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garrel

macrumors member
Dec 9, 2019
70
37
if the software is there why not?
Yes, but it is unlikely. You should expect at least one year of only apple and probably iOS software and not much more.(And this could be totally fine to some users)
Then if Intel and Amd will really get on par, the equation arm=future is not granted. And it's up to software houses. I guess we'll see. I would be the first to be excited if Arm Macs turns out to be well supported with excellent performances. I'm only guessing it will be a slow process.
 

TheHurryKayne

macrumors regular
Sep 15, 2015
105
80
I agree. That would be my assumption as well. At a guess the lineup will be :-

16" MacBook refresh later this year with 10th gen Intel CPUs and a mini led display in Q3 2030

14" MacBook Pro with Tiger lake and a mini led display in Q2 2021

12" MacBook ARM sometime in 2021. This will be a lightweight laptop to replace the Air primarily aimed at those who use web-browser based apps/sites and the built in apps like pages/iMovie (which presumably won't take Apple long to port to ARM).
It doesnt make sense to spend so much money now that Apple has killed Windows 10 emulation ...i mean two different machine architecture beside , one new and the other dieing while we have tons of softwares for Intel one , i'm no upset but to be honest i think this Mac will be the last with Intel ...until all stabilizes , with Thunderbolt 4 at 80Gbps Intel could have a valid reason instead a rebranding TB3..wow , for me to have Windows 10 on my Mac is essential , now what ? Two machines in my bags ? Its not just about Word... , i really don't know what to think.
 

cool11

macrumors 68000
Sep 3, 2006
1,823
223
We blame intel performance, but what we know about apple's silicon?

Also, back in the previous transition to intel cpu,
this was the reason to migrate from win/pc to mac,
the capability and the safety I had,
that if something goes wrong with my personal transition to mac,
I could use my mac as a pc at least!
Don't underestimate such facts...
even for psychological reasons, or even practical reasons,
it is important to know,
that you are not only getting a mac-only machine,
but if there is a need, you can run windows as well...
 

cmaier

Suspended
Jul 25, 2007
25,405
33,474
California
We blame intel performance, but what we know about apple's silicon?

Also, back in the previous transition to intel cpu,
this was the reason to migrate from win/pc to mac,
the capability and the safety I had,
that if something goes wrong with my personal transition to mac,
I could use my mac as a pc at least!
Don't underestimate such facts...
even for psychological reasons, or even practical reasons,
it is important to know,
that you are not only getting a mac-only machine,
but if there is a need, you can run windows as well...
That is no longer an important factor. Back in the old days, almost everyone did all their computing on windows.

Now, almost everyone does a ton of computing on non-windows machines (ios, android).

We are now all used to the idea that we can compute on platforms other than windows.
 

TheHurryKayne

macrumors regular
Sep 15, 2015
105
80
Maybe for you but for me still is and Apple better help to make parallels run Windows 10 at full speed ! or maybe license the Intel Mac Os to some selected partner but i don't see this coming. I see them hit in a giant wall shaped as a Wallet , remove Cook and backpedal to Intel. You can say what you want but Apple tooks many of its customers from the Windows world which with Egpu and WINDOWS 10 could say , "ok umm i have both the world..".This is a mistake.If its just the apps which makes the difference then i have to remember that Adobe, Reason, Cubase, Native instruments,Office are on Windows as well or are on Chromium by means of Cloud Services and lots of customers have Iphone and ipad , no need to jump on Arm Mac machines , for what , just for Logic and Final Cut..come on .Then what will differentiate Ipad from Mac ? Just the ram inside ? What blocks to run Big"S-ign-ur" on Ipad Pro? Same A12Z.... , its all so tight and forced.., i don't like that , Intel has its faults but also Apple has , they could choose Amd , they didn't so . Windows must run on Arm Mac machines .Maybe this is why Ive left , Apple make common sense too tight even for him.Period.
 
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scouser75

macrumors 68030
Oct 7, 2008
2,951
619
if the software is there why not?
I agree. Apple have lost a lot of respect over the years for forgetting about their pro users. Many have now moved from FCP to Adobe and Resolve. Any many like me will soon flock too.

