ARM based Macs?

[ASAP]

Are they coming? What does everyone think would be the comparo to current intel books? Is it worth waiting? I am torn... my mac is 5 Years old but still works ok.

[paliknight]

Originally Posted by ASAP

Are they coming? What does everyone think would be the comparo to current intel books? Is it worth waiting? I am torn... my mac is 5 Years old but still works ok.

If your computer still works fine then I'd wait. You have nothing to lose. It'd be a win win since you can either get the new one, or the older one at a greater discount. But supposedly Apple is going with their own proprietary processors. Not much info yet.

[vreihen16]

My $0.02 is to buy the last of the Intel Macs while they are still available, since the price and desirability will likely go up after the change. Plus, Apple's software hasn't exactly been bug-free since Steve Jobs' passing, and I personally wouldn't want to own the first or second year of ARM after they make the processor change. Let the clickbait reporters and Apple lemmings go over the cliff while Apple sorts everything out.....

[ASAP]

My understanding is Apple will be making their own processors soon and if you are familiar with the iPads and see how well everything is integrated between HW and SW... it may be a much better experience.

Better battery, less heating etc.

[grocerylist]

There are no performance specs out yet. I'm sure the ARM based Macs will be great with battery life but I'd hold out a while to see if the performance is at least comparable to the intel based Macs. I'd guess it will at least take a couple years to match intel based cpus.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by grocerylist

There are no performance specs out yet. I'm sure the ARM based Macs will be great with battery life but I'd hold out a while to see if the performance is at least comparable to the intel based Macs. I'd guess it will at least take a couple years to match intel based cpus.

Some say... out the gate, they should be better... but who knows?

[JasonDot]

It really depends as to what you use your computer for. If you aren't doing anything processor or graphics processor heavy you probably won't notice a difference. The upcoming ARM processors do intrigue me because I do 2 or 3 view 4K video editing. 2021 is also my production computer lifecycle management year (every 3) so it may land on a ARM powered MacBook. Benchmarks will give me insight...

For the average human who has their Apple computer with dual screens, 9 Safari tabs, music, mail, Zoom and Notes open simultaneously will be fine with the current Intel line or future ARM line.

[vreihen16]

My big concern is that Apple has been touting this change to help bring iOS apps to the Mac. I strongly dislike the way that the iPhone does some things, and cringe as I see more and more iOS stuff like their notification system creeping into OS-X and now MacOS. The internal team wars at Apple seem to be leaning towards turning the Mac platform into a giant iPad...with a keyboard/mouse and probably no touchscreen so it doesn't cut into iPad sales.

I don't know how much anyone here knows about the post-PC world theory as millennials work from smartphones as their primary online tool. As an "OK Boomer" , my iPhone gets 10-15 minutes of screen use per WEEK, and I wouldn't even own one if it wasn't necessary to manage my cellular Apple Watch. The cellular Watch goes everywhere, and the iPhone stays home more times than not. If it wasn't for specialty software for work like Royal TSX, I would have very little use for a computer.....

[c1pher]

I am probably going to buy the last gen intel and wait to see what happens with ARM. I suspect this is less about making the Mac work better and more about streamlining code development across and reducing costs the board from desktop and mobile.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by c1pher

I am probably going to buy the last gen intel and wait to see what happens with ARM. I suspect this is less about making the Mac work better and more about streamlining code development across and reducing costs the board from desktop and mobile.

Right... but the danger is that the newer apps are optimized for the new mac... then what?

[cfm56d7b]

If you need a MacBook Pro right now, just buy it because there isn't such a thing as a perfect time to buy a computer.

Intel based Macbook Pros will be supported for years to come. In addition, for those that need to run Windows in a virtualized container (VMWare Fusion or Parallels), Intel based Macbook Pro would be a better - if not the only - option.

There are many reasons why Apple decided to switch to own ARM based processors. One of them is Intel's poor record delivering processors on time.

In July 2020, "Intel disappointed once again by announcing that their 7nm processors would be delayed to somewhere in between late 2022 or early 2023" (source: https://www.patentlyapple.com).

