The only thing making me slightly hesitate it that we still don’t know what Apples update cycle/strategy is going to be like with the M chips. Is it going to be base M iterative upgrade in the first half of the year, pro/max upgrades in the autumn? Everything from now on will come in the autumn? What I don’t want to do is drop 2k on an m1 pro now, only for an m2 chip that’s almost as capable to come out with new MacBook airs in March… especially when the lowest pro chip actually has fewer cores on it then the presentation suggested (8 v 10).
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Here's why the new MacBook Pros are great but still not worth upgrading
- Thread starter Hieveryone
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I am SO confused about the chip thing. You seem to be an expert at this, but average folks don't have a clue what is going on. This is a great example of what I've been trying to say.
The MacBook Pro is truly for the pros now. I don't think many regular folks can utilize or even understand what all is going on
I can understand what you're saying, and I somewhat agree. Problem is, Apple is all about high margins and high end positioning. Upsize your happy meal. So instead of, let's say, selling a 14" without Promotion nor mini-LED for a few hundred dollar less, Apple would rather you spend the money for those "wow features," whether you need it or not. If you still want to spend less, you are forced to get the "outdated" models with intentional deficiencies (the M1 13" Macbook pro with 8GB RAM base and just 2 USB-C ports).
It's also the reason why there's no 15" Macbook Air. Apple thinks if you want larger screen, you have to pay up the whazoo for the 16" Pro models.
It's the unfortunate way of Apple's strategy from the eye of us consumers. It's not that Apple's stuff are not great value, they are. But some of us don't need all the bells and whistles, and are not keen on paying more for those extras. But Apple only goes up, not down.
Here's hoping the 2022 Macbook Air would at least bring 16GB RAM as standard. I don't want to be paying for the Pro models just to get 16GB of RAM (in my country, Apple doesn't offer BTO options. Only pre-configured models are available, which means only 8GB RAM models for all M1 Macs).
Yeah I like that though - they’ve made an actual professional machine. little things like a headphone jack that means you can plug high impedance headphones into them without having to max the volume (though I reckon most people using them will still just plug them into an audio interface), are great. But beyond those things, we just aren’t deep enough into the ‘M’ era to really understand how frequently and to what extent the upgrade path for these chips is going to be.
It will be like the iPad Pro (pre-M1) with the iPhone. iPad Pros were stuck on A12x/Z while iPhones got A13 and A14. I'm sure the M2 will be more efficient, and will perform better in single core if it gets new core design. However, the M1 Pro/Max will still win in GPU department. Just like how the A12X is still faster than the A13 in GPU. There's also thermal ceiling for sustained performance, and Macbook Air with M2 will throttle faster, diminishing its performance gain.
Imo Apple's positioning is quite clear for the products. For regular consumers, the Macbook Air will be sufficient. These new Macbook Pros are for people who want high sustained performance, and are willing to pay for it. If you are concerned about the price, then you probably don't even need these new Macbook Pros. Just wait for the 2022 Macbook Air.
It's worse in markets like my country where we don't have BTO options.
I don't need all the power. The M1 Macbook Air would be perfect. Light, fanless, great battery life. But I do need 16GB of RAM for my work. Apple doesn't offer pre-configured M1 Macs with more than 8GB of RAM. So when this new Macbook Pro is released in my country, they're my only option if I were to buy a new laptop, and I would be forced to spend more than I have to just to get 16GB of RAM.
Here's hoping 2022 Macbook Airs to have 16GB as standard.
This is exactly what I just did, and already the 256/8 M1 Air is a bit overkill, but I still wanted a Mac, so that's what I got. At least this little beast is very future proof in my case.
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The Air with the M1 chip now caters to the masses, trust me. I've been using this little beast for a few months now and it already blows my beloved 2011 MBP clear out of the water. Light, thin, very portable, but still powerful enough, and the best part is the battery lasts the whole day, a perfect student computer, and then some. In my case, I binge Netflix the whole day on a single battery.
That's an advanced case of sour grapes. All the years, we've given Apple **** for building hot turbo-fan notebooks off intel's offering. Now they really innovate and push the boundaries, and it's a "Smart Fridge"?
This here is an actual PRO laptop, build for pros, priced for pros. I've been using an Air for the last years and IDK whether I will spend $3k on this or go for the next iteration of the Air, but I am blown away how great this thing is. Smart Fridge, pfff, 640k ought to be enough for everyone.
The laptop you want per your OP is literally the M1 MBP with some upgraded internals lol
I have to agree to some extent with what you’re saying. I think the same could be said of the iPad. The 2018 upgrade (maybe even the 2017 12.9/10.5) for me was when Apple really nailed a beastly performance pro tablet. There are countless of reviews on YouTube even comparing the 2018 vs 2020 and 2021 and while yes it is faster, many reviewers agree that it’s viable to STILL purchase a 2018 version. BUT, iPads are pretty much limited due to software.
It is not the same case with Mac computers. The amount of work, apps, software and gaming that you have access to, calls for more. However, the M1 chip reminds me of the 2018 iPad, it is Apple hitting the ceiling on performance and power consumption. I did a lot of audio and video editing during the past year because of the pandemic. My 2017 15” was pretty much doing great except with some occasional slowdowns. Upgraded to a base MBP M1 and it addressed those issues amazingly well. Then I did an entire virtual orchestra project on Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro and that’s when I saw it struggling. Keep in mind, the FCP timeline had 50 videos running at the same time with multiple cuts, on a BASE 8GB RAM Macbook Pro. It’s insane how far Apple has come with optimization and performance.
Will I ever do a project like that again? Probably not lol (hoping we’re coming out of this current health situation soon), but just for safekeeping, upgraded to a 14” in case I ever find myself again with a demanding task.
It is not the same case with Mac computers. The amount of work, apps, software and gaming that you have access to, calls for more. However, the M1 chip reminds me of the 2018 iPad, it is Apple hitting the ceiling on performance and power consumption. I did a lot of audio and video editing during the past year because of the pandemic. My 2017 15” was pretty much doing great except with some occasional slowdowns. Upgraded to a base MBP M1 and it addressed those issues amazingly well. Then I did an entire virtual orchestra project on Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro and that’s when I saw it struggling. Keep in mind, the FCP timeline had 50 videos running at the same time with multiple cuts, on a BASE 8GB RAM Macbook Pro. It’s insane how far Apple has come with optimization and performance.
Will I ever do a project like that again? Probably not lol (hoping we’re coming out of this current health situation soon), but just for safekeeping, upgraded to a 14” in case I ever find myself again with a demanding task.
Technology is about saving time/money or making you more productive.
If the new MBP can do all that for the work you do, then it's worth upgrading.
I work with videos. For years I've resisted upgrading my Mac Pro 2013 even when new Macs are several times more powerful. Reason being I can always leave the Mac Pro to export videos at overnight. Even if I upgraded to a computer that's 100 times faster, it's not going to help me make more videos because the bottleneck is my time and not the computer.
If the new MBP can do all that for the work you do, then it's worth upgrading.
I work with videos. For years I've resisted upgrading my Mac Pro 2013 even when new Macs are several times more powerful. Reason being I can always leave the Mac Pro to export videos at overnight. Even if I upgraded to a computer that's 100 times faster, it's not going to help me make more videos because the bottleneck is my time and not the computer.
when $100 means that much for you...now we can understand your post...
These machines are to make money for us, and time less=> more money for us
So these are way faster than your butterfly, heat 15" Mbp..so i save a lot more time
and your comparison with the car is...nothing to do with a production device
A car no matter how fast it is after a point...you cant bend the laws...it doesnt matter you have 300Hp or 3000hp , the legal laws applies to both case (an F1 car is like the laptop, the best overall it is, the more money it makes)
Soon, they will be salty because Apple devices will be too fast for them
Nah that’s not it. It’s not about me not appreciating the product.
This is about Apple choosing to pick their customers for the pro line bc it seems like they’re catering to a niche crowd.
As one person said in this thread, why not offer a less spec’d out version for the REGULAR folks who’ve been using the pro lineup their whole lives?
Let me ask you this:
Where is the entry level 14” that comes with 256 SSD, 6 cores, and 8Gb RAM for hundreds of dollars less?
Guess what? I’m not seeing it anywhere bc they’re not making the pros for people like me anymore
Yes, can't have that.
Yes, the very niche crowd being the professional market of audio engineers, musicians, digital artists, photographers, video editors, programmers, 3D artists, game designers, etc..
The bigger MacBook Pros have been extremely expensive for a very long time. Nothing has changed.
Because people like you are a niche market. 8 cores is right there. But it’s rare for such a consumer to require so little storage and memory.
I'd have to disagree OP. When I'm paying the exorbanant prices that Apple is charging for their laptops I want all of the things they threw into them yesterday. We deserve that with what we are paying.
No offense because I bought one too (now sold), but the 2019 laptop you are using only shows how much more we deserved in a laptop than Apple was giving us. From the garbage screen refresh rate to the ridiculous heat it generated, the intel MacBook Pro's from 2016 up until yesterday weren't worth what we were paying for them. I at least feel good about spending money on a machine that Apple appears to have pulled out all of the stops for.
No offense because I bought one too (now sold), but the 2019 laptop you are using only shows how much more we deserved in a laptop than Apple was giving us. From the garbage screen refresh rate to the ridiculous heat it generated, the intel MacBook Pro's from 2016 up until yesterday weren't worth what we were paying for them. I at least feel good about spending money on a machine that Apple appears to have pulled out all of the stops for.
It's worse in markets like my country where we don't have BTO options.
I don't need all the power. The M1 Macbook Air would be perfect. Light, fanless, great battery life. But I do need 16GB of RAM for my work. Apple doesn't offer pre-configured M1 Macs with more than 8GB of RAM. So when this new Macbook Pro is released in my country, they're my only option if I were to buy a new laptop, and I would be forced to spend more than I have to just to get 16GB of RAM.
Here's hoping 2022 Macbook Airs to have 16GB as standard.
Sorry but what are BTO options? And I'm not sure I understand why other countries wouldn't get more options especially something as critical to their lineup such as the Air?
I can see other countries not offering certain configurations, or maybe products that aren't as popular, but I would think ALL countries where Apple products are sold would have the basic (Pro, Air, iPhones, Airpods, etc etc)
In my country, I cannot custom configure Macs. All that's available are only the base preconfigured models, meaning for all M1 Macs, I cannot get one with 16GB of RAM.
Uhh... buy the base 512GB storage and 16GB RAM? Or buy a MacBook Air? Or 13" MacBook Pro??
So you want a bigger screen for a cheaper price? If not, then there is the M1 13 MBP. it's fits the bit perfectly. Yes the prices have gone up about 300 bucks or so on these machines I'd say, but I think this transition isn't over. There is a possibility of Apple releasing a 15inch MBA (Haha... er, one can dream!). Or even a lower tier 14 down the track. We don't know what their plan is for the 13 inch MBPs. Let's just wait and see what they release.
Besides, these computers will possibly be Apple's biggest selling laptops ever.