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jterp7

macrumors 65816
Oct 26, 2011
1,292
161
in the auto industry id probably avoid first year cars and even with apple products for those of you who remember the ipad 3 vs ipad 4 this makes a bit of sense. However with M1, yes the successors will be faster ofc but everything that I've seen is that the air and pro are perfect machines for most people. If you can wait then obviously yes wait.
 

Wando64

macrumors 68020
Jul 11, 2013
2,338
3,109
512 gb 8gb Space Gray Pro owner here. Everything is so seamless. It's unreal. Granted, I do not run windows or any complicated programs. I am blown away. How can this be a first gen machine? I am now trying to figure out what to do about my other MacBooks because all I want to do is use this one. I am in love. Logic tells me I should return it and get the second gen version of it and I will eventually run into some major problems, but I don't want to take it back lol.

What is your use case for requiring multiple MacBooks?
 
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Gr8ezscape

macrumors newbie
Dec 29, 2019
6
3
Eastern Pennsylvania
Just got mine yesterday, and is really fast compared to my 2013 MacBook Air. I like that a lot of my iPad and iPhone apps can be downloaded on the the new one and work. Had to download Roseta on the new M1 and it only took half a minute if that. Touch ID is also nice and convenient. Have to keep the old device because of legacy software compatibility issues.
 

yngrshr

macrumors regular
Mar 7, 2015
200
298
NJ
The one thing that really impresses me is just how much better the performance is with Civ VI. I can do a pretty much direct comparison of a 2020 M1 13" MacBook Pro vs a 2020 Intel 13" MacBook Pro. The Intel could really barely run the game. It was very slow. The M1? It flies. I even downloaded a bunch of Workshop items for it and there is zero slowdown whatsoever. Even on a giant map with a ton of players.

The difference is night and day and that itself is staggering.
 

roncron

macrumors 65816
Aug 15, 2011
1,182
2,284
I was super excited for the early 2020 MBA with Intel quad-core options and Magic Keyboard, and ordered mine on the day they were announced.

I was really disappointed. It often ran hot with fans raging, including when I wasn't doing anything that would tax the processor. And it didn't feel any faster than my 2018 MBA with its outdated dual-core Intel processor. Things didn't improve, and it seemed an expensive step backward, so I returned it and ordered an early 2020 MBP w/ 10th gen Intel quad-core i5. This MBP was much better, but I didn't like the Touch Bar and didn't much care for the MBP form factor - I've been a MBA guy since 2010. But I thought the MBP was the best I could do in 2021, and I couldn't have imagined Apple would release a new model 6 months after the current model was released.

I was wrong.

I resisted ordering a M1 MBA when they first came out, having just spent $1700 on the early 2020 MBP. But after a month of stellar reviews from professional critics and owners, I broke down and bought one.

The M1 MBA has surpassed my high expectations. All my software ran on it with no problem, and programs that weren't optimized for the M1 still ran faster than on my Intel 10th gen quad-core MBP thanks to Rosetta.

The M1 MBA does everything I want it to, it's blazing fast, it runs cool and silent, it's got the portable MBA form factor I love, the Magic Keyboard I love, the retina display with P3 wide color gamut, and the ridiculous 2-full-day battery life.

I had to sell my early 2020 MBP on eBay and lost a few hundred dollars. I knew I would take a loss if I decided to keep the M1 MBA I'd ordered.

But it was so worth it. I freaking love this computer.

Sure, a better one will come out later in 2021, or 2022 at the latest. But the 2020 M1 MBA is so much better than anything I've ever used, and it's such a joy to use, I'm confident it'll serve me well for years.
 
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gpat

macrumors 68000
Mar 1, 2011
1,932
5,343
Italy
512 gb 8gb Space Gray Pro owner here. Everything is so seamless. It's unreal. Granted, I do not run windows or any complicated programs. I am blown away. How can this be a first gen machine? I am now trying to figure out what to do about my other MacBooks because all I want to do is use this one. I am in love. Logic tells me I should return it and get the second gen version of it and I will eventually run into some major problems, but I don't want to take it back lol.
Logic should tell you to sell the Intel ones while they are still worth some money, maybe keeping one for compatibility/nostalgia purposes...
 
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Populus

macrumors 603
Aug 24, 2012
5,944
8,414
Spain, Europe
Yup. M1 Air is just Air-mazing! I used iMac 2011 almost ten years (still my secondary machine), and without SSD. So difference is... pretty noticeable ?Macs are exiting again.
Wow you must be really impressed, for sure! My first machine was a 2010 MacBook Pro, but I put an SSD on it as soon as I could. Same for my 2014 mac mini. So, coming from fast machines, the jump is not so noticeable. However, in raw power, there’s a difference.
 

827538

Cancelled
Jul 3, 2013
2,322
2,833
I set up an M1 MacBook Pro and had a chance to use it. Extremely fast and responsive, I was also extremely surprised by how much better the ISP was for the FaceTime camera as I had it side by side with the Intel MacBook Pro and the difference was striking.

I have money set aside for the 14" MacBook Pro update which I'm hoping will feature an M2 chip. Also the 16GB of RAM is a must for me, 8GB is just not going to cut it anymore.

Someone said they think the next M-Macs are going to be a lot more expensive, I disagree. The big advantage of Apple's in house chips is they don't have to pay Intel a huge premium. The cost for chip R&D is spread across their iPhones, Macs, iPads, even watches. It's a bit of a sunk cost as the cores are basically the same cores from the iPhone just clocked faster. It's really just a question of whether TSMC can keep up with demand as from what I've heard their 5nm and 7nm fabs are running at maximum capacity and struggling to meet demand.
 

hinesy32

macrumors newbie
Jan 24, 2021
5
2
Macbook air owner here silver 8gb ram and 256gb. will be keeping this for 2 or 3 year then m3 should be out then i cant believe the power of the M1

best mac i have ever owned sits at a cool 30c unlike the intel macbook air at 80c

Only problem im having is safari wont load pages right i had to switch to microsoft edge and works great.
 

