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Significant1

macrumors 68000
Dec 20, 2014
1,686
780
I remember reading somewhere that Apple has consciously optimized MacOS to make use of the unified memory, and it shows in the way in which it uses memory and swap. To your point, it makes use of memory+swap to deliver an "always on" experience whereas it could not do that before because of Intel's approach to different memory pools for the processor and GPU.
I am not aware of any change of swap use on Apple Silicon. At least on my 16GB M1 I see very little, if any, use of swap and it matches very well what my Intel machines would use. My 8GB old air uses a lot more swap, while my 24GB with discrete vram never use swap.
 

Binary Wizzard

macrumors newbie
Dec 5, 2020
16
17
I upgraded from a POS Windows box that I built years ago when I had less money. Let's just say that the M1ini is night and day. It's fast, silent, efficient. I also have an i7 NUC that I use for virtualization and I often hears the fans, even when not much is going on. The M1ni, on the other hand, is perfectly silent. Amazing.

I wish there was more USB ports, either A to C. Nothing that couldn't be fixed by a hub, but still.
 
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xraydoc

Contributor
Oct 9, 2005
11,033
5,493
192.168.1.1
Incredibly satisfied with my MacBook Air. May be the first time I've ever thought "doesn't need to be any faster." Everything happens virtually instantly. UI doesn't drop any frames, even on my big 4K display.
 

fwilers

macrumors member
Feb 1, 2017
53
50
Washington
I think you don't understand caching and good utilization of memory. If you restart that program you just quit or reload that document you just closed, it is already in memory and time+energi to reload it is saved. Cached memory is available memory, if needed, but no need to clear to it before it is needed. Lazy==good and empty memory is wasted memory. So focus on memory pressure and swap to determine if you are low on memory.
I very much understand it, and the Apple way is not good utilization. When I quit a program I don't immediately reload it again, or even in the near future. It might help the people that reload the same few programs every time. I don't do that, and Apple shouldn't assume that. If OS X was able to launch or load as fast as Windows, then they probably wouldn't even bother with the way they manage it.

I quit programs so I can have resources for something else. But it doesn't give me that. That is wasted time and energy. Just release it correctly in the first place. In fact I would never need swap if it worked correctly.
Why put something in swap if your swap drive is the same as your hard drive? That was a great idea when swap was ssd and your hard drive was mechanical. Things have changed.

I don't need the os to cache something, then put it into swap when I load something else that exceeds the memory. Why put it in swap, if you aren't using it. Loading from swap or the hard drive takes the same amount of time because it's the same drive and interface, all you did was move crap around temporarily for no reason. Caching and swapping takes far more resources and battery drain, then just releasing the memory in the first place, and having it available instantly for use with no calculations to consider.

I use Photoshop and Capture One. I can't run both smoothly on this Mac at the same time. Do they run? Sure, but nowhere close to what can be done on Windows. Why? Because of memory management. Rarely do I see myself hitting 16GB with both programs open on Windows, along with web pages, mail, etc. On Mac, it will fill up just with Photoshop open. I then hit the hard drive and that's 10x slower then memory.
 

haralds

macrumors 68030
Jan 3, 2014
2,994
1,259
Silicon Valley, CA
Re swap etc.: I think users just need to stop worrying. Apple is slowly switching to the iOS model in keeping things in RAM and swapping for efficiency. If you are using apps like Mail, Safari, Music, Calendar, do not quit! Let the system handle it. It will be easier on resources and the battery. The disk will last long past when the system will be really outdated.
 

Hessel89

macrumors 6502a
Sep 27, 2017
594
328
Netherlands
Upgraded from a 2018 i7 Mac Mini to an M1 Mac Mini (with 512GB + 16GB)

I use it for music production and it's amazing!

Because I prepared my switch to Apple Silicon for months, when I actually got my M1, the transition was painless.
Don't think too easy about making the switch though. Especially if you use a lot of legacy software.
 

chouseworth

macrumors 6502
Dec 3, 2012
300
833
Wake Forest, NC
How's everyone getting on with their M1 Mac's? I was thinking of buying a Mac mini to replace my old desktop as don't really use it much for gaming anymore.

I've heard some conflicting reports about the performance. Most reviews say it's great but some have complained about slow performance in some apps. Not sure if that's a compatibility/emulation issue with Rosetta though. Likewise I've heard reports of Bluetooth problems.

What are folks thoughts about specs? 8Gb ram sounds a bit low but is it as workable for most uses and apps as reviews imply? The costs begin to spiral as soon as you start upgrading beyond the base 8gb/256gb Mac mini so would rather avoid expensive upgrades if the base model is fine.