As for release dates on an ARM MBP 16" - after looking in to this and reading what a lot of other knowledgable folk have said, it's highly unlikely until 2021 as there's a lot of work that first needs to be done to their pro apps to transition over.

So, we'll no doubt see the minor models update first followed by the pro models.

Alas, only time will tell :)
 

c0ppo

macrumors 68000
Feb 11, 2013
1,890
3,268
No problem. :) Anyway, I hope that somewhere some psychologist is working on a book about the "Butterfly-Keyboard-Delusion". That could help other companies in dealing with purely psychological problems like this.

They could even name that book to something like: "waste of your money and your time".

That way it even sounds like a butterfly keyboard :)
 

UltimateSyn

macrumors 601
Mar 3, 2008
4,970
9,207
Massachusetts
No problem. :) Anyway, I hope that somewhere some psychologist is working on a book about the "Butterfly-Keyboard-Delusion". That could help other companies in dealing with purely psychological problems like this.
I've had ~5 butterfly keyboards get stuck keys. Sometimes arrow keys and sometimes letters; always annoying.


Apple has determined that a small percentage of the keyboards in certain MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro models may exhibit one or more of the following behaviors:
  • Letters or characters repeat unexpectedly
  • Letters or characters do not appear
  • Key(s) feel "sticky" or do not respond in a consistent manner
 

cp1160

macrumors regular
Feb 20, 2007
150
136
Maybe for you but for me still is and Apple better help to make parallels run Windows 10 at full speed !

I know it's been covered by many posts, but if support for Windows is half assed on the ARM-based Macs then my run of 35 years with Macs could be coming to an end....I'll keep using what I have but look another direction. The ability to run both systems is critical for me. Just wanted to put that out there for posterity I guess.
 

AgentMcGeek

macrumors 6502
Jan 18, 2016
374
305
London, UK
I've had ~5 butterfly keyboards get stuck keys. Sometimes arrow keys and sometimes letters; always annoying.


Apple has determined that a small percentage of the keyboards in certain MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro models may exhibit one or more of the following behaviors:
  • Letters or characters repeat unexpectedly
  • Letters or characters do not appear
  • Key(s) feel "sticky" or do not respond in a consistent manner

Happened to me at least twice. Replaced individual keys first, but that was only a temporary fix. After 3 and a half years, I was worried I would get out of the keyboard service programme since it expires after 4 years.

I went to a certified service provider last month and they replaced everything except the motherboard. Even the screen! All under the “quality programme”, aka for free.
 

Yebubbleman

macrumors 603
May 20, 2010
6,025
2,617
Los Angeles, CA
I actually want another Intel 16" MacBook Pro release. One to iron out the minor issues it has and cement it as the ultimate x86 laptop and to end the 15"/16" Intel MacBook Pro saga on a high note.

After watching several reviews of the 2020 13" MacBook Pro, I'm left feeling like that machine really needs to make the jump to ARM BADLY.
 

DanMan619

macrumors regular
Dec 30, 2012
213
157
Los Angeles, CA
I actually want another Intel 16" MacBook Pro release. One to iron out the minor issues it has and cement it as the ultimate x86 laptop and to end the 15"/16" Intel MacBook Pro saga on a high note.

After watching several reviews of the 2020 13" MacBook Pro, I'm left feeling like that machine really needs to make the jump to ARM BADLY.

I'd also like a final 16" MBP. I want to get like a base to mid tier late 2020 16" Intel MBP, which would be suitable for my work, to ride out the ARM transition with and then i'd switch to the ARM equivalent in like 2022 or 2023 or something. If they do a final Intel 16" MBP later this year, i hope it gets Mini LED that the ARM Macs will likely come out of the gate with. That's really the main thing i want it to have.

I could take or leave both Wifi 6 since i only plan to have it for 2-4 years and my office and home Wifi almost certainly won't be upgrading to Wifi 6 in that time. If there's no new 16" MBP coming at the end of this year though, i wish they'd just tell us so i could just cave and get a 2019 16" MBP now. My late 2013 is hanging on by a thread (it's gotten very slow and desperately needs a new battery but Apple stores are closed and i have no interest in DIYing it).
 

