I feel like i'm alone to dislike M1/what is it good for (Merged Mega Thread)

[ct2k7]

Let's try another.
My first car was a Yugo 45 ( No idea if it sold in the US - Google it ).

Now - I could replace the engine , gearbox etc etc. or buy something else fit for my purpose.

We do it with pretty much everything else we buy.

I have no idea how much work it is for a tech company to ensure that if they release some kit - it must be able to work optimum with every other bit of stuff someone decides to plug into it.

Keep the damned thing sealed and you get less hassle as a manufacturer.

When is the last time you wanted to physically get hands on in upgrading the internals of your coffee maker, tumble dryer, bedside lamp etc?

Just because - that is where we came from - it doesn't need to be the future that where we want to be.

There is a market for those who want to play and upgrade hands on.
There is also a market for those who understand that if "you want a faster car - buy a faster car"

There is room for both.

I am now in the camp of "If I want a faster car..... I'll just but it"
( and I used to spend a lot of my weekends getting oily in just running / beefing up my cars. )

Well if we’re going down the car route, there are many replaceable things that can be modded as you say.

With Apple, they used to provide pluggable kit, even with the Mac Pro, there’s an SSD kit.

I don’t tend to buy computers to keep it for 1-2 years, on average i change up 6-8 years. I usually find that performance doesn’t increase significantly in 1-2 years to warrant selling and rebuying (and setup of course, as it’s never as straightforward). I follow a just in time methodology with things, and so far it has worked for me.

I tend to maximise the lifespan of things, and that goes for most things. There are very few exceptions where I’d willingly pay upfront with uncertainty around it.

Of course, it may be that I’m being stingy or overly frugal, but I tend to buy for my needs now and not the future.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

BTW, i feel very mitigate about M1 Computers, and i feel very alone. Everyone seems to love it so much.
Anyone feeling like me ? ?

Yeah, at least 6 billion folks won’t buy the M1, you’re not alone!

 

[s.g.w]

I should add....

I used to build my own hi-fi amplifiers. ( Vacuum tubes )
i used to buiid my own Pc's
I subscibed to "Everyday electronics" - and built whatever I needed from within the magazines.

Now - I just buy what finished products I need.

Christ - dating is a lot easier when a Bose is in the dining room rather than my hand build upgrades to historical designs.

But - as I said - there is a market for both schools of thought.
Heck - look under the bonnet of a new car these days - there is very little a fella/girl could tinker with compared to the 1940-1990's.

It is all a plastic shroud. Yes - we can tinker with ECU's, replace exhaust etc - but how much of the populous really want to do that.

As I said "Want a faster car. - just sell up and buy a faster car. The whole thing comes with a warranty too"

 

[Asbow]

Good thing that the SSD isn’t soldered? Just socketed.

With the commoditising of devices and computers, no wonder device as a service is likely coming.

I’m a designer and from a business perspective, device as a service makes sense. Keeps my accountant happy. Apple then recycle the old one and reuse the materials.

As a consumer, I want my hardware to last longer.

 

[antiprotest]

It's a matter of preference, money, and use case. In my case, I have no problem with #1 and #2.

#1. I do not buy the lowest configuration. And my current storage will be more than sufficient for a long time. If the machine gets to be too slow because of new software in the years ahead, I will trade-in my current M1 and buy a new one. Apple makes it relatively easy to transfer to a new device, whether phone or computer.

#2. My use case does not demand using other platforms. In fact, I would prefer to keep everything within Apple's ecosystem -- iCloud drive, photos, etc. But I totally understand many people's needs might require them to use other platforms.

 

[Zdigital2015]

Hey everyone,

I recently had a M1 Mac Mini, 1TB Storage, 16 gb of RAM. I never had M1 Mac before, just "Classic" Intel Mac. ?

And you know what ? I kept it 2 months, and sold it.

I have a really "mixed" feeling about that M1 chips.

Of course, M1 chips have really very great performances. I was impressed to see a Mac Mini with such perfs.

But there a couple of things i really can't stand with that M1 chips.

1/ Zero upgrade possiblity.

Let's be clear, i always hated that apple decision to solder components, BUT i can admit it gives advantages about performances.
But what i feel is like Apple saying "You won't touch inside our machines. We will do everything possible to make it non-upgradeable. Don't touch our computers. You should pay 2X or 3x times the normal price with our configuration."

