The Air, 13 inch mbp and mini are baseline devices . So stop worrying about 8gb or 16gb

[hasanahmad]

TLDR: m1 is for casual consumer devices and it’s useless to tie yourself for 5-10 years on a Generation 1 M device

There is a lack of situational awareness here . A lot of discussion on 8 or 16 gb

The air , mini and 13 inch mbp are baseline devices for casual consumers as they always were

if you want a high end wait for the 14 and 16 inch mbp and imac if you want to run 8k video editing software and Videogames

it’s like everyone forgot these are the lowest spec devices which still run fast so it’s useless to spend more unless you really can’t afford a 16 inch mbp but need a mac for editing.

did everyone forget the first wave of m1 are for casual consumers not for gamers or video editors ?

people are being fooled by the notion that these baseline devices can run like i9 MacBook Pro 16 inch when infect the m1x will be much faster and meant for the pros who need more ram

 

[Zazoh]

Agree somewhat. The term Pro is too broad.

I’m a professional software engineer, I’ve always built and deployed from base-ish models. If your a pro who’s competition is DreamWorks, Pixar or Disney, your pro model should run the same price as a used SUV. If you, double Ram and double storage on your 16 MBP to edit soccer videos at Starbucks, meh, you’d be surprised what the device can do.

I agree on future proofing. I don’t even like the term. Buy a computer for 18 months, use it up and give it to someone else to use.

Can’t wait to see what the next two years brings us.

 

[orbitalpunk]

I think the Mac Mini can be used by professionals. Its not just for "casual consumers". My new M1 Mini is smoking my old Mac Pro 2013. Handles 4gig website and photoshop files way better and has half the RAM. Its double in CPU power and quadruple in storage speed and about equal in GPU power. I still cant belive how fast this thing encode HEVIC h.265. Its does it faster than h.264 in both Premiere and Final Cut.

 

[haralds]

I have been using Pro machines - Mac Pro, MacBook Pro high end configurations etc.
Hook the M1 to the same monitor and you would be hard pressed to find a difference except that it is ALWAYS responsive. I use it all day including Zoom calls for hours and it is at 55% battery at the end of the day. I get a couple of hours out of my Intel i9 MacBook Pro with 32GB of RAM and 4TB disk.
Yes, the M2 and future systems will be even batter, but this blows the doors off today's systems except those costing a LOT more.

 

[digitalbreak]

TLDR: m1 is for casual consumer devices and it’s useless to tie yourself for 5-10 years on a Generation 1 M device

There is a lack of situational awareness here . A lot of discussion on 8 or 16 gb

The air , mini and 13 inch mbp are baseline devices for casual consumers as they always were

if you want a high end wait for the 14 and 16 inch mbp and imac if you want to run 8k video editing software and Videogames

it’s like everyone forgot these are the lowest spec devices which still run fast so it’s useless to spend more unless you really can’t afford a 16 inch mbp but need a mac for editing.

did everyone forget the first wave of m1 are for casual consumers not for gamers or video editors ?

people are being fooled by the notion that these baseline devices can run like i9 MacBook Pro 16 inch when infect the m1x will be much faster and meant for the pros who need more ram

I believe everyone is discussing the fact that the M1 chip is able to drive complex workloads than a Intel i5/8GB is able to drive. This changes the game entirely to what base/entry level vs pro devices mean for Apple going forward.

 

[johnkree]

I agree with some points but it’s bs that people shouldn’t tie in for 10 years.
a ton of people are still using the 2011 MacBook Pro and the situation was very similar back then. Apple offered the entry MacBook for under 1000 $. And a year later they introduced retina.

And from my own experience I wished I had upgraded to 8 gig ram back then.

 

[Mike Boreham]

The air , mini and 13 inch mbp are baseline devices for casual consumers as they always were

Personally I think this statement illustrates a lack of situational awareness.

The game has changed. The increased capability of M1 means many people who are not casual consumers will be very satisfied with the M1 machines.

 

[hasanahmad]

I agree with some points but it’s bs that people shouldn’t tie in for 10 years.
a ton of people are still using the 2011 MacBook Pro and the situation was very similar back then. Apple offered the entry MacBook for under 1000 $. And a year later they introduced retina.

And from my own experience I wished I had upgraded to 8 gig ram back then.

I would agree with you but not when it’s a generation 1 Device

 

[4sallypat]

OP - AGREE!

I am just loving my ENTRY LEVEL, 8GB BASE M1 Mini!
Runs circles around my now retired and up for sale i7 Mini that I paid over $1500.

I have a serious issue with my 16" MBP that sucks battery and thermal energy like crazy!

 

[Nihilvor]

I would agree with you but not when it’s a generation 1 Device

I was there for the switch between PPC and Intel, and this doesn't really feel analogous. The increases in value and performance in the product are greater in this first product. Much of the phsyical hardware on these Gen 1 devices has been used and tested for the past few years, and Rosetta 2 implementation seems much better than we were dealing with back then as well. I could see one easily hanging onto one of the M1s for daily use for eight or nine years.

 

[alien3dx]

Agree somewhat. The term Pro is too broad.

I’m a professional software engineer, I’ve always built and deployed from base-ish models. If your a pro who’s competition is DreamWorks, Pixar or Disney, your pro model should run the same price as a used SUV. If you, double Ram and double storage on your 16 MBP to edit soccer videos at Starbucks, meh, you’d be surprised what the device can do.

I agree on future proofing. I don’t even like the term. Buy a computer for 18 months, use it up and give it to someone else to use.

Can’t wait to see what the next two years brings us.

1. been bought mac mini baseline 4 gb - horrible.
2. been bought imac 2017 - not horrible but slow
2.1. using external ssd boot
2.2. after 3 year one repair power supply error
2.3. after 3 year upgrade to max 16 gb
2.4. upgrade platter to ssd sandisk( from old windows laptop).
3. will bought if available macbook air baseline.(will sellback ryzen d15 )

My plan macbook air ,ipad 2019 to meet client. Macbook air cannot be main priority workhorse even it much better whatever (high risk)

** suggestion base line as developer a bit weird thou.

 

[Serban55]

M1 Mac mini catapulted Apple to number one in Japanese desktop PC market | AppleInsider

The new M1-equipped Mac mini has propelled Apple to the number one spot in the Japanese desktop PC market in the two weeks after the device's launch.

appleinsider.com

 

[Jinbei]

Since when is this gen 1 ?

The chassis of the new laptop M1 has been refined for years.

The M1 processor is based on the arm processor used and tested on iphone and ipad for years.

IMO the true gen 1 will be the redesigned macbook pro as they will have bigger chance of harware failure since it is a new design.

These M1 macbook are the real deal if you want a computer with a design that have been tested for several generations...

 

[Yebubbleman]

TLDR: m1 is for casual consumer devices and it’s useless to tie yourself for 5-10 years on a Generation 1 M device

There is a lack of situational awareness here . A lot of discussion on 8 or 16 gb

The air , mini and 13 inch mbp are baseline devices for casual consumers as they always were

if you want a high end wait for the 14 and 16 inch mbp and imac if you want to run 8k video editing software and Videogames

it’s like everyone forgot these are the lowest spec devices which still run fast so it’s useless to spend more unless you really can’t afford a 16 inch mbp but need a mac for editing.

did everyone forget the first wave of m1 are for casual consumers not for gamers or video editors ?

people are being fooled by the notion that these baseline devices can run like i9 MacBook Pro 16 inch when infect the m1x will be much faster and meant for the pros who need more ram

Considering the M1 based 2-port 13" MacBook Pro is, without a sweat (or even serious ramping of fans), beating out the 16" MacBook Pro for most tasks that the latter is designed to be able to handle, sort of renders your point moot. Sure there will be faster Apple Silicon Macs on the higher end. Not everyone shops for a Mac based on where it sits in the lineup. Some really just want as much performance as fits their needs. If an M1 based 2-port 13" MacBook Pro handles the same workloads as the 9th Gen Intel based 16" MacBook Pro, who are you to tell that person that it's a casual consumer device?

Also, RAM is RAM. I have 16GB in my Early 2015 13" MacBook Pro. Similarly, I'm about to buy a 2020 Intel 4-port 13" MacBook Pro with 32GB of RAM. Why? Because RAM is still RAM and sometimes 8GB is not enough. Apple Silicon redefines how efficient RAM is used across the system, but it doesn't change crap in terms of what RAM is or how much of it things will ultimately take up.

 

[Serban55]

I would agree with you but not when it’s a generation 1 Device

Its gen 1 with M cpu...thats all.
A gen 1 should be inside-out brand new...like the 12" Macbook was for example

 

[Mike Boreham]

A gen 1 should be inside-out brand new...like the 12" Macbook was for example

Yes indeed. It is not "inside out brand new" so not a gen 1.

Jinbei made very good points that it is not as all new as generally perceived, but it is still a pretty big change so maybe a "gen 1.5"

 

[Serban55]

Yes indeed. It is not "inside out brand new" so not a gen 1.

