What do you plan to do when the M2 (or whatever the next M chip is) launches?

[asiga]

What do you see yourselves doing?

Check that OpenCL computing kernels still build and work fine. Otherwise won't buy it.

 

[Digital Dude]

Not waiting for M2, per se. Unfortunately, as Apple's quality control on OS releases (see High Sierra and Catalina) declines, I find myself going Windows more frequently. I'm due to buy the Intel Ice Lake 4-port 13" MacBook Pro in the very near future (as Boot Camp and x86 virtualization matter more to me than iOS and iPadOS apps running natively). I do and really want and ought to get my hands on an Apple Silicon Mac (for the sake of exploring and playing around with the few differences), but I don't know that I have to own one for the privilege. I might get an Apple Silicon Mac down the road to inevitably replace this one, and if I do, I'm sure whatever replaces the M1 2-port 13" MacBook Pro will be more than enough Mac for me (as again, I have Windows doing a lot of my heavy lifting app-wise). But I may also hop off the Mac bus. Either way, I don't need to buy one of the first couple revs of Apple Silicon; I was among the first to the Intel Macs during the PowerPC-to-Intel transition, I was much younger and more willing to run apps in Rosetta until I had native versions. I can certainly wait on this one, assuming I continue with the Mac platform at all.

This entire narrative sounds like something I would've written. I still have my first gen Intel MacBook Pro tucked away in my closet. I started with Apple products back during the crustaceans period. Like you, I'm a bit jaded from a time when there was more refinement at Apple.

I was all set to buy the new iPhone Max, but heck, with screen freeze on various modules and some all-around weirdness, I figure, why bother? In the abstract, I believe the M1, M2, or M3 may well be a great machine, but for now, I plan to clunk around on my 2017 MBP.

As to windows on a 'current' Mac - no thanks. I've tried in vain (multiple years); boot camp and Parallels Pro, and it's been a huge disappointment considering the cost of a low-rent PC laptop. I love the macOS! However, Microsoft hasn't been standing still with its own refinements. ✌️

 

[jclardy]

This 13" Air pretty much took over every role for me, replacing my prior 16" i9 MBP. I always preferred the 13" size (At my desk I hook up an external monitor, and on the go I use sidecar if I need more display space.)

My upgrade path will entirely depend on the niceties they add to the future models - a touchscreen or Apple Pencil support would be an immediate upgrade for me. FaceID + a much improved front facing camera would be an enticing upgrade. Also having a larger screen in the same size form factor.

Processor wise I find I basically don't wait for anything on the M1 in general, and my Xcode full archive builds are the same speed while not blaring fans. The battery life is also incredible, the keyboard is great, the trackpad is still awesome.

Basically a processor boost is no longer really a huge boon for me to upgrade post-M1. The GPU on the air is now more than sufficient for most work I do.

 

[cgsnipinva]

I bought a new Macbook Pro 2018 and it works well with Big Sur - so I can use this for a couple of more years. However, based on what I have seen from the M1 processor thus far - I would be VERY interested in an M2 processor Mac. At that point the curiosity would be too strong to resist.

 

[George Dawes]

Buy one of its a smaller Mac Pro

Don’t want another iMac

The apple silicon roadmap is very exciting indeed

 

[Substance90]

1. Panic sold my 15" 2014 MBP, 16" 2019 MBP and iMac Pro to avoid the huge incoming value loss.
2. Got a temporary M1 Air.
3. Gonna get an M2 iMac next year and leave the Air to my gf.

It's gonna be tough fitting my daily work load in the 16 GB of the Air until the pro machines come out next year but that way I lose the least amount of money during this transition.

 

[TwoPlus]

I like what I’m seeing with M1 but will be waiting. First, my MBP is quite capable. Second, M1 is still going to have some kinks. The software ecosystem still needs to convert and switch to offering universal binaries. While reports are that Rosetta is quite impressive, I’m sure there are going to be incompatibilities around the edges. I also use my machine for development, so I’d like Homebrew to catch up and be fully supported (there are workarounds being done now). Finally, the biggest thing is that M2 needs to support bigger memory sizes (at least 32 GB). And sure, I’d love a 1080p front facing camera for FaceTime.

