Did you decide to buy one of the new machines or hold off until next Summer?

[phillyman]

Hi All,

I will be waiting for the reviews but am intrigued by the new hardware. My current laptop is a six year old MBA and it chugs (other than horrendous startup time it is actually OK for browsing/email etc) along... Yes I have a newer iMac as well . I'm certainly due for an upgrade and planned on getting one after WWDC, well of course I decided to wait a little bit longer.

I know any machine will be a screamer and am struggling a bit between the MBA and MBP (Touch Bar, screen and speaker improvements might be noticeable) since the price gap isn't huge but the MBA is clearly enough for my travel needs. choices choices.... BUT....

My question though is a tad different. Are people "worried" about the new tech for a laptop? Usually we are told NOT to get the gen 1 and hold off. Having said that Apple has been using a variant of this chip for some time with the iOS world. We also have no idea how frequently Apple will upgrade their lineups during the transitions or for that matter if the next lineups to get an upgraded chip or design. None of us know but I was curious what people are thinking. Clearly most of us on these forums are mac geeks and will JUMP at new hardware especially since it is a HUGE shift BUT what about those holding out? Not convinced of the specs/design or just need/want something different (bigger/faster MBP or a desktop) or worried about first gen problems and can wait until the kinks are worked out?

I once bought an iPad in Spring and it was outdated by Fall. I was annoyed but again you KNOW your hardware will be outdated quickly (I hope/expect for a year). Also I think if you had a first gen Intel laptop that had a shorter shelf life than the second gen when it came to Mac os X compatibility. I think they had to drop support for early systems at least 2 Os upgrades earlier. Again Apple has been very generous in that regard. I THINK my current laptop could upgrade to big sur. I know it could to Catalina but since everything works in Mojave .....

Soooo, the holdouts... Why? It might swing my thinking and I might holdout.... Just curious,

In any case fun times with Apple... Now everyone go back to arguing about the studios, trackers and WHY we didn't get the stocking stuffers ,

Philly

 

[leman]

I ordered a 13” Pro and I plan to sell it in spring. I will use it for software development and testing stuff and then move to the new 16” when it’s released.

 

[MysticCow]

I will wait, but not until summer. I want to see how they perform in the real world and any quality control issues that tend to run rampant in Generation 1 Macs.

 

[phillyman]

Thanks for the early replies.... Yes for developers, getting one now and upgrading to the 16 seems a popular option. 16 is just too big for my "lugging" needs.

@mystic Cow that is my main concern BUT do we believe that they will have been able to address those issues? The quality control I can work around with AppleCare but if there are hardware design flaws? My guess would be to wait for Gen 2 but who know how long that will be?

I would have to believe that they would first have to release the bigger MBPs and the desktops (which we can assume are getting to the final stages of development/mass production) before they can go back and "fix" the first gen problems.

We all probably have dealt with stubborn apple when it comes to them not acknowledging design issues/flaws. My memorable one was the wind tunnel g4. I held the phone up to the tech support and he practically had to scream over it to tell me NOPE that was normal.

Knowing me I'll wait for a couple of weeks just to make sure that there are NOT huge issues and also to see how people are managing their workflows with the new processor. Rosetta worked fairly well for me but there were some annoyances, in those cases I just booted back to the original MacOS 9 and was fine.

But again thanks for the replies.
Philly

 

[EntropyQ3]

I’ll wait and see what their iMacs are like, and if the rumours of an Mini Pro have any substance.
But unfortunately it seems as if Apple is pricing itself out of my reach. While I could survive with a 16GB RAM/1TB SSD configuration, I would really prefer a 32GB/2TB(+) config. And there is just no way I can justify paying Apples prices. I’ve used Macs for personal computing needs since the Mac Plus, and I have no issue with the ARM transition, quite the opposite! But Apple is targeting a demographic I don’t belong to.

 

[filmbuff]

I’m waiting to see the redesign. 13” is okay but I would rather have 14” so I’d be kicking myself if they came out with that next year.