I've seen a couple of nifty looking docks for the Mac mini to sit on which allow you to add a 2.5" SSD storage drive. That seems like a better option than paying Apple £200 for another 256Gb of SSD! That or I'll just connect a 2.5" drive over USB or thunderbolt.

How well does the iPad app support work? Seems pretty cool but at the same time I'm not sure how useful it would be to run iPad apps on a Mac?

Sorry for all the questions! I've read and watched loads of reviews but so many online seem to "contain paid promotion" that I can't help but feel most are very far from impartial. That's why I wanted to ask people who'd actually bought them with their own money
I have both the 1T/16Gb Mini and the 1T/16Gb MBA. Love both of them. Implemented the suggestions for minimizing unnecessary swapping to the SSD on both machines. I could not imagine going back to an Intel machine or recommending one to any of my friends who do not have very specialized needs for Windows software. The M1 is a homerun for Apple.
 

AdamNC

macrumors 6502a
Feb 3, 2018
752
1,052
Leland NC
I have only had my M1 MBA 512/8 2 months now... I love it.... I have had no issues except one time Safari crashed while loading a video off Youtube. That was when it was on 11.2.3. I love this thing. After several years on windows machines, I forgot just how wonderful Apples laptops are.
 

Mistborn15

macrumors regular
Feb 5, 2021
216
257
Just as a laptop, it is terrific. But if I could go back, I wouldn't upgrade from Intel for the 1st gen Apple Silicon

ProsCons
Battery. Lasts longApps don't launch instantly as claimed by many youtubers
Keyboard is a huge upgrade from my previous macbookDoesn't work well with my 1440p monitor
No noise. How did they do it?Many apps I use (esp Adobe) aren't ready yet
Battery. Lasts really longHaving both ports on the left is a hassle
Quite fast in certain applications
Screen is great
Gets warm at max, never hot
Battery. Last I charged was four days ago
 

JLH81

macrumors regular
May 10, 2016
234
46
Mine has been great! I'm still amazed at how cool it runs (M1 MBA). I've had mine since late November, and have yet to have any issues with it.
 

thadoggfather

macrumors P6
Oct 1, 2007
16,144
17,056
Base M1 Air since end of December

immensely happy, way nicer machine than my quad core i5 2020 Air.

Dealing with BT issues was annoying for a while, but they've been resolved since 11.2, and that was my only ever gripe.
 

thadoggfather

macrumors P6
Oct 1, 2007
16,144
17,056
My M1 MBA practically sings, and is making me increasingly dissatisfied with my 5k iMac’s fusion drive. That M1 iMac is looking increasingly sexier by the day…

its a disgrace they made SSD a BTO on iMac for so long and made the stock models Fusion drive. absolute disgrace.

When spec'ing either a 27" retina iMac for a parent over a year or so ago, I insisted they go the SSD config'd refurb route.
 

leons

macrumors 6502a
Apr 22, 2009
662
345
MBA, It's ok, but would not call amazing. I like the keyboard and trackpad, but screen is just ok. Seems like dynamic range is extremely low.

OS X memory management has got to be the biggest joke in the world. I don't know why more people don't complain about this, or why Apple ignores it.
Even with 16GB it's very frequently using swap when just web browsing, listening to music, etc.
Quit a program? No it does not release the all the memory. So what happens when you open and quit a bunch of programs? Memory used just keeps adding up.
I have 3.3GB left out of 16 with just this website open. All other apps quit.
This just shows how poorly OS X handles programs.

Want Bridge and Photoshop open? All 16GB used even just browsing and opening 1 image at a time.

It may be fast in some benchmarks, but it is not fast at loading anything or in general usage. Even my 3 year old Surface laptop feels snappier than this thing.
7 seconds to load Outlook? WTF?
6 seconds to load Word?
4 seconds to load Chrome?
5 seconds to load Spotify?
Sure I can instantly load Safari, but there is no good blocker available like ublock origin for chromium web browsers.
And if you ever look at activity monitor, Safari just keeps caching, and caching, and eventually running out of memory again and relying on swap.

Maybe this is faster for Mac users, but coming from a Windows laptop, this thing feels dog slow.

I see why the red button doesn't quit a program. Apple wants you to think that when you bring the program back up it's launching really fast, when in all actuality it was just sitting there in background using up precious memory and relying on your hard drive for swapping.

Very bad compatibility with external monitors. 11.3 update helped, but come on. Billion dollar company doesn't test their product against most popular monitors on market?

Frequent kernel panics with TB 3 and 4 docks.

Mouse input is another joke. I can't believe Mac users put up with how Apple controls this. I see why so many 3rd party apps are available.

Windows management is horrendous. Again, why so many 3rd party apps available.

Does OS X know how to uninstall a program. Nope. You again have to rely on 3rd party programs.
DFTT!
 
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Jorbanead

macrumors 65816
Aug 31, 2018
1,209
1,438
I very much understand it, and the Apple way is not good utilization. When I quit a program I don't immediately reload it again, or even in the near future. It might help the people that reload the same few programs every time. I don't do that, and Apple shouldn't assume that. If OS X was able to launch or load as fast as Windows, then they probably wouldn't even bother with the way they manage it.

I quit programs so I can have resources for something else. But it doesn't give me that. That is wasted time and energy. Just release it correctly in the first place. In fact I would never need swap if it worked correctly.
Why put something in swap if your swap drive is the same as your hard drive? That was a great idea when swap was ssd and your hard drive was mechanical. Things have changed.

I don't need the os to cache something, then put it into swap when I load something else that exceeds the memory. Why put it in swap, if you aren't using it. Loading from swap or the hard drive takes the same amount of time because it's the same drive and interface, all you did was move crap around temporarily for no reason. Caching and swapping takes far more resources and battery drain, then just releasing the memory in the first place, and having it available instantly for use with no calculations to consider.

I use Photoshop and Capture One. I can't run both smoothly on this Mac at the same time. Do they run? Sure, but nowhere close to what can be done on Windows. Why? Because of memory management. Rarely do I see myself hitting 16GB with both programs open on Windows, along with web pages, mail, etc. On Mac, it will fill up just with Photoshop open. I then hit the hard drive and that's 10x slower then memory.
This may be a really really stupid question so I apologize if you know this, but are you actually quitting the application or just closing the windows?

I only ask this because when I first used a Mac coming from a windows machine, I assumed closing the app window closed the application like it does on windows, but it doesn’t. Again maybe you know this.

I don’t own an M1, but I don’t have that problem on my Intel macs. Logic, Premiere Pro, photoshop, etc. will use 24-30gb of ram, but once I quit the apps, it shows almost no memory being used.
 

PaulKemp

macrumors 6502a
Jun 2, 2009
569
127
Norway
I use Photoshop and Capture One. I can't run both smoothly on this Mac at the same time. Do they run? Sure, but nowhere close to what can be done on Windows. Why? Because of memory management. Rarely do I see myself hitting 16GB with both programs open on Windows, along with web pages, mail, etc. On Mac, it will fill up just with Photoshop open. I then hit the hard drive and that's 10x slower then memory.

Lightroom classic and Photoshop run absolutely horrendos on my windows i7 6700k with 32gb of ram. Just slow and awful. I do blame Adobe though, not the machine.

Lightroom on my iPad Pro on the other hand? A very nice experience!
 

trailmonkey

macrumors regular
Feb 22, 2019
153
64
5 months in and still loving my MBA 8 16 512. So many positives about day-to-day performance, eg FCPX, PPT, Excel, Word, Outlook, 30+ Safari tabs, SnagIt, Notion, Monday, Teams, Gimp and more. Works great with LG 27" 4k too.

Started trialling Parallels last week and haven't yet figured out optimum settings. It's certainly not slow, but it's also not quick, and definitely way off the snappiness I experienced with my 16" 32Gb behemoth.

The only thing I've become disappointed with now is the brightness. It's fine 80% of the time but really lacking the other 20%. I knew that would be the case from the start but it didn't seem an issue at the beginning. Maybe it's because we're coming into spring/summer and the extra natural light is where it 'struggles'.

Keen to see what the next gen is like and may consider upgrading.
 

Toutou

macrumors 65816
Jan 6, 2015
1,083
1,579
Prague, Czech Republic
I have 3.3GB left out of 16 with just this website open. All other apps quit.
This just shows how poorly OS X handles programs.
Because it's not only apps in use that stay in RAM. macOS keeps RAM full of useful stuff for obvious reasons. I don't know the exact recipe, but I'd expect pages with binaries of most used apps, maybe memory mapped pages of most used files, things like that. Unused RAM is literally wasted RAM, and having all kinds of pages cached in RAM doesn't slow anything down, they get evicted as usual when a different process needs that RAM.
7 seconds to load Outlook? WTF?
Go ask Microsoft, Mail.app launches in a second.
6 seconds to load Word?
Again, go ask Microsoft -- Pages, Keynote, Numbers all launch in around three seconds from cold.
4 seconds to load Chrome?
Chrome is a bloated borderline malware piece of crap, both Safari and Firefox launch in a second. That's also why Spotify takes forever to launch -- because there is an instance of Chromium to start underneath.
I see why the red button doesn't quit a program. Apple wants you to think that when you bring the program back up it's launching really fast, when in all actuality it was just sitting there in background using up precious memory and relying on your hard drive for swapping.
The red button doesn't quit a program because its function is not and never has been to quit a program, but to close a window, simple as that. There even used to be a bright line instead of the more subtle dot to indicate very clearly that the app is still running.
Mouse input is another joke. I can't believe Mac users put up with how Apple controls this.
Some people dislike the acceleration curve of macOS, some people like it. Most people seem to like it, as they continue using macOS without 3rd party mouse apps.
Windows management is horrendous.
Some people like macOS' window management and rely heavily on gestures, mission control and running apps in fullscreen. Some people prefer tiling window managers or staying in the CLI all day, and they can achieve that on macOS through 3rd party tools, no problem.
 