 

[khunsanook]

M3 at the earliest. It’s going to take that long (about 2 years) for the chips and software ecosystem to mature.

 

[spot4u]

Just sold my MBPro 2017 since even running TEAMS for my company started spinning the fans and drained Battery really quick. Performance of the CPU was somewhat disapointing on the i5-7630 even with 16GB Ram. So I could still sell it for > 700.- and ordered myself a MBPro M1 with 16GB and 512GB SSD hoping it will stay some time with me.

A next Gen Device might then replace my 2019 iMac in Future but I hope it will still run for some years.

 

[UltimateSyn]

M3 at the earliest. It’s going to take that long (about 2 years) for the chips and software ecosystem to mature.

The chips are already mature. Apple has been designing custom SoCs for over a decade now. The ecosystem I would give you if not for the fact that the M-Series Macs already support most of the x86 Mac applications..

 

[B.A.T]

I'm waiting until my 2013 iMac (which is running strong) dies. At that point I'll decide which laptop to buy.

 

[ascender]

The only thing that would make me consider changing from an M1 MBA is when the full redesign comes and it (hopefully) includes things like FaceID. This new Air is an amazing machine and feels like a massive leap forward in technology - performance & battery life are incredible - so I can see it lasting a very long time for my needs.

 

[PsykX]

I'll buy it.
(disclaimer : I don't have an M1 Mac yet though).

Someone in my family bought a Mac Mini. It'll be good for quite a few years, but for the depreciation, I might recommend to sell it in 2 years and buy the new version.

 

[eddjedi]

I tend to replace my phone every two years, and my laptop every 3-4 years. It's much easier and cheaper to replace a phone regularly, whereas I usually prefer to fresh install a computer (especially with a chipset change like Intel > M1) so that's not something I feel like doing every year or two.

If Apple did come up with a migration assistant for Mac that was as seamless as it is for iPhones I might consider usibng it, but in my experience it doesn't work well (eg I always have to re-license a lot of my software and audio plug-ins etc.)

 

[TheColtr]

I got the base MBA so I can give it to my wife once a 4 port 13 inch pro comes out.

 

[az431]

Not waiting for M2, per se. Unfortunately, as Apple's quality control on OS releases (see High Sierra and Catalina) declines, I find myself going Windows more frequently. I'm due to buy the Intel Ice Lake 4-port 13" MacBook Pro in the very near future (as Boot Camp and x86 virtualization matter more to me than iOS and iPadOS apps running natively). I do and really want and ought to get my hands on an Apple Silicon Mac (for the sake of exploring and playing around with the few differences), but I don't know that I have to own one for the privilege. I might get an Apple Silicon Mac down the road to inevitably replace this one, and if I do, I'm sure whatever replaces the M1 2-port 13" MacBook Pro will be more than enough Mac for me (as again, I have Windows doing a lot of my heavy lifting app-wise). But I may also hop off the Mac bus. Either way, I don't need to buy one of the first couple revs of Apple Silicon; I was among the first to the Intel Macs during the PowerPC-to-Intel transition, I was much younger and more willing to run apps in Rosetta until I had native versions. I can certainly wait on this one, assuming I continue with the Mac platform at all.

So your take is that Windows 10 running virtualized on an Intel Mac beats MacOS on a Silicon Mac?

Jesus.

 

[Steve121178]

I'm holding out for a full redesign. My late 2013 MBP is still going strong although the dual core CPU is starting to struggle with a number of bloated apps, especially OneDrive of all things! OneDrive turns my Mac into a toaster when it's syncing a large number of files.

 

[Zorori]

Depends on what Apple do:

* Same designs, new chip = skip, M1 seems fast enough. Unless there's something I need built in e.g. virtualisation.

* Refreshed designs = very tempting.

* More than 16gb of ram in the compact models (12" 13" Air...) = very tempting

* MacBook 12 = instabuy.

 

[adamw]

Yes, I bought 2 M1 Mac Minis, and I will likely by a new M2 (or whatever replaces M1) Mac computer also when it comes out.