Yebubbleman

macrumors 603
May 20, 2010
6,025
2,617
Los Angeles, CA
I'd also like a final 16" MBP. I want to get like a base to mid tier late 2020 16" Intel MBP, which would be suitable for my work, to ride out the ARM transition with and then i'd switch to the ARM equivalent in like 2022 or 2023 or something. If they do a final Intel 16" MBP later this year, i hope it gets Mini LED that the ARM Macs will likely come out of the gate with. That's really the main thing i want it to have.

I could take or leave both Wifi 6 since i only plan to have it for 2-4 years and my office and home Wifi almost certainly won't be upgrading to Wifi 6 in that time. If there's no new 16" MBP coming at the end of this year though, i wish they'd just tell us so i could just cave and get a 2019 16" MBP now. My late 2013 is hanging on by a thread (it's gotten very slow and desperately needs a new battery but Apple stores are closed and i have no interest in DIYing it).

You'd need a new MBP after only two years? Or would that be to have a machine on either end of the transition? I may do the latter myself, though, on the ARM side of things, I'm more likely to go with whatever ARM machine replaces the 13" MacBook Pro; at least until we're shown what could possibly set apart the ARM-based 16" MacBook Pro replacement from it.
 
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Altherekho

macrumors member
Aug 29, 2019
55
18
I think Apple has made a great gift to Intel , all Pro World will go to Windows...and won’t miss Final Cut or Logic even if i love Logic , but Reason ,Blender, Renderman,Cubase,Komplete,Omnisphere etc are not only on Mac , how can you ask to invest thousand of money in something which will be deprived of its worth in just 2 years and while you’re still paying..., i undestand them but please double the line , an Intel line and a Arm line , not to mention that all is glued, you cannot add ram ,no thunderbolt,no usb4 till 2022, no new ssd ...no egpu , no gpu at all but just the gazillion fast apple arm one..,Mac pro is just one year old ,6000 thousand bucks to start and now..., i strongly disagree with this attitude and not to mention 5 years of broken flawed keyboard which render down the value a lot of very good machines being paid with real work , where is the antitrust or sorta ? This is way too much.
 
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DanMan619

macrumors regular
Dec 30, 2012
213
157
Los Angeles, CA
You'd need a new MBP after only two years? Or would that be to have a machine on either end of the transition? I may do the latter myself, though, on the ARM side of things, I'm more likely to go with whatever ARM machine replaces the 13" MacBook Pro; at least until we're shown what could possibly set apart the ARM-based 16" MacBook Pro replacement from it.

What i have right now is really showing its age (late 2013 MBP). I'm itching to upgrade and these are fun crazy interesting times in terms of upcoming Mac products. I wouldn't want to ride this device to the middle or end of 2021 when i anticipate an ARM 16" MBP to come out. So i do want something now/soon, but i also don't necessarily want that purchase to be my long term 6-8 year machine either. I'd love to go ARM soon as it's viable for me to do so with my workflow (which is fairly simple) and hobbies. I think it won't be too long after the transition completes in 2 years that i could make the jump and not need to look back.

Getting a base 16" (either the 2019 one or whatever last Intel one may still come end of this year) would basically just be to hold me over to ride out and observe the transition. I don't want to ride out the transition on a 2013 MBP on its last legs that could call it quits any second now, but i don't want to commit long term to a spec-ed out Intel MBP right now either when i know i want to make the ARM jump in the near-mid future. So going low spec 16" Intel MBP and then trading in before it loses too much value would give me the freedom comfortably wait out the transition period and then make the jump whenever i was ready on my own time but also without taking much of a loss financially on th trade in because it'd be a lower starting price (and buying refurb may counteract that loss anyway).

With your scenario, wildly speculating here, but what if the 13" and 16" ARM MBPs are the same specs and the main choice a buyer is making is just down to screen size and maybe amount of USB-C ports? The main reason the Intel 16" is more powerful than the 13" is because thermally they can't put the same CPU/GPU chips in both form factors and have good performance/battery life in the smaller MBP. But with ARM chip efficiency and the potential to not need active cooling, those thermal limitations may be a non-issue and differentiating the two sized MBPs via performance may not even be necessary. That'd be interesting... Realistically though it'll be differentiated via core count most likely.
 
