Intel or M1 Macs.... which ones have more issues?

[Mojer]

We have a few Macs in my house (MBA’s, MBP’s and an iMac desktop). I’ve never needed or wanted my own until recently. All of these are Intel Macs and no one has ever had any issues. All of these machines are for basic usage (mostly schoolwork, Internet, etc). And my intended usage will also be somewhat basic as well.

I’m not the type of person that likes to purchase the first model of anything. I much prefer to wait until second or third generation of products come out so that bugs can be worked out. I’m certainly not in a position where I absolutely need a Mac now (I would likely get base model MBA). My concern is that there are lots of reports of issues on this forum as well as other forums. Specifically, there is one thread here centering on issues with the new Macs with almost 700 comments. However, I have also read a lot of positive feedback.

I purposely waited several months to begin consideration of this purchase instead of buying when the M1‘s came out. Are those of you who upgraded from an Intel Mac experiencing more issues with your M1? Is there any benefit waiting until the next generation MBA comes out? Thanks for any guidance!

 

[leman]

All computers have “issues” I don’t think you will be able to find comprehensive objective information on the matter.

Things to watch out with M1 Macs: higher chance of incompatibilities with Bluetooth devices and external displays (never encountered any myself though), software compatibility (shouldn’t matter for your intended usage though).

Frankly, I think that buying an Intel Mac right now is a huge waste of money. The value proposition just took a nosedive and most of them will be obsolete by the end of the year anyway. The basic MBA is a better all purpose computer than laptops retailing at double its price.

 

[Stella]

Go with an M1. It was last longer, Mac OS will be supported on the current M1s longer than Intel. You'll get better performance vs Intel too. If you go with MBA, you'll get better battery life and it won't be a portable heater, like the Intel MacBooks are.


I was in a similar position to you, I needed a Mac because my previous one had died, and waited these machines to be released. I ended up buying a Mac Mini and it is a great machine, far better than the Intel equivalents. Slowly the software I used regularly is being ported over to Apple Silicon, but the Intel builds still offer great performance.

 

[Seanm87]

Most of these issues will be ironed out once things become native. I've had no issues at all and if your needs are basic you won't either.

Personally I think having a hot intel chip with a jet engine fan is more of an issue than any M1 Mac.

 

[dmccloud]

For the same price as the Intel based Macs they replaced, the M1 Macs give you all of the following benefits:

* Improved performance across the board
* Significantly improved battery life
* Less/no fan noise (no noise with the Air, significantly less with the Pro)
* Improved display quality (the Air now uses the same panels as the 13" Pro)
* The vast majority of software has either already been recompiled for the M1, and many of the apps still Intel-only run fine under Rosetta 2. In fact, some of the Intel apps actually run faster under Rosetta than they did on Intel.

While some people have reported issues with their M1 Macs (especially related to bluetooth issues and certain niche software not working on the new SoC), that is a relatively small (yet vocal) minority. I couldn't see myself going back to an Intel-based Mac for any reason after three months with the M1 - my user experience has improved greatly with the new hardware.

 

[Mojer]

Thanks for the replies!

 

[uller6]

I have two 2020 machines, an M1 air and a 2020 13" MBP (two thunderbolt port model). Both have some issues, but overall the M1 air is a far better computer:

2020 M1 Air:
- can only use one external monitor
- cannot change 3rd party external monitor brightness with function keys using Monitor Control software (this does work with Apple monitors though)
- cannot run x86 virtual machines
- issues booting from external drives (can't use carbon copy cloner for bootable backups)

2020 Intel 13" MBP:
- hot hot hot
- fan noise!
- laggy as heck, especially when it gets hot
- takes ~30 seconds to wake from sleep, sometimes keyboard & mouse don't wake up after sleep
- spectre/meltdown chip flaws, mitigations slow down the CPU
- T2 chip audio skipping/popping issues
- glitches out sometimes when connected/disconnected from external displays

 

[flopticalcube]

I’m certainly not in a position where I absolutely need a Mac now

If you have no immediate need for it, wait. Follow the MacRumors buying guide and when a new version of what you want comes out, decide then.

