk storage.

About the weight and size : I wasn't prepared to see such an increase from my previous MBP 15". It's indeed heavier, and thicker, but not really "bigger" (length/width).
I work mostly at home, I like to use my computer on my sofa, my bed, my table, and so on. So I often move it from a room to another, but seldom transport it in a bag. That's why this weight increase doesn't bother me.

You have to take into account how often you will transport it.

I run xcode natively (I don't "Open using Rosetta"). I can build on my phone directly and on silicon (iPad-based). But if I want to run on iPhone simulators, I need to switch back to using Rosetta... Honestly, the build speeds with Rosetta are maybe only 20% longer in my case. So that's fine, but I feel running natively is "cleaner".

 

[patent10021]

I also use Google Drive (professional) that comes with 2To, so my local 1To is enough so far.

I run xcode natively (I don't "Open using Rosetta"). I can build on my phone directly and on silicon (iPad-based). But if I want to run on iPhone simulators, I need to switch back to using Rosetta... Honestly, the build speeds with Rosetta are maybe only 20% longer in my case. So that's fine, but I feel running natively is "cleaner".

Yea, I have iCloud 2TB so I should use that and if I need more I can use Google as well. That's a mobile 4TB right there.

There are a few YT videos on the RAM and Core debate. A lot of in-depth explanations for various applications. I do a lot of multi-tasking between Logic, code, Adobe, DevOps applications, FCP and I am fully confident in a 16GB 8 Core CPU/14 Core GPU configuration. I'm coming from 2014 MBP 16GB. Even the M1 MBA will blow my Intel machine away at least 7X so a base model of anything is going to scream.

I have decided to put cash towards SSD because contrary to most people's belief about the "Apple Tax" regarding SSDs and RAM, those internal SSDs are fairly priced. Other external SSDs from OWC are almost as expensive as Apple's. Apple's and OWC's SSDs are the fastest around. So I might upgrade to 2TB or 4TB internal and buy a 4TB Sandisk Extreme SSD. Or 2TB internal and use iCloud/Google for extra.