 

[macintoshmac]

The M1 will suddenly become an unimaginably slow chip the moment something newer comes up, and people will want to get the latest. This has been going on forever. I do not see the point of the thread.

I am satisfied with the performance of the M1, but I need more USB ports. So, waiting on the revision that brings more ports while rocking an MBA 2017 comfortably without a single issue - been happier with 2011 MBP and this machine (2017 MBA) than I was with 2016 MBP for the package value and peace of mind. You open these machines, start them, work on them through the day, shut them down at night. No worries. On 2016 MBP I did not know if keyboard will start acting up suddenly, if the display is going to be dead anytime owing to flex cable, etc. There were several positives to it, but I speak of overall package value and peace of mind - that I got with 2011 MBP and 2017 MBA, not with 2016 MBP.

I think M series chips with 4 ports will give me that peace of mind again, whenever I require the upgrade.

Seeing these performance figures I have been swayed to just go and get one, thinking okay I will live with 2 ports. But I know, I need at least 3 any day. One for charging, one for external hard disk and one for connecting another disk occasionally, and I do not want to invest in a dock. But then I think that my 2017, however old, is still going fine. I will look at upgrading when software support is taken away from this machine. Or if it fails on me.

 

[macintoshmac]

Yes, I bought 2 M1 Mac Minis, and I will likely by a new M2 (or whatever replaces M1) Mac computer also when it comes out.

Why? Just because? Or do you need the smallest possible milliseconds and seconds gain in benchmarks? Or something in real life?

 

[AnthonyHarris]

1. Panic sold my 15" 2014 MBP, 16" 2019 MBP and iMac Pro to avoid the huge incoming value loss.
2. Got a temporary M1 Air.
3. Gonna get an M2 iMac next year and leave the Air to my gf.

It's gonna be tough fitting my daily work load in the 16 GB of the Air until the pro machines come out next year but that way I lose the least amount of money during this transition.

I just had a look at eBay. Judging by those prices you were wise. Probably (definitely) just going to keep my 16 inch MBP since I'll be losing an insane amount of cash on it now.

 

[loeme852]

Ill Probabyl buy an 16inch Intel model. Im not ever expecting Boot Camp/Windows on Arm Macs to come back (except vor Virtualisation). And if it does, I dont expect that my stuff (mostly Steam and - all - its Games) is going to work on it.

If this doesnt change within the next 1-2 Years, Im going to snatch a 16inch Intel MacBok Pro for Windows/Bootcamp and then maybe an iPad pro for when I need something for mobile - or MacBook Air for the MX chips isnterad of AX chips for the performance.

The other - obvious - option is to just go with a Windows machine in the first palce. But with COVID and the Fact that I really Like to have MacOS and Windows in one Machine might Rather go 16Inch Intel, than A Windows only setup.


So basically the ARM Macs are going to be a secondary or tertiary priority for me if and until BootCamp bekomes a thing again.

 

[haruhiko]

Given that the M1 MacBook Air has similar performance with the M1 13-inch MacBook Pro except in some more extreme use cases, I am perfectly happy with the M1 Air (and I'm so excited for this MBA for the first time since the first big revision of the line in 2011). You basically get a top-of-the-line machine with the lowest possible price. So I won't be waiting for whatever coming next and enjoy the M1 life from now on.

I've got the machine for one day and having set up everything from my old MacBook Pro, everything is running very smoothly and much faster, even for Rosetta apps. This thing is literally cool, even without a fan. The only thing that doesn't work is Google Drive, it just crashes upon launch, that's stupid. Even my company's remote computing app is running perfectly fine after some tinkering with settings.

 

[LeeW]

The M1 will suddenly become the worst chip Apple ever made the moment something newer comes up, and people will want to get the latest. This has been going on forever. I do not see the point of the thread.

No, not so much. True that it will become the worst of the M* series but it will always be far better than anything that has come before it and that is the point, the generational leap rather than a small incremental step we are used to.

If the M2 makes a significant leap again, which is likely rather than an incremental step, there is the reason for forward-looking and upgrading.

At some point, we will get back to steps and the value of forward-looking and upgrading will be less meaningful.