 

[bunnspecial]

I have a general "no first generation device" policy...but I'm glad I decided to break that on the M1.

I don't think it's a stretch for me to say it's the single best portable I've ever used. It's stupidly fast even compared to top of the line Intel Mac portables, the battery is incredible, it's lightweight, silent, and I've only managed to push it over 40º doing lens corrections in Photoshop(I have yet to turn the fan on in mine). Even non-native programs are largely benching as fast under Rosetta 2 as they do on a high spec 16". Adobe has released Lightroom as native, and it's ridiculous. Photoshop isn't yet, but is still great.

My very first laptop(a Compaq Armada) back in the late 90s could squeak 8 hours of light use with 3 batteries installed. I've been impressed with 5-6 hours with my 13" Retina MBP, but my M1 Pro just laughs at that.

I don't regret buying a first gen product at all with this one.

 

[fmacmac]

My opinion is no more Intel!

 

[Jack Neill]

I have a general "no first generation device" policy...but I'm glad I decided to break that on the M1.

I don't think it's a stretch for me to say it's the single best portable I've ever used. It's stupidly fast even compared to top of the line Intel Mac portables, the battery is incredible, it's lightweight, silent, and I've only managed to push it over 40º doing lens corrections in Photoshop(I have yet to turn the fan on in mine). Even non-native programs are largely benching as fast under Rosetta 2 as they do on a high spec 16". Adobe has released Lightroom as native, and it's ridiculous. Photoshop isn't yet, but is still great.

My very first laptop(a Compaq Armada) back in the late 90s could squeak 8 hours of light use with 3 batteries installed. I've been impressed with 5-6 hours with my 13" Retina MBP, but my M1 Pro just laughs at that.

I don't regret buying a first gen product at all with this one.

I would reply to this thread but you said everything for me.

 

[dmccloud]

I have a general "no first generation device" policy...but I'm glad I decided to break that on the M1.

I don't think it's a stretch for me to say it's the single best portable I've ever used. It's stupidly fast even compared to top of the line Intel Mac portables, the battery is incredible, it's lightweight, silent, and I've only managed to push it over 40º doing lens corrections in Photoshop(I have yet to turn the fan on in mine). Even non-native programs are largely benching as fast under Rosetta 2 as they do on a high spec 16". Adobe has released Lightroom as native, and it's ridiculous. Photoshop isn't yet, but is still great.

My very first laptop(a Compaq Armada) back in the late 90s could squeak 8 hours of light use with 3 batteries installed. I've been impressed with 5-6 hours with my 13" Retina MBP, but my M1 Pro just laughs at that.

I don't regret buying a first gen product at all with this one.

The M1 is the exception to the rule regarding not buying a 1st generation device. Since it's clear that Apple has been working towards this for a while now (in hindsight, the deprecation of 32-bit apps in Catalina was the big step in preparation for this launch), the M1 really isn't a 1st generation machine in the normal sense of the term. The processor is based upon existing technologies and designs Apple has been working on for years, and by keeping the chassis, keyboard, etc. unchanged Apple stuck with a proven design. Compare the M1 Air to the 1st generation Surface Pro X (as that is really the closest comparison in terms of both price and feature set) - the Air has significantly better performance, better software compatibility (just in terms of Mac OS software, the iOS/iPad OS factor actually gives Apple Silicon the potential to have a larger software community than even Windows), and better battery life. Unlike the SPX, the M1 Air also includes a keyboard, and it's easier to sit on your lap because of its design.

Software development for the M1 is also further along in February 2021 than I originally thought it would be when this was first announced at WWDC. We knew then that Microsoft and Adobe were already at work on M1 versions of their suites, and Blizzard's release of an M1 version of World of Warcraft on the same day the M1 hit stores was an unexpected surprise on all fronts (I have heard that Blizzard intentionally kept that under wraps to surprise their Mac userbase). It has become apparent that Apple is placing some emphasis on gaming based on featuring Tomb Raider at WWDC and then Baldur's Gate 3 during the November event. This latter point is a long game on Apple's part rather than some sort of quick pivot.