Significant1

macrumors 68000
Dec 20, 2014
1,686
780
I very much understand it, and the Apple way is not good utilization. When I quit a program I don't immediately reload it again, or even in the near future. It might help the people that reload the same few programs every time. I don't do that, and Apple shouldn't assume that. If OS X was able to launch or load as fast as Windows, then they probably wouldn't even bother with the way they manage it.
Oh I bet you do. Doesn't have to immediatly just before some other use has claimed the memory. Also it is just the sensible thing to do, since absolut no work needs to be done. Why you want empty memory over memory which can be reclaimed, but might serve a purpose till then.

You are quite focused on launch speed, which is not a thing I have noticed. Maybe you are running rosetta apps ?‍♂️

Also macOS has som online malware and certificate check, which might cause it. Read under Privacy protections:
I quit programs so I can have resources for something else. But it doesn't give me that.
Sure it does
That is wasted time and energy. Just release it correctly in the first place. In fact I would never need swap if it worked correctly.
Why put something in swap if your swap drive is the same as your hard drive? That was a great idea when swap was ssd and your hard drive was mechanical. Things have changed.
Apple has some documentation about virtual memory. It has some priorities, but I am pretty sure swap is low on that list.
I use Photoshop and Capture One. I can't run both smoothly on this Mac at the same time. Do they run? Sure, but nowhere close to what can be done on Windows. Why? Because of memory management. Rarely do I see myself hitting 16GB with both programs open on Windows, along with web pages, mail, etc. On Mac, it will fill up just with Photoshop open. I then hit the hard drive and that's 10x slower then memory.

I don't use those app's but make sure you are running a arm version if possible. Capture one doesn't yet have a native arm version, but is comming:
https://support.captureone.com/hc/e...pture-One-run-on-my-ARM-based-Apple-computer-
According to adobe, the marts version of Photoshop is available as native arm. You can check in activity monitor by enabling the kind column under cpu (right click headers to enable it).

Again look at the memory pressure, not free memory. As long as memory pressure is green, you don't have an actual problem.

Not gonna lie, that with 24GB in my iMac, I would have prefered 32GB if an option, but I don't have an actual problem and just as you, I should stop worrying unless it becomes a problem.
 

hungryghosty

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 14, 2020
197
104

Cons
Doesn't work well with my 1440p monitor

What's the issue with connecting a display to your M1 Mac as I also have a 1440p monitor (34" ultrawide 3440x1440) I'd need to use with mine via displayport or HDMI?
 

KeithJenner

macrumors 65816
Sep 30, 2010
1,264
364
Just as a laptop, it is terrific. But if I could go back, I wouldn't upgrade from Intel for the 1st gen Apple Silicon

ProsCons
Battery. Lasts longApps don't launch instantly as claimed by many youtubers
Keyboard is a huge upgrade from my previous macbookDoesn't work well with my 1440p monitor
No noise. How did they do it?Many apps I use (esp Adobe) aren't ready yet
Battery. Lasts really longHaving both ports on the left is a hassle
Quite fast in certain applications
Screen is great
Gets warm at max, never hot
Battery. Last I charged was four days ago
Just as an aside, the MacBook that the M1 replaced also has its ports just on the left, so this isn’t necessarily a comparable issue. I agree, as someone who came from a higher spec intel one, the ports being on the left is a bit of a pain, especially as the power point is to the right of where I often sit.

If I do upgrade to a newer model then this would be one of the attractions (although it would potentially be a lot to spend for that).
 

Air_M1

macrumors member
Apr 29, 2021
61
52
One of USB-C/Thunderbolt ports went out, but I got the I/O board replaced under warranty. Other than that I'm happy with my MacBook Air M1.
 
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