Look at the poor Luke Miani who had a hope when he opened his Mac Studio... He tried swapping the modules and got 100% locked by Apple. I could feel hope in his eyes, but reality came back very fast ?

Of course, Apple was never reputed for making upgradeables machines. We all know that Steve Jobs didn't want this.
But at least, most of machines before 2012 could be upgraded with RAM and new Hard drives. I think it was really the minimum Apple could offer to customers. And i'll be honest, i always enjoyed that.
Look at 2020 iMac, memory was still accessible.

In my mind, i really can't stand to be stuck with my machine. I know if i want to change anything in my machine, i have to change the whole machine. And i really feel sad about it.

I feel like : Having a very great machine but being prisoner of it.

2/ Lack of compatibility

Of course, Rosetta is good, and ARM chips are just like the transition from PowerPC to Intel in the mid 2000's. It's totally normal that it lacks of compatibility.
However, i've been so much used to run multiple systems like Linux or Windows, additional to MacOS that it frustrates me a lot.
I won't expand on this topic, i think it's useless.

BTW, i feel very mitigate about M1 Computers, and i feel very alone. Everyone seems to love it so much.
Anyone feeling like me ? ?

You really should go build yourself a Windows computer or keep using an Intel-based Mac if you still have one. This is a time of transition and there are going to be things that happen that cause people to leave the platform. This is the nature of change in computing. I’ve owned every type of Mac Apple has made: 68K, PowerPC, Intel and Apple Silicon. I have and 2019 Intel iMac kitted up that I’ll keep until Apple stops updating macOS or it does. Once I can no longer be productive with it, it will go. I have an m1 MBP, and I’m excited about the future of Mac. I don’t have any need or desire to run Linux or Windows, so the lack of those options isn’t a deal-killer. It sounds like you are at a crossroads, but change really is the only constant, in computing and life.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

The cost of your support goes up and up and up. With more questions etc

And, considering that the vast majority of folks didn’t upgrade anyway when they had the option, companies were expending resources to provide a feature that was of little importance to most.

 

[Kierkegaarden]

Maybe because most people would know what to expect from a Mac, given that these things have been known and accepted for 10+ years?

I can’t believe that someone would not know about the lack of upgradability, and to an extent even the M1-related potential compatibility challenges. Did you do any research at all on these machines?

Complaining about it isn’t going to change anything. The machines are the way they are and will be. There are trade offs in either direction you go — the question is does your workflow steer you into accepting one trade off over another.

 

[Kierkegaarden]

Yeah, no. I can’t easily predict storage over 5 or more years. That said, I’m considering moving non OS stuff to DNAS, which means I don’t need to consider that storage up front

I don’t think anyone can predict their storage needs in 5 or more years. With a desktop, you don’t have to — with a mobile device, it is better to get it right — but users probably upgrade mobile devices more often than desktops, so it doesn’t matter as much.

 

[MauiPa]

misinformation rules the Day!

• " i always hated that apple decision to solder components". Yah like other manufacturers too, especially on thin and light. this is about adding memory on a Dell 9310: "No, you can't. All Dell XPS 13 9310 models have a soldered memory". Fact is RAM hardly every fails over the life of the machine anymore.
• "You should pay 2X or 3x times the normal price with our configuration." No doubt that some options are overpriced, but isn't everyone tired of the comparison to fast SSDs and fast ram to slow ram or the cheap slow SSds Dell uses and say "see, Apple is expensive". Not only that, but fast secure internal SSDs should only be used for active work, you can easily archive older data using thunderbolt SSDs if that is your thing
• "Look at the poor Luke Miani who had a hope when he opened his Mac Studio... He tried swapping the modules and got 100% locked by Apple. I could feel hope in his eyes, but reality came back very fast ?". Oh man, get a life! The Apple Ssd controller is embedded on the SOC or T2 chip, so you don't simply add an SSD to the chip ports. In fact the SSds can be swapped with the same size SSds (as others have demonstrated) from another Mac Studio. so we will probably see options down the road a bit.
• "Of course, Apple was never reputed for making upgradeables machines." Statistics show that most people do not upgrade their machines even when they have the option. True if that is what you want, there are windows devices out there that meet your needs, but if most people don't use it, who cares? BTW, you sold you Mac, that is the preferred upgrade path. Macs retain a lot more value generally than Dells etc, so if you want an upgrade, why just upgrade an SSD but keep you old slow PCIe channels, obsolete CPU, etc.
• "In my mind, i really can't stand to be stuck with my machine. I know if i want to change anything in my machine, i have to change the whole machine. And i really feel sad about it." Not me, when I am done with my Mac, I want a new one with all the modern toys
• "I feel like : Having a very great machine but being prisoner of it." Except resale value is huge, so just sell it and move on. You are a prisoner of your machine if you buy a Dell and can't sell it for a reasonable price
• "However, i've been so much used to run multiple systems like Linux or Windows, additional to MacOS that it frustrates me a lot." People are porting Linux, after all MACOS is built on Linux to begin with. Why Microsoft doesn't want to release ARM versions of Windows (Well, I don't care, because Windows sucks), but they could if they chose. Coalition for Windows on ARM Fairness!

"BTW, i feel very mitigate about M1 Computers". what does this even mean?

All in all, M1 and Apple Silicon in general is awesome. Fast, power efficient, secure. A lot of software has been written and optimized for Apple silicon. You can do virtually anything on an M1 Mac that you can do on Intel Macs or Windows (maybe select different software, but it still works great), except gaming, but has anyone ever said they want to buy a Mac to play games? NO, no one ever did.

But if its not for you, I really don't care, I just hope you are happy with your decision. I love my M1 Mac

 

[MauiPa]

I don’t think anyone can predict their storage needs in 5 or more years. With a desktop, you don’t have to — with a mobile device, it is better to get it right — but users probably upgrade mobile devices more often than desktops, so it doesn’t matter as much.

True, and oh, they make external drives, who knew?

 

[MauiPa]

It would be nice if things were upgradable, but the fact they can’t be shouldn’t be a surprise anymore. They have been that way for a long time.

The compatibility issue will resolve itself over time. Overall I’ve been quite impressed with how smoothly it’s gone.

Same here, and lots of manufacturers use sobered Ram. Because it hardly ever fails anymore. I had a 16GB Intel MacBook Pro, watched my usage on activity monitor and never used more than 8, so I went with an 8GB MBP M1. no issues at all. If I want to upgrade, I will use the high resale value, sell it, and get another Mac in a few years

 

[MauiPa]

I had a plan to buy an F-150 pickup with a V-6 engine and simply add two pistons to increase the performance, but I couldn't find any garage mechanics willing to take on the task. Wimps.

Nice, you can bold seats in the bed, if you want more room

 

[ADGrant]

1/ Recent Intel Macs are exactly the same. (Apart from the Pro)

Actually the Apples last new Intel Mac, the 2020 27" iMac has user accessible RAM slots.

 

[mectojic]

I use M1 when I need the performance. But I know that their non-upgradeable/replaceable parts mean they will all die one day.

In 10-20 years, if we can think that far ahead, I think there will be more fully-working pre-2013 Macs than 2013-2022 Macs, simply because components can be more easily repaired on those.

 

[newques]

Hey everyone,

I recently had a M1 Mac Mini, 1TB Storage, 16 gb of RAM. I never had M1 Mac before, just "Classic" Intel Mac. ?

And you know what ? I kept it 2 months, and sold it.

I have a really "mixed" feeling about that M1 chips.

Of course, M1 chips have really very great performances. I was impressed to see a Mac Mini with such perfs.

But there a couple of things i really can't stand with that M1 chips.

1/ Zero upgrade possiblity.

Let's be clear, i always hated that apple decision to solder components, BUT i can admit it gives advantages about performances.
But what i feel is like Apple saying "You won't touch inside our machines. We will do everything possible to make it non-upgradeable. Don't touch our computers. You should pay 2X or 3x times the normal price with our configuration."

Look at the poor Luke Miani who had a hope when he opened his Mac Studio... He tried swapping the modules and got 100% locked by Apple. I could feel hope in his eyes, but reality came back very fast ?

Of course, Apple was never reputed for making upgradeables machines. We all know that Steve Jobs didn't want this.
But at least, most of machines before 2012 could be upgraded with RAM and new Hard drives. I think it was really the minimum Apple could offer to customers. And i'll be honest, i always enjoyed that.
Look at 2020 iMac, memory was still accessible.

In my mind, i really can't stand to be stuck with my machine. I know if i want to change anything in my machine, i have to change the whole machine. And i really feel sad about it.

I feel like : Having a very great machine but being prisoner of it.

2/ Lack of compatibility

Of course, Rosetta is good, and ARM chips are just like the transition from PowerPC to Intel in the mid 2000's. It's totally normal that it lacks of compatibility.
However, i've been so much used to run multiple systems like Linux or Windows, additional to MacOS that it frustrates me a lot.
I won't expand on this topic, i think it's useless.

BTW, i feel very mitigate about M1 Computers, and i feel very alone. Everyone seems to love it so much.
Anyone feeling like me ? ?

I agree, being a former apple fan there are a few take aways from this topic. while the in-house m1 is an innovation in itself, it is not the first time apple has been on the RISC side of doing things. Mac OS 9 ran on the old Motorola line of chips so this is not really an innovation just a different chip set. In the Mac world people knew apples performance as on par or even faster than windows in comparable software scenarios with the Motorola line
this move will just make it more constrained software wise, this transition is a regress in actuality

using several machines with the m1 chip on a daily basis can make one either a fan or one who votes themself off the island entirely. The closed idea is silly, solder is no better than pins electricity is fast and reliable if everyone does not know. there is no reason for one to keep buying a new car every year or a phone even a computer for that matter.
if everyone just sticks their heads in the sand next thing you'r gonna be doing is buying time cards for machine use.

 

[HiVolt]

1) You cannot get Low Power RAM modules in any other package. To move away from soldered RAM, they’d need to lose performance and increase power consumption.

You can argue that for a laptop. It's not really an argument for a wall powered desktop.

 

[HiVolt]

1/ Recent Intel Macs are exactly the same. (Apart from the Pro)

2/ Apart from the fact that you can run ARM versions of both, my recommendation would be to buy a Windows PC if you wish to run Windows optimally.

2018 Mini had RAM slots, so did the 27" Intel iMac. You could also upgrade the internal storage. Wasn't easily accessible, but you could.

 

[zidarko]

Linux compatibility was mentioned a number of times. I use Linux daily and on my M1 MBP Docker containers are a good enough testing bed. I can either spin a small AWS instance or use our supercomputer if I need even more oomph.

tl;dr:
Think OP is trolling us.

 

[Analog Kid]

What on earth would someone need to upgrade 2 months after buying?

This smell funny to anyone else? “I bought a Mac with maximum on module RAM then sold it 2 months later because I couldn’t upgrade it then opened a brand new MacRumors account and started a thread to whine about it.”

?

 

[Apple fan from Korea]

Hey everyone,

I recently had a M1 Mac Mini, 1TB Storage, 16 gb of RAM. I never had M1 Mac before, just "Classic" Intel Mac. ?

And you know what ? I kept it 2 months, and sold it.

I have a really "mixed" feeling about that M1 chips.

Of course, M1 chips have really very great performances. I was impressed to see a Mac Mini with such perfs.

But there a couple of things i really can't stand with that M1 chips.

1/ Zero upgrade possiblity.

Let's be clear, i always hated that apple decision to solder components, BUT i can admit it gives advantages about performances.
But what i feel is like Apple saying "You won't touch inside our machines. We will do everything possible to make it non-upgradeable. Don't touch our computers. You should pay 2X or 3x times the normal price with our configuration."

Look at the poor Luke Miani who had a hope when he opened his Mac Studio... He tried swapping the modules and got 100% locked by Apple. I could feel hope in his eyes, but reality came back very fast ?

Of course, Apple was never reputed for making upgradeables machines. We all know that Steve Jobs didn't want this.
But at least, most of machines before 2012 could be upgraded with RAM and new Hard drives. I think it was really the minimum Apple could offer to customers. And i'll be honest, i always enjoyed that.
Look at 2020 iMac, memory was still accessible.

In my mind, i really can't stand to be stuck with my machine. I know if i want to change anything in my machine, i have to change the whole machine. And i really feel sad about it.

I feel like : Having a very great machine but being prisoner of it.

2/ Lack of compatibility

Of course, Rosetta is good, and ARM chips are just like the transition from PowerPC to Intel in the mid 2000's. It's totally normal that it lacks of compatibility.
However, i've been so much used to run multiple systems like Linux or Windows, additional to MacOS that it frustrates me a lot.
I won't expand on this topic, i think it's useless.

BTW, i feel very mitigate about M1 Computers, and i feel very alone. Everyone seems to love it so much.
Anyone feeling like me ? ?

Get a PC if you care about compatibility so much. Both of these are things that are commonly complained about the Mac in general and you should have researched if your software was compatible before buying.

 

[Macative]

I don't want Apple to build "upgradeable" machines. This is an archaic, cheapskate mentality that values saving a few dollars over much, much better machines.

I don't want to pry open my Macs and upgrade the RAM anymore. Been there, done that. What I want is massive amounts of unified memory shared between CPU and GPU. That's good. That's modern. That's worth paying for.

So no, this isn't "Bad Apple". It is literally what I want as an Apple customer, and so do millions of others.

The compatibility argument holds a lot more water, but its more of a minor inconvenience. The lack of arm64 support for packages from around the web makes running local environments that mirror intel server environments quite difficult. I still have 1 repo that I haven't been able to get working on local.

 

[now i see it]

I think the mindset that a mac computer should be upgradable is one that’s stuck in 1990s era computing.
An iPad isn’t upgradable
An iPhone isn’t upgradable
Headphones aren’t upgradable
Monitors aren’t upgradable
Toasters, ovens, dishwasher, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, air conditioners …. The list goes on forever —— and nobody complains about those things.

But when a person can’t upgrade the RAM or storage in their desktop computer, they feel ripped off.
Strange.

 

[throAU]

1/ Zero upgrade possiblity.


2/ Lack of compatibility

Of course, Rosetta is good, and ARM chips are just like the transition from PowerPC to Intel in the mid 2000's. It's totally normal that it lacks of compatibility.
However, i've been so much used to run multiple systems like Linux or Windows, additional to MacOS that it frustrates me a lot.
I won't expand on this topic, i think it's useless.

BTW, i feel very mitigate about M1 Computers, and i feel very alone. Everyone seems to love it so much.
Anyone feeling like me ? ?

#1 has been the case since the beginning of the retina machines really and is the same for most ultraportables. You've still got thunderbolt for high speed IO to external peripherals.

#2 is a temporary thing, you can still run Linux and other platforms for ARM in VMs, Windows is out but if you're looking to run Windows in a VM you're buying the wrong machine.

I'm loving m1 life for the battery life, lack of heat, silence and performance.

 

[rgwebb]

Hey everyone,

I recently had a M1 Mac Mini, 1TB Storage, 16 gb of RAM. I never had M1 Mac before, just "Classic" Intel Mac. ?

And you know what ? I kept it 2 months, and sold it.

I have a really "mixed" feeling about that M1 chips.

Of course, M1 chips have really very great performances. I was impressed to see a Mac Mini with such perfs.

But there a couple of things i really can't stand with that M1 chips.

1/ Zero upgrade possiblity.

Let's be clear, i always hated that apple decision to solder components, BUT i can admit it gives advantages about performances.
But what i feel is like Apple saying "You won't touch inside our machines. We will do everything possible to make it non-upgradeable. Don't touch our computers. You should pay 2X or 3x times the normal price with our configuration."

Look at the poor Luke Miani who had a hope when he opened his Mac Studio... He tried swapping the modules and got 100% locked by Apple. I could feel hope in his eyes, but reality came back very fast ?

Of course, Apple was never reputed for making upgradeables machines. We all know that Steve Jobs didn't want this.
But at least, most of machines before 2012 could be upgraded with RAM and new Hard drives. I think it was really the minimum Apple could offer to customers. And i'll be honest, i always enjoyed that.
Look at 2020 iMac, memory was still accessible.

In my mind, i really can't stand to be stuck with my machine. I know if i want to change anything in my machine, i have to change the whole machine. And i really feel sad about it.

I feel like : Having a very great machine but being prisoner of it.

2/ Lack of compatibility

Of course, Rosetta is good, and ARM chips are just like the transition from PowerPC to Intel in the mid 2000's. It's totally normal that it lacks of compatibility.
However, i've been so much used to run multiple systems like Linux or Windows, additional to MacOS that it frustrates me a lot.
I won't expand on this topic, i think it's useless.

BTW, i feel very mitigate about M1 Computers, and i feel very alone. Everyone seems to love it so much.
Anyone feeling like me ? ?

This wasn’t a problem created by the Apple Silicon transition, buddy.