TLDR: The M1 Macs are a 1st generation product with a 4th generation design, great software compatibility, and outstanding performance.

 

[Miat]

2020 M1 Air:

- issues booting from external drives (can't use carbon copy cloner for bootable backups)

Can use SuperDuper?

 

[k-hawinkler]

What can I say?
My M1 Mac mini is simply too much fun to miss out on.
I also keep an old late 2013 “trashcan” Mac Pro for old peripherals.
It will stay on Mojave to support 32-bit apps as well.

My daughter has an M1 MBP and thoroughly enjoys it.
There simply is no valid reason at this stage to stay with Intel based Macs IMHO.
Remaining quirks with the new M1s, I am sure, will get ironed out in no time.
But these quirks don’t keep me from enjoying the new M1s.

 

[Dragonfly on W3]

MBP M1 Max is not too much to play on Rise of Tomb Rider, and works well on Wow (native) but awful on Warcraft 3 (not reforged). Unfortunately, lot’s of FTP games can’t work properly on MacBook Pro M1 (Max). The GPU is too weak for non native ARM game.
I hope more developers working to let Mac ARM GPU works on actual and future games with a decent efficiency.

 

[tRYSIS3]

MBP M1 Max is not too much to play on Rise of Tomb Rider, and works well on Wow (native) but awful on Warcraft 3 (not reforged). Unfortunately, lot’s of FTP games can’t work properly on MacBook Pro M1 (Max). The GPU is too weak for non native ARM game.
I hope more developers working to let Mac ARM GPU works on actual and future games with a decent efficiency.

The GPU is not "weak" many games are simply not optimised for AS

 

[Gudi]

For heat problems alone the answer is Intel. 🔥

 

[Gudi]

The M1 is the exception to the rule regarding not buying a 1st generation device. Since it's clear that Apple has been working towards this for a while now (in hindsight, the deprecation of 32-bit apps in Catalina was the big step in preparation for this launch), the M1 really isn't a 1st generation machine in the normal sense of the term.

It's even Apple's third CPU transition, by now they know what they're doing almost too well.

Motorola 68000 ➞ PowerPC G3 ➞ Intel x86 ➞ Apple arm64

 

[Dragonfly on W3]

The GPU is not "weak" many games are simply not optimised for AS

It’s the same… if you look at the activity monitor, W3 don’t use GPU and processor at the same time. Even if you have closed all other applications. Then If you choose « motion » at the MBP screen setting, the GPU rise 95%, the processor isn’t really used. In both cases, MBP is warm and slow. With a real mother card dealing correctly with games developed for Intel chipset, no lagging, correct render, nice Fps. That’s why I said « It would be good that developers build this game suitable with ARM like WoW. Warcraft 3 is famous, i don’t understand why this game isn’t upgraded/updated for Mac.
The problem with ARM architecture, it doesn’t work for games FPS demanding (Call of duty, W3, Halo, etc.). ARM is developed for designers, video producers, photographer.
But when game developers want, the game can be developed to works on Apple ARM (I guess).
Even Warcraft 3 Reforged isn’t native for ARM because ARM technology isn’t complete…

 

[tRYSIS3]

it doesn’t work for games FPS demanding (Call of duty, W3, Halo, etc.).

Games like RE Village, Metro Exodus, Shadow of the Tomb Raider run perfectly fine on ARM, like I said it's up to the devs and Apple to support the architecture. The GPU itself is more than capable of running the games you mentioned

 

[tmoerel]

2020 M1 Air:
- cannot change 3rd party external monitor brightness with function keys using Monitor Control software (this does work with Apple monitors though)

This depends on the monitor and the way it is connected. I have both an LG 34WK95U-W as well as an LG 27UL850-W connected via Thunderbolt. On both displays I can control the brightness using MonitorControl.

 

[uller6]

This depends on the monitor and the way it is connected. I have both an LG 34WK95U-W as well as an LG 27UL850-W connected via Thunderbolt. On both displays I can control the brightness using MonitorControl.

I think Monitor Control has been updated since I wrote this post. It works fine for me now in Dec 2022.