James_C

macrumors 68030
Sep 13, 2002
2,847
1,897
Bristol, UK
I was going to suggest RAM, but as you are only planning on keeping it for two years, then just get the base. The reason is you will spend more on the upgrade, in % terms it may hold more value, but you will probably still lose more money overall if you don’t actually need the extra Ram or SSD.
 

Katzup

macrumors newbie
May 8, 2012
12
10
Reminds me of the excitement around the first Mac (which I still own) but with more software...
 
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Maximara

macrumors 68000
Jun 16, 2008
1,707
908
Yeah I am pretty happy with 8gb. Its only reddit that maxes out the ram for some reason. Though my first desktop mac will have 16gb or more whenever I get one. Waiting until at least M3 first
That doesn't make sense as Reddit is through a browser so it in itself doesn't take RAM the browser window does. More over 8 GM is more that enough to view Reddit on my old 2013 iMac. I would suggest getting the open source program Stats and see what is actually eating up the RAM.
 

MBPM1

macrumors member
Jan 24, 2021
35
16
I have a 2019 15" MBP and recently picked up a 16" MPB since it has the magic keyboard. What a mistake that was - - graphics issues, weird popping noises and more. My older machine ran better. They shouldn't be allowed to sell that POS - yes, it's that bad. Good thing I got rid of it and will patiently wait for the new 16 M1-MBP to come out.

I'd go with the M1 13" MBP, but I simply need more real-estate, although I do run a 34 curved monitor, however quite a bit time is spent disconnected from it.

So the 13 M1-MBP is equally as impressive as the 13 M1 air?
 

SFjohn

macrumors 68020
Sep 8, 2016
2,206
4,484
Please don't return the M1 Mac you're so impressed with.

"Logic tells me I should return it and get the second gen version of it ..." Really? What do ethics tell you? You knew it was first generation Apple Silicon, and it exceeds your expectations, so act in good faith.

I know Apple don't need me to fight their corner, and I know they can well afford returns policy abuse. But every time I read posts like yours, and there are very many on this forum, a little of my faith in the inherent decency of humanity dies.
Returning during Apple’s window is not policy abuse. Apple still makes money on refurbished sales. Apple stands behind their products that speak for themselves. No need to feel a little death in humankind over this. On other topics sure, there are huge reasons.
 

Maximara

macrumors 68000
Jun 16, 2008
1,707
908
I do not think there will be a gen 2 of the current M1 Macs in 2021....so if you are happy with what you have, just keep it and enjoy....you also said you do not run anything complicated, so I'm sure there would be no need to change it.

I also think that the next release of M chip Macs will be a lot more expensive too for no other reason than they can.
From a business prospective they really can't just make the next release of M chip Macs more expensive too for no other reason than they can. It would simply drive people to the older M1 Macs for no other reason then they are cheaper. There is a reason the M1 mini is cheaper then the Intel it was replacing and the pandemic has cause they to sweeten that deal.

Apple wants everybody to get on the Mx bandwagon ASAP so they get can fast track getting rid of support for the Intel Macs faster.
 
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Apple_Robert

Contributor
Sep 21, 2012
35,665
52,473
In a van down by the river
I currently have MR going along with (3) 4K videos running and the M1 MBA is silent, temp is at 86 degrees, and memory pressure is green. With an Intel Mac, the fans would have kicked on with the first 4k video.
 

aleni

macrumors 68030
Jun 2, 2006
2,583
910
Buying apple products even though they’re great, they seem expensive to me. This m1 air is the opposite, it’s crazy cheap for what the speed offers.

It’s one of the most apple stuff that got me excited again after the iPhone 2g and the retina display equipped iPhone 4.
 
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Browz

macrumors newbie
Sep 16, 2020
18
49
you are right, they don’t need you to fight. The return policy exists for a reason, and there’s nothing wrong with returning it within the timeframe.
Another perspective though is the environmental impact from returning a perfectly fine machine. When an item is returned to apple, at bare-minimum the outer-case gets replaced before being sold as a refurb. Yes, they recycle the components that are swapped but that does have a carbon footprint. I'm not saying this to tell anyone they shouldn't return something they're unhappy with, but keep that in mind when you return something. It's free for you, and Apple can more than afford to eat the cost, but the planet does take a hit from that.
 
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vivek28

macrumors regular
Sep 8, 2013
230
107
Should i go for 8GB or 16GB M1 Air. Planning to do some video/audio creator's tasks.

I keep my macbooks for long, currently MBP 13 2010 with upgraded 8GB RAM and 120GB SSD sufficing basic browsing, 720p youtube ehh and python code.
 

pshufd

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2013
10,149
14,574
New Hampshire
Should i go for 8GB or 16GB M1 Air. Planning to do some video/audio creator's tasks.

I keep my macbooks for long, currently MBP 13 2010 with upgraded 8GB RAM and 120GB SSD sufficing basic browsing, 720p youtube ehh and python code.

We went for 16 GB as I'm expecting ten years out of our Air. If it were upgradable, then that would be one thing, but it isn't so I'd max out the RAM in case RAM requirements increase over time.
 

inDCD

macrumors newbie
Jan 24, 2021
2
2
We went for 16 GB as I'm expecting ten years out of our Air. If it were upgradable, then that would be one thing, but it isn't so I'd max out the RAM in case RAM requirements increase over time.

I kept the late 2010 MBA 11” for 10 years. Was still going strong until I dumped a cup of water on it. I’m certain the M1 will be as solid.
 
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