 

[theluggage]

Soooo, the holdouts... Why? It might swing my thinking and I might holdout.... Just curious,

I have a laundry-list of apps that really need to be compatible: Parallels (for ARM Linux), VS Code and all the major browsers for web development (plus various Homebrew/MacPorts packages) - and for my messing about with alleged "music" there's things like Reaktor and Arturia V collection which aren't even confirmed to work on Big Sur-on-Intel yet. Doubtless, they will come in the following months (maybe some will even work with Rosetta but they're all cases that I'd file under "I'll believe that when I see it").

I'm hoping that, by the time that's cleared up a bit, the other shoe may have dropped and we'll have seen something of Apple's replacements for the mid/high-end Macs.

If I was feeling a bit flusher with cash I'd probably get the M1 Mini to "play" with - and then maybe delegate it to a home server or media PC when something meatier comes out. Unfortunately, I've just bought some other expensive toys so I'm over my self-imposed money-wasting allowance for the next few months...

Know one other thing that is holding me back? Being forced, in 2017, to buy an iMac because of the lack of a credible headless Mac desktop - so I'm now stuck with a beautiful, but huge, 5k display that can't be used with anything else. So when I switch I'm probably going to have to sell/trade in the iMac just to free up the desk space. Which means it is all or nothing when it comes to switching... If only the iMac still had target display mode, or a DisplayPort input....

Overall, though, I think I'm waiting for a "M2/M1X/M1 Pro/whatever" version of the Mini or maybe the rumoured half-size Mac Pro will also be half the price (flap, flap, oink!) - I was resolved to switch to PC rather than buy another iMac - maybe the Apple Silicon version will sway me.

 

[MevetS]

... snip ...

Know one other thing that is holding me back? Being forced, in 2017, to buy an iMac because of the lack of a credible headless Mac desktop - so I'm now stuck with a beautiful, but huge, 5k display that can't be used with anything else. So when I switch I'm probably going to have to sell/trade in the iMac just to free up the desk space. Which means it is all or nothing when it comes to switching... If only the iMac still had target display mode, or a DisplayPort input....

... snip ...

Perhaps you could use it as a second monitor with Luna Display.

 

[KPOM]

My suggestion is to take the plunge now, particularly if you aren’t using Windows. I ordered a MacBook Air that is arriving Tuesday, and would recommend that for you. I have a 13” Pro, and the TouchBar is nice, but I don’t miss it when using my 12” MacBook. My guess is that the higher end MacBook Pro will see a more substantial redesign (it could be the rumored 14” Pro), but I don’t see a radical redesign for the Air for another 1.5-2 years. Apple will likely focus on rolling out M chips to the rest of the lineup before it substantially redesigns the 3 Macs updated Tuesday.

Remember, these are already the “fixed” MacBooks that finally replaced the butterfly keyboard with the redesigned scissor model. Avoiding “Gen 1” issues may well be why Apple didn’t make more design changes now. These are the best selling Macs, and they don’t want there to be issues with them.

 

[theluggage]

Perhaps you could use it as a second monitor with Luna Display.

It's a possibility, but Last I looked, such apps were highly compressed, artifact-y and laggy. Maybe they've improved.

 

[stridemat]

Im hear waiting for the reviews and then will likely purchase one.

 

[Lord Hamsa]

I'll wait for reviews to be certain, but my late 2013 MB Pro is really feeling its age (although it still remains the best computer I've ever had) and I was already looking to upgrade. The M1 MB Pro looks to be perfectly fine for my use - I'm not a true "pro" user but I do need that extra processing power often enough to shy me away from the Air. I don't see how waiting until the next cycle of updates is going to get me lined up with a model that's a better match for my needs.

I do think true "pro" users should absolutely wait until the higher-end machines come out.

As for concerns about "new tech", we're dealing with an offshoot of the A-series of chips that Apple has been producing for years, and a base laptop design that's been pretty stable for several years as well. While a lot of people are griping about the lack of design changes/improvements, I think it was a smart move by Apple to lower the risks involved.

 

[joecatz1]

We went back and forth for DAYS and actually settled on a 16G 256SSD mini for a couple reasons:


1. We really want silicon NOW and this felt like the perfect “settle”.
2. We have a perfectly good 2017 MBA for mobile use
3. Our 10 year old iMAC is Pretty much toast
4. We KNOW we will want a new imac with a redesign OR a new MBA/MBP with a redesign but felt like covid pushed the chip but not the body, if that makes sense.

So were a two mac family (desk/mobile) and plan to stay that way.

While this will primarily be used by my teenage son, we can see a scenario where the mini replaces the imac next year OR the mini goes to the family computer and we upgrade the MBA and clamshell it for the kid. And if we go the iMac route, and were comfortable using Luna Display for the portability the Mini could CONCEIVABLY end up as his portable unit as well.

 

[JeepGuy]

Waiting for 16" Mac Pro, I would like to retire my 15" Macbook.

 

[phillyman]

I found your replies interesting and similar to my thoughts....

This Macworld column perfectly sums me up. I think Apple needs a little more time to realize some more of the potential. I’ll try to hold off to see what the more powerful mbps are like and how Apple starts to differentiate the lineups again.

I’m not disappointed just curious as to the future. In any case the future looks bright to me and so if my machine dies tomorrow I will go out, purchase and not regret.

Next time I need to stay strong is review time next week.

Philly

 

[Erehy Dobon]

With Apple Silicon, Apple now controls the timeline of hardware releases versus relying on Intel's ability (or lack thereof) to follow a roadmap schedule.

My guess is that Apple will transition ASi Macs to a release schedule that is tied to major macOS releases. New OSes are announced in June at WWDC. Developers have 3-4 months to transition before the new iPhone/Mac hardware releases.

I think that minor releases in the spring may continue but I expect all of the blockbuster changes to come each autumn.

 

[Biscottino Croccantino]

Ordered the 16/256 Mini as a secondary mac to my main MBP 16 (although, if it performs as good or better, it might take over as an office machine with the laptop to go on the road). I chose the 256 one since I have a Sabrent XTRM-Q TB3 2TB portable drive to switch from one mac to the next. 256 is enough for everything but my Documents folder. Monitor will be the 5K Ultrafine Display (that I've had for several years as a second monitor to MBPs). Pretty stoked.

 

[Zazoh]

YOLO. Like it or not, computers are consumable disposable devices. Yes, many of you make them work for years and have a strategy to do so. Nice job. Not me. I'm a tech junkie, but also a programer. If I waited a year, I wouldn't have anything to pass down to my kids when something new came out.

Trading in my Mac Mini, my 14 year old does "Chromebook" and doesn't want to swap out. My 16 Year old has my previous Mac Pro 13" before the Touch Bar and says, he's "cool with it." Wife is an iPad girl.

TL;DR: New device comes in the house on a yearly basis. M1 Air coming Monday, it looks like.

 

[gank41]

I’ve been holding on to my 2015 15in MBP that I’ve swapped out the SSD with 2TB. Decided to get the 13in MBP M1 w/ 16GB of RAM & 2TB. I’m so excited.

 

[Bending Pixels]

Ordered the MBP with 512GB SSD and 16GB RAM. It replaces a 2019 MBA that is sluggish with Lightroom and Photoshop

 

[Erehy Dobon]

YOLO. Like it or not, computers are consumable disposable devices.

There are plenty of MR commenters who don't understand this and ask about which Mac/iPhone/whatever would be the "best investment" [sic].

They are expenses. ALL OF THEM.

That said, if the new device doesn't significantly improve functionality over the current device, then why bother?

A lot of people who ask if the new device is better than the old device don't outline what they are doing with their current devices (and how they might be coming up short) and what they expect the new devices to do.

That's just poor thinking.

Technology is a tool.

As an indirect AAPL shareholder, I am fine with naive fools buying new Apple gadgets though with zero justification.

 

[thegiftofdom]

I think I’m taking the plunge. This will be my first Mac! Selling my Windows laptop tomorrow.

 

[Runs For Fun]

Ordered a 512GB/16GB MBA 8 core GPU. My early 2015 MBA is getting old. Now is probably a good as time as ever to upgrade. The M1 is going to smoke this thing.

 

[RoadCyclistID]

Ordered my Air last Friday, been living with a Dell windows 10 for the last 2 years and have not had a Mac for the last 6 years. Glad that this was one worth waiting for. Looking forward to getting it in my hands!

 

[AppleFeller]

Coming from a 2018 MBA the new Pro with 16gb ram was a no brainer. I cannot deal with this Air anymore its a travesty of slow performance which hinders my relatively simple college student workflows.