Totally appreciate how the new upcoming Macs are more suited to Pros - and by that I mean true pros as in people who do professional work. However I have heard countless podcasters s**t on the M1 this week with comments such as 'we didn't want the M1' 'It wasn't what pros needed' to even one R Richie complain on a podcast that the 'M1 just wasn't fast enough'. This is a direct contradiction to the hyperbole when the M1 was announced.. so why all of a sudden is it considered no good? Just curious..
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Why is the M1 all of a sudden 'not good enough'?
- Thread starter darthbane2k
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Many pros need more RAM and GPU power. The M1 is fantastic... just a little limiting since it's new.
The M1 is amazing as an entry level Mac chip, but there are somethings that are lacking for a Pro device, mainly GPU and multi-core performance, but also RAM to a lesser extent.
The limited display options is also a problem for the M1.
I’ve never heard anything bad about the M1. It’s been my favorite computer since I got it.
Because people just keep wanting more. The M1 was last year's processor to equip the entry level of smaller Macs. Everybody was expecting that the processors that would equip larger/higher-end Macs to be more powerful (and this is why the 24-inch iMac was somewhat lacking).
And this is another reason. The M1 is great but lacks some features that some people need. It does not have a powerful GPU. It has lots of multi-core performance, but it could have so much more if Apple just put more cores. Plus, despite being very fast, it may not be so future-proof as it is limited to 16 GB RAM.
It's not that it's "not good enough", it's just that after a full year people expect to see more improvements in single threaded performance like we almost always have.
This is likely to be more similar to intel xeon's though that just add more cores based on the previous year's gen.
This is likely to be more similar to intel xeon's though that just add more cores based on the previous year's gen.
I agree with your post, with the exception of your statement about the M1 multi-core performance.
At a minimum, I would say they M1 has excellent multi-core performance for an entry or even mid-level Mac, but in context to being a Pro machine, I wouldn't say the M1 has "lots of" multi-core performance.
Just for comparison, the now four year old 2017 iMac Pro destroys the M1 in terms of multi-core performance. Even the base model iMac Pro is significantly higher than the M1.
Not saying the M1 doesn't have impressive multi-core performance, actually I am saying it has excellent performance, but in context to the OP question about why the M1 is "not good enough" all of a sudden, multi-core performance is a major factor when comparing the M1 to much older Intel Macs.
As impressive as the M1 is, there is some downsides. The lack of multi-monitor support is one big example, and a total deal-killer for some.
Still, the M1 is impressive for the price point. The M1 Mac Mini has the fastest single-core performance of any Mac in the history of Macs, but it is also the cheapest Mac in the line up. Might even be the cheapest Mac ever when inflation is taken in consideration.
This is the way technology rolls. You just have to accept that over time, things that were "good enough" are quickly supplanted by a new "good enough."
Every time I try to run InDesign CC on my M1 MBA, I want to tear my hair out. The 'known issues' Adobe refers to abound on that machine, which makes me tend to think I'm going to keep my i9 Intel machines a while longer.
TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️
Suspended
There are a lot of stupid, biased podcasters is why.
I have an m1 air and it's blazing fast. Way faster than my i9 16" MacBook pro.
Because it has 2 ports. That right there makes it a worse laptop than all my other Intel MBP.
Even 4 ports is not enough for me, with dongles sticking out everywhere.
My M1 12.9 iPad Pro also has 2 ports to give you an idea how few ports that actually is.
The M1 is perfectly fine for most people. Some people overthink it. If I were to give my mom a MacBook Air M1 she would probably not care that it has an M1 & use it til it dies in 10 years. The M1 MacBook Air is probably going to be around for awhile. I see it continuing to like 2023 with a lower price as the newer M2 MacBook Airs come out mid-2022.
IDK guys the M1 runs rings around the 8 core intel i9 processor - 1600+ single core vs. 1100!! That's a huge difference.
It's also not getting hot, vs the i9 where you can cook your eggs on the laptop, and don't need to worry about spills because it will evaporate the water before it gets inside... exaggerating a bit here
The M1 is the best processor Apple has ever made.
M1X should allow for more RAM.
I am not really sure who needs more GPU performance, I have the 8 core M1 version (the top version) and graphics are honestly fricken fast. My son plays games on the macbook air, it's fast.
PS: Podcasters are wankers. Decide for yourself what you need. Only the Intel Xeon class chips are faster than the M1, and also only in multi core since they have 12 or 16 Intel cores (I think...) vs the 8 in the M1, 4 of which are low power low performance cores.... which is brilliant, since that creates unbelievable battery life, when all these thousands of low impact background threads on OS X run on these ice core low power cores.
Comparing a iMac Pro or Mac Pro with an M1 Macbook Air which doesn't even have a fan is silly. Lol. It's like saying the new Prius can't fit a shipping container on its back - well that's what trucks are for, generally 🤣
Last edited:
Multi-monitor support, more RAM, better GPU/Video power, more Thunderbolt ports. These are things Pros want/need and cannot have with the M1. The M1 is a really nice start, and great for consumers, but it's not ready for higher-end pro use.
I for one am just waiting on the ability to have more RAM and a larger-screen iMac.
I for one am just waiting on the ability to have more RAM and a larger-screen iMac.
Again for pros I understand - well apart from the port thing because you can just as easily buy a hub with the relevant ports. But I was specifically questioning the language of the podcasters , claiming the M1 as not good enough and even in some cases - slow. It doesn’t make sense.
Tech podcasters are the most out-of-touch, and oftentimes absolutely clueless, bunch of dolts who actually make money by complaining about tech (particularly Apple's tech). Their secondary goal appears to be nothing more than convincing their listeners how smart they are.
FWIW, I haven't heard anyone claiming the M1 is "no good." But any tech enthusiast will say last year's tech needs to get better.
FWIW, I haven't heard anyone claiming the M1 is "no good." But any tech enthusiast will say last year's tech needs to get better.
I look at it this way, if the computer you are using is doing its job and you are happy about it then who cares what other people think about it. I'm perfectly happy with my MBP 13 M1 and really have only one complaint that being the lack of ports. However, Apple basically has a history of being stingy with having ports on their computers.
I published my 1 year later review of the M1 recently and still lives up to its promises a year later. Still a great machine I know Apple will keep around for those who don’t need the newer models.
forums.macrumors.com
M1 MacBook Pro Review - One Year Later
I originally intended on publishing this review to a blog I normally write for, but someone there already bought and published one page review of the M1. So, my 'thorough' review ended up in limbo. I decided to share it with the community. My thoughts are based on initial experiences, but...
forums.macrumors.com
It's just how a lot of Apple users are. Like how when a new Apple product is dropping and all of a sudden everyone talking about how their current product sucks. But there was 0 complaints before anything was officially announced, and nothing but praise. It can be a clownish fanbase.
You're missing the point. Even these so-called "pros" was giving the M1 universal praise saying how it was lightyears ahead of everything. The actual pros knew this was far from the truth even during M1 launch.
The fact that my M1 Mac Mini does work better than my $4,500 2019 i9 iMac is quite impressive. M1 is equivalent to Intel's i3 processors. People expecting M1 to be the end all be all are either doing it for the views/drama or just plain don't understand technology.
You do realize that the 13" base Intel Macbook Pros has 2 ports as well right? It didn't make it worse, it just didn't add more ports over what was there before.