The same thing happened in 2018, when Intel delayed its 10-nanometer chips to 2019.

Apple made the right decision. The dependency on Intel became an enterprise risk.

[JasonDot]

The first of the new ARM based Macs is supposedly going to be unveiled on November 17th!

https://appleinsider.com/articles/20...ebut-on-nov-17

[ASAP]

So... any thoughts? They all got released recently... cannot decide between the Air or Pro... they seem so close in specs.

[paliknight]

Originally Posted by ASAP

So... any thoughts? They all got released recently... cannot decide between the Air or Pro... they seem so close in specs.

If you dont need the extras of the pro, I wouldn’t waste money.

Apple’s products are already buggy (especially their computers). This is all new technology and you are pretty much the test subject. Only reason I dont recommend wasting much money on this generation is because you will likely end up upgrading sooner once they weed out all the bugs and issues.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by paliknight

If you dont need the extras of the pro, I wouldn’t waste money.

Apple’s products are already buggy (especially their computers). This is all new technology and you are pretty much the test subject. Only reason I dont recommend wasting much money on this generation is because you will likely end up upgrading sooner once they weed out all the bugs and issues.

I actually picked up the 512 GB M1 Air last night... so far very smooth sailing... its super fast and does not heat up remotely like my 2015 mbp and it has a killer battery.

Only question is did I screw myself with only 8gb of RAM... albeit for my use case as a facebook / youtube machine, I've seen no issues as of yet.

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by ASAP

So... any thoughts? They all got released recently... cannot decide between the Air or Pro... they seem so close in specs.

This is an interesting video for you:

So unless you want that image bar on top instead of function keys (forgot the name, no mac guy), and not require max cpu load for hours on end, the air seems to be the better one.

[JasonDot]

That's one of the most off-putting YouTube thumbnails I've ever seen.

[cfm56d7b]

If one does have a need to run Windows, Macbook Air M1 is a great laptop. I plan to get one - but prefer to wait for a refresh with hopefully 4 ports instead of 2.

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by JasonDot

That's one of the most off-putting YouTube thumbnails I've ever seen.

Absolutely, that's why he's so smart (there's a reason why he works for one of the biggest tech channels on youtube)
But you'd rather look at a very dumb attractive person when you need advice on a computer?

[GenXer]

It's fast and all. It even has a long battery life between charges. But you're giving up on a lot of ports that are still popular; USB A, SD which are plentiful on the old MacBook going down to 2 USB C ports. One of which may be charging your computer. If you got the old MacBook Air with Magsafe port, you'll be losing that too. I know you can by a plug in magnetic USB C but it sticks out of the laptop and it limits your charging amp too.

It's supposed to be able to run iOS apps if you don't mind it being a little buggy.

But I am tempted as well since my MacBook Air has seen better days.

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by GenXer

I know you can by a plug in magnetic USB C but it sticks out of the laptop and it limits your charging amp too.

The one that I bought on Amazon does 100 watts (5 amps), and the part that stays with the computer sits more or less flush with the hard case on my 16" MBP:

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YW7Q36B

The above does not appear to be available any more, but this one looks the same and also does 100W/5A:

www.amazon.com/SIKAI-Replacement-Compatible-Chromebook-Black-1-8/dp/B07VQ6CWX6

I bought two of the Digital Ant cables and two extra magnetic socket for the computer, and put a magnetic socket on each side of my two 4-port MBP's for convenience. After trying a few of the other alternatives on Amazon, I find these to be the closest thing to Apple's MagSafe 2 on my beloved Macbook Air.....

[GenXer]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

The one that I bought on Amazon does 100 watts (5 amps), and the part that stays with the computer sits more or less flush with the hard case on my 16" MBP:

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YW7Q36B

The above does not appear to be available any more, but this one looks the same and also does 100W/5A:

www.amazon.com/SIKAI-Replacement-Compatible-Chromebook-Black-1-8/dp/B07VQ6CWX6

I bought two of the Digital Ant cables and two extra magnetic socