Apple Announces The Apple Silicon M1: The end of x86?

[Primus]

Can we keep the conversation to topic please? We are taking about hardware here. I don’t want this to turn into an argument [emoji846]

 

 

In regards to the RAM I have found that the Apple devices aren’t as resource hungry as Windows so maybe this offsets this? Has anyone experienced similar?

 

Something that has just cross my mind. Here at my place every single desk is equipped with 2 monitors, a dock and a stand for the laptop to be used as well. If we went Mac we would end up downgrading everyone’s setup!

 

Only if you chose MacBooks that only support 1 external display, ie. a MacBook with the standard M1. If you go for a MacBook with an M1 Pro or higher they support 2 external displays.

 

The new M architecture means that having larger quantities of RAM isn't necessary for most people - when I bought my M1 MacBook Air I ordered one with 8Gb of RAM and a second with 16Gb of RAM. I tested them extensively and even opening huge numbers of tabs in multiple web browsers, running large numbers of apps etc it was very hard to tell which had 8Gb and which had 16Gb.

 

I've said it before but I'm sure Apple will have done their market research - people using multiple monitors will be much more likely to have the higher end products that now ship with at least an M1 Pro. Users buying the lower end products like the Air and 13inch Pro will overwhelmingly not use multiple displays, docks etc etc.

[FN-GM]

Only if you chose MacBooks that only support 1 external display, ie. a MacBook with the standard M1. If you go for a MacBook with an M1 Pro or higher they support 2 external displays.

 

The problem with upgrading to a MacBook Pro means the device will be larger. Smaller portable devices are important for our company (we have lots of staff travelling, some including myself on very small aircraft with just a few seats and limited baggage allowance).

 

Also on a personal level I would prefer a smaller and lighter device.

[DalekSec]

The problem with upgrading to a MacBook Pro means the device will be larger. Smaller portable devices are important for our company (we have lots of staff travelling, some including myself on very small aircraft with just a few seats and limited baggage allowance).

 

Also on a personal level I would prefer a smaller and lighter device.

 

Agreed, i sold my MBP 16" couple months ago but planning to go to a new M2 Air at some point. Ideally i'd have 3 monitors plugged into it. I need at least 2! Might settle for an ultrawide ...

 

Atleast my iPad Pro now has monitor support! (on the ipadOS 16 beta)

[Primus]

If you have to have the smaller Pro or the Air you can use DisplayLink adapters to power multiple external monitors.

[flyinghaggis]

Agreed, i sold my MBP 16" couple months ago but planning to go to a new M2 Air at some point. Ideally i'd have 3 monitors plugged into it. I need at least 2! Might settle for an ultrawide ...

 

I'm holding off until I can see it in store myself, and check out the reviews online, but I'm tempted to replace my 2019 Macbook Air with one of the new M2 Macbook Air's.

 

I've heard they can only support a single external monitor however I generally just use my ultrawide display (34" 3440x1440 60Hz) so that should presumably stilll work fine over a USB-C to displayport as it currently does with my current MBA?

[Arthur]

I'm holding off until I can see it in store myself, and check out the reviews online, but I'm tempted to replace my 2019 Macbook Air with one of the new M2 Macbook Air's.

Make sure you avoid the M2 MBA with a 256GB SSD since this is a lot slower than an M1 MBA with the same size SSD.

 

 

I've heard they can only support a single external monitor however I generally just use my ultrawide display (34" 3440x1440 60Hz) so that should presumably still work fine over a USB-C to displayport as it currently does with my current MBA?

Another potential option is AirPlay (e.g. via an Apple TV connected to an external monitor or a second Mac acting as an AirPlay receiver) assuming you don't want to deal with DisplayLink adapters. You can have your ultrawide connected via USB-C and then extend your the desktop of the MacBook Air to the AirPlay display.

[Norphy]

Make sure you avoid the M2 MBA with a 256GB SSD since this is a lot slower than an M1 MBA with the same size SSD.

 

 

Sorry but this is making a mountain out a molehill.

 

Sure, it’s slower but it’s hardly slow. It still can transfer data at more than a gigabyte per second. I’d be amazed that if anyone, especially the sort of person that this is actually aimed at, could tell the difference in general use.

 

The reason it’s slower is down to Apple changing the size of the flash modules in the new MacBooks. They’re now using a 256gb chip in a single channel instead of a pair of 128 modules in two channels. This is probably because 128gb modules are getting harder to get in sufficient volume and to keep their BOM cost down.

[flyinghaggis]

I'm holding off until I can see it in store myself, and check out the reviews online, but I'm tempted to replace my 2019 Macbook Air with one of the new M2 Macbook Air's.

 

I've heard they can only support a single external monitor however I generally just use my ultrawide display (34" 3440x1440 60Hz) so that should presumably stilll work fine over a USB-C to displayport as it currently does with my current MBA?

 

I had a play with one in store last week and was pretty impressed so decided to order a new Macbook Air M2 to replace my current Intel Macbook Air. Should be here in a couple of weeks time as it was a BTO model with 16Gb/512Gb. I did consder whether to get a MBP 14" but I prefer the form factor of the Air and I don't think I'd use the extra GPU performance of the MBP. My only reservation was how well it would work with my 1440p 34" Ultrawide monitor as my current MBA really lags when connected to it. Figured if there are any issues I can always return it though I suspect given the 16Gb RAM and the improved performance of the Apple chip it should be fine.

 

How has everyone been getting on with their M1/2 Apple devices? An gotchas when switching across from the Intel models?

Edited August 8, 2022 by flyinghaggis

[FN-GM]

My only reservation was how well it would work with my 1440p 34" Ultrawide monitor as my current MBA really lags when connected to it.

 

Apple has a really good return policy. If you don’t like it you can send it back without any drama.

[dmj]

How has everyone been getting on with their M1/2 Apple devices? An gotchas when switching across from the Intel models?

 

Absolutely love it. I'm not even a 'mac person' but bought an M1 air with the educator discount in early 2021. The battery life is insane and it's faster than my £2000 work Lenovo carbon X1.

My only 'gotcha' was it doesn't support multiple external monitors, but I think that might be fixed with M2. All the major software I need works natively now, although there was a lot that needed the rosetta emulation early on.

 

Some of the work stuff I need to do is build x86 docker images as our servers are all x86 still, and docker building multiarch images is still a bit sketchy but I generally use my work machine for that.

[dsmith8]

I've just got a M1 Pro Macbook Pro 16GB 1TB Model and I love it the speakers are amazing some of the best I've heard on a laptop and the display is super vibrant. Also haven't had any compatibility issues and all apps I need are native so far so no complaints here.

[FN-GM]

My only 'gotcha' was it doesn't support multiple external monitors, but I think that might be fixed with M2.

 

Unfortunately it hasn’t in the M2 MacBook Air. Not sure about the Pro.

[Norphy]

The M2 chip can only drive one external display. The 13" M2 MBP is going to be the same in that regard. The M1 and M2 both only have one graphics module and therefore only two DisplayPort channels. One is used exclusively for the internal display. The higher end M1 chips (M1 Pro, Max, Ultra) used in the bigger MBPs and the Mac Studio have multiple display modules (2, 4 and 8 respectively) and therefore have more DisplayPort channels and can drive more displays. I would imagine the M2 Pro/Max/Ultra will be the same.

 

A workaround for that is to use a DisplayLink adapter, which is essentially a USB graphics card. It'd work and probably be OK for office work and watching videos but they're not brilliant.

Edited August 9, 2022 by Norphy

[FN-GM]

The M2 chip can only drive one external display. The 13" M2 MBP is going to be the same in that regard. The M1 and M2 both only have one graphics module and therefore only two DisplayPort channels. One is used exclusively for the internal display. The higher end M1 chips (M1 Pro, Max, Ultra) used in the bigger MBPs and the Mac Studio have multiple display modules (2, 4 and 8 respectively) and therefore have more DisplayPort channels and can drive more displays. I would imagine the M2 Pro/Max/Ultra will be the same.

 

Thanks for the clarification. It does seem a major letdown. I was going to go for an M2 MacBook Air as I assumed they would address this. But I am hesitant now. Maybe I will get an Ultra Wide at home, but I like my current setup.

 

It certainly wouldn’t work in our business as every office. Every desk has 2 x monitors. We did this instead of 1 ultra wide because:

A - if there is a failure they still have 1 screen until it is replaced.

B - if there is a disaster we have a spare pool of laptops and we can take 1 of the 2 monitors from the desks as a short term stop gap.

 

The users also require a small, thin lightweight laptop as there is a lot of travelling and flights. So the bigger pro won’t be suitable.

Edited August 9, 2022 by FN-GM

[fiendishlyclever]

I thought I'd be fine with the internal screen and a 4k monitor (home use) but I miss two proper external screens.

 

I've got an M1 air.. The hardware is gorgeous but I think I prefer Windows to use, I just can't remember all the keyboard shortcuts (to get the same functionality as Windows)[emoji23]

[flyinghaggis]

Apple has a really good return policy. If you don’t like it you can send it back without any drama.