Jinbei made very good points that it is not as all new as generally perceived, but it is still a pretty big change so maybe a "gen 1.5"

Maybe a gen 3 because apples gen 1 devices..always has been very slow...first iphone...first ipad,first ipd with retina...first 15" mbp retina, first 12" macbook, first apple watch This m1 is not slow...is not normal, its just fast

 

[Serban55]

 

[Zazoh]

** suggestion base line as developer a bit weird thou.

Not so weird. Developers type text into a text editor or IDE. It is literally the lowest computing task I can think of. And because you should build to the lowest common denominator, you know what the experience will be.

Other developers will disagree.

 

[alien3dx]

Not so weird. Developers type text into a text editor or IDE. It is literally the lowest computing task I can think of. And because you should build to the lowest common denominator, you know what the experience will be.

Other developers will disagree.

not all vi / nano developer . I see bad developer copy paste sublime which dont know what purpose of oop.

Sometimes i used light editor : nano, textedit, bbedit,vscode
Mostly i used heavy editor : phpstorm , android studio ,xcode, visual studio.

Most visual studio developer should have at least min 10 gb ram
Most android also need at least 13 gb to run android studio and emulator, xcode much lower.

Some even open photoshop,adobe xd same thing which higher cost of memory.

Never ever advise thing like this . developer need small ram , low end computer. For end user testing it diff because we have user acceptance test (uat) .

 

[theluggage]

The game has changed. The increased capability of M1 means many people who are not casual consumers will be very satisfied with the M1 machines.

Well, the "casual customer" game has changed, too - with web pages bristling with (inefficient) animated ads and everybody and their dog packing 4k video/12MP still cameras in their phones, watching 4K on streaming, having a YouTube channel etc. An old-school "casual customer" who just wants email and wordprocessing and knows where to find the "close tab" button on their browser will be best served by a $300 cheapo PC laptop or a Chromebook.

The M1s are certainly exceeding expectations, they can certainly take on jobs that their predecessors would choke on, but I'd be a bit skeptical about the idea that they can beat the higher-end Macs in messy, real-world workflows with a big enough margin to offset their limitations when it comes to display support, ports etc.

Also, that's not the comparison people should be looking at: we're now in a weird and very temporary period where the entry-level Macs appear to offer comparable performance to the more expensive 16" MBPs and iMacs. Unless something goes horribly wrong, those high-end Macs will be soon replaced with M1X/M2/whatever Macs, probably with 8+4 cores, expanded GPUs and better multi-display support and more I/O ports. That's going to change the game for "pro" Macs (and everybody who bought an M1 for "pro" use will be desperately trying to flog it...)

Agree somewhat. The term Pro is too broad.

Absolutely. It's mainly a marketing term. There are plenty of "Professionals" who just need wordprocessors or spreadsheets, and the days of any sort of software development needing a top-of-the-line machine are long gone.

However here's one (slightly trollish) definition of "pro":

Pro (n): Someone who wouldn't even dream of installing Big Sur on their Intel work machine until it's had a couple more point releases, every bit of software they use is officially supported & they could schedule a quiet week to install and test everything - let alone switching to a completely new architecture that's only been on sale for a few weeks...

 

[Luposian]

The M1 Mac Mini will be (for me) like the Power Macintosh 6100/60 was back in the 90's. A brand new experience. The fastest Power Macintosh I own is a 2001 733MHz G4 QuickSilver. Totally obsolete. I use it only for making music. Doesn't go online. Used for nothing else. But it's the last "unique" (truly "different") Mac I owned, after Apple "went Intel". 15 years (of "meh") later... I get to come back to a true Mac again!

I wonder how much faster the M1 Mac Mini will be, compared to my G4 QuickSilver? Now, THERE'S a speed comparison for ya! Shame I can't find an app that would run on both... but bootup will be a nice comparison, at least! Oh, wait... I'm going to be getting an OWC IDE->SATA SSD for the G4... hmm... bootup speed might be a bit closer.

 

[bluecoast]

Agree with those who think that Apple use the term ‘pro’ to often be synonymous with the term ‘deluxe’.

For example, the Mac Pro is unarguably a serious professional rig.

However, the AirPods Pro are really deluxe noise cancelling earbuds. You’d never use for serious professional audio work i.e. monitoring the sound at live events or mixing audio etc.

Yet, according to Apple, both are ‘pro’.

I would like their to be a far wider gap between consumer machines and the ones badged as pro.

The Mac lineup arguably needs tightening up too (the entry level 13 2TB MBP is looking increasingly pointless, for example).

Let’s hope that the Mx machines with new designs will be an opportunity to clean things up in the Mac lineup.