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Yebubbleman

macrumors 603
May 20, 2010
6,025
2,617
Los Angeles, CA
Getting a base 16" (either the 2019 one or whatever last Intel one may still come end of this year) would basically just be to hold me over to ride out and observe the transition. I don't want to ride out the transition on a 2013 MBP on its last legs that could call it quits any second now, but i don't want to commit long term to a spec-ed out Intel MBP right now either when i know i want to make the ARM jump in the near-mid future. So going low spec 16" Intel MBP and then trading in before it loses too much value would give me the freedom comfortably wait out the transition period and then make the jump whenever i was ready on my own time but also without taking much of a loss financially on th trade in because it'd be a lower starting price (and buying refurb may counteract that loss anyway).


My honest advice on this one: If you're only buying this thing to last you comfortably through the ARM transition, look for a 2015 MacBook Pro on eBay. If it's the 13", then you've got Broadwell, fast RAM, fast and removable SSDs. If it's the 15", then you've got decent AMD graphics, a super-fast SSD, and if it's eligible for that battery recall, then you just send it to Apple for a day or two and it'll come back to you with a brand new keyboard, mouse, trackpad, and battery for free! Your rate of devaluation won't change, you'll just be spending less money to tide you over as, specs-wise, both of those Macs are plenty good even still.

Hell, you may even want to keep it for backwards compatibility seeing as, ports-wise, it's a very different machine.

With your scenario, wildly speculating here, but what if the 13" and 16" ARM MBPs are the same specs and the main choice a buyer is making is just down to screen size and maybe amount of USB-C ports? The main reason the Intel 16" is more powerful than the 13" is because thermally they can't put the same CPU/GPU chips in both form factors and have good performance/battery life in the smaller MBP. But with ARM chip efficiency and the potential to not need active cooling, those thermal limitations may be a non-issue and differentiating the two sized MBPs via performance may not even be necessary. That'd be interesting... Realistically though it'll be differentiated via core count most likely.

Honestly, that seems pretty plausible. Intel's offerings and Apple's thermal envelope were all that determined the performance disparities between the 13" Mac offerings and their 15"/16"/17" counterparts. In fact, if Apple had made the 16" MacBook Pro thicker, they could've fit a mobile Xeon processor in there with a decent Quadro or AMD Pro GPU.

There was such a disparity on the PowerBook G4 side of things, but, as I recall, it was nowhere near that substantial. You might've gotten a slightly slower G4 processor or a slightly weaker video card on the 12" than what you'd see on the 15" or 17" at that time. But it was never to the degree that you have with any of the 13" MacBook Pros when compared to their contemporary 15"/16" counterparts.

So, yeah, I would think that, unless Apple is pushing these chips to the point of the limitations of their current thermal envelopes for both enclosures, there'd be no reason other than marketing to not keep them the same. After all, there's no noticeable speed disparity between either the 2018 or 2020 11" iPad Pro and its 12.9" counterpart.

Then again, I'm sure that 16" MacBook Pro customers would appreciate Apple not holding back on the CPU for that machine just for the sake of parity.
 

pttai

macrumors newbie
Nov 30, 2018
25
11
Does anyone here think that that 16-inch we’re gonna have later this year is the first ARM based one?
Both the Air and 13-inch Pro ones are labelled as new on the site but not the 16-inch which‘s got updated earlier.
 

Ma2k5

macrumors 68030
Dec 21, 2012
2,566
2,540
London
Does anyone here think that that 16-inch we’re gonna have later this year is the first ARM based one?
Both the Air and 13-inch Pro ones are labelled as new on the site but not the 16-inch which‘s got updated earlier.

Not impossible, but I would guess a 13” just because it is much more popular (in terms of both size and price point) and they’ll want as much early adoption as possible to get feedback to improve the transition.
 

Lobwedgephil

macrumors 603
Apr 7, 2012
5,792
4,757
Does anyone here think that that 16-inch we’re gonna have later this year is the first ARM based one?
Both the Air and 13-inch Pro ones are labelled as new on the site but not the 16-inch which‘s got updated earlier.

I'm not convinced there will be a 16 later this year. Recent graphics update could be the last update until ARM next year.
 
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