 

Yeah, I actually used it when I bought my last Macbook Air in 2019. I originally bought a 13" Macbook Pro (Intel i5) but felt it the performance/hardware wasn't noticeably better than the cheaper Macbook Air to justify the extra cost so returned it and bought the Air instead! Plus I found that I was having eyestrain issues with the display. I don't know if it was to do with Intel graphics dithering, that particular model of display or if I had a faulty unit. Certainly, I never experienced the issue with the Air I bought to replace it.

 

It's scheduled to arrive next week so I'll post my thoughts when it does as it'll be my first experience with Apple's own chips in a laptop

 

Also, now seemed like a pretty good time as, in addition to the regular education discount, they're also doing a "back to uni" offer of £120 Apple Gift Card which you can use at an Apple Store to buy acccessories, hardware & apps.

 

https://www.apple.com/uk-edu/shop/education-pricing

Edited August 9, 2022 by flyinghaggis

[XiJ]

I am an Mac person but went from a 2012 intel MacBook Pro 15” (which was still fine for me - if a bit heavy and needed a new battery) to a dell XPS 13” for work. I love the xps on the road and regularly use it with 2 monitors at home.

 

I decided to buy a M1 MacBook Air for ‘personal use’ (ie sat in the sofa with it). It’s light, great battery life and silent. I use it a lot more than I thought and always take it with me if I’m visiting family / holiday. - just so light to travel with.

[flyinghaggis]

Having had my Macbook Air M2 for a while gotta say I'm really impressed with it. Massive improvement over my prevous Intel Macbook Air. Over double the single core and 4 times the multicore CPU performance in most apps whilst staying cool without the need for a fan. The battery life is 14 hours+ which is also more than double that of my old Macbook. The fit, finish, keyboard, trackpad and display are all up to usual Apple standards as well.

 

If you're looking for a laptop and are comfortable with MacOS it's pretty awesome. Only real downsides are the price (even with edu discount but it's ~£1300 if you want it with 16Gb RAM) and the lack of support for multiple external monitors.

Edited October 27, 2022 by flyinghaggis

[hardtailstar]

I've got a 2015 Dell XPS at home which is still running like a dream but I've got a M1 MacBook air for work.

 

I keep thinking about upgrading my laptop to an Apple when it goes. I've only been using the Air for two months...

 

I still love the XPS line but I've really started to think about moving to Apple.

[XiJ]

My work laptop is a 2020 XPS 13”. I really like it after moving from a (upgraded) MacBook Pro 15”

 

But I couldn’t resist getting myself a MacBook Air M1 - it’s lovely. Great battery, Quick and super light. I use that when I’m downstairs and take it out with me when not working. Love it.

[Tom_M]

I'm a macOS user (and have been for the last 10+ years). I work in Music/Broadcasting now; so have more of a 'need' for these machines versus my previous IT jobs.

 

Up until July of this year I was still using a 2012 (/'2010') Mac Pro (96GB RAM, 2x Hex-Core, PCIe SSD etc etc...). I've 'temporarily' moved up to a 2013 'Trashcan' w/ Big Sur before I take the leap fully into Apple Silicon when the new Mac Pro appears. I also relied a bit more on Thunderbolt outboard equipment as a 'stop-gap' in order to connect the PCIe devices I was using in the older machine. Getting the 2019 model in 2022 would've had an awful ROI, IMO...

 

I run a top-spec'd 16" rMBP (Silicon) and rendering projects takes roughly 1/4 of the time it does on the 2013 Mac Pro. Just shows both how long these machines last; and equally how impressive the jump is since the architecture change.

 

The older machines still work like a champ. It's a shame however that Apple is getting more strict over which machines receive OS Updates (Ventura axed anything pre-2017 versus Monterey accepted machines released in 2015). Whilst the 2013 Mac Pro is nine years old - It'd have been nice to see it receive one more year's worth of OS Updates to tide it over until the new machines (hopefully) do appear...

[DalekSec]

Apple hardware currently = 9.5/10

Apple software currently = 4/10

[FN-GM]

Apple hardware currently = 9.5/10

Apple software currently = 4/10

 

I’m curious to know your thoughts on the software.

[DalekSec]

I’m curious to know your thoughts on the software.

 

Don't get me wrong i love macOS, iOS i use them all.

 

But the latest releases to Ventura, removing key features, the new system preferences looking like its going backwards not forward! and not adding a lot back!

 

iOS 16 having various bugs, mine had an issue that caused my 256gb storage to fill up constantly, turned out it was a common issue thats never been fixed! Found a fix on reddit to just uninstall the apple tv app... but now i want watch my shows without it filling back uP! Small things like the battery icon not being finished in 16.0 and being updated in 16.1