Has Apple Silicon made you reconsider the Mac platform?

[MBAir2010]

Whats crazy is that I find myself looking a used mac mini's now. Ha ha. I think i am going to pick one up to try Big Sur on. There is a brand new sealed in box 2014 available here for 375 obo cdn. Are all the models ram soldiered onto the board?

the 2012 macminis still pack a punch, depending on the processor, some came with i7, and upgrading the RAM was easy.
but the bluetooth, wifi and airdrop was annoying to use no matter how shiny the mini was.

 

[Steve Adams]

2012 don't upgrade to big sur however.

 

[Steve Adams]

hmmm 2018 sounds like the device I am looking for.

 

[LeeW]

You know yourself if RAM is of issue it will show up under Memory Pressure on macOS, even in the yellow the system will remain stable and usable...

Interestingly I installed 11.3 yesterday, in the last 24 hours with no change to the workflow I am noticing virtually no swapping, a couple of hundred MBs instead of a couple of GBs which has been the case for a few weeks.

As it happens I need to wipe this MM and give it their rightful owners, it was bought for my parents and I was just setting it up for them, for about a month they have been waiting for it 🤣

Wondering if they did something. I Will need to buy another for me anyway so will find out in due course.

 

[Queen6]

Interestingly I installed 11.3 yesterday, in the last 24 hours with no change to the workflow I am noticing virtually no swapping, a couple of hundred MBs instead of a couple of GBs which has been the case for a few weeks.

As it happens I need to wipe this MM and give it their rightful owners, it was bought for my parents and I was just setting it up for them, for about a month they have been waiting for it 🤣

Wondering if they did something. I Will need to buy another for me anyway so will find out in due course.

Maybe, Apple does like to play things close to it's chest. My own M1 MBP is very well behaved, and I know none of the installed SW is problematic. I think the investment of time at the start always pays off. The very last thing I need when in the field is a computer going haywire due to poorly programmed applications and or plain bad design by the OEM.

I updated both the 12" rMB & 13" M1 MBP to 11.3 with the M1 so far being more frugal with swap (both 8GB). Very much anecdotal, just what I've observed so far as are the only ones on Big Sur. As I've said before I only bought the M1 13" MBP as a testbed and to curb my curiosity and for myself it does just work. That said I'd have no issue using on a project and likely will as the M1 most definitely performs

I remain to be cautious of a 16" and that will take time to confirm one way or the other. Also wary of new new designs as we know all too well Apple can be both overly ambitious & arrogant (2016 MBP). Following the next release of the MBP with a mind to try a year or so after release. One of the factors of the M1 MBP was that it's in a tried and proven chassis, that no doubt Apple has gone well out of it's way to ensure has no issue give the fiasco of the previous models based on the 2016 design and the importance of a good launch of it's own silicon.

Seems like the TouchBar will be relegated to history. I remain ambivalent has it's uses, yet remains to be a needless complication that pales in comparison to a touch screen. Just one of those things that I can take or leave, not hating or liking. In Apple's defence it the best implementation I've ever seen. I remember Lenovo pushed the same on some ThinkPad's, it bombed instantly not sure it even lasted a full cycle before being eradicated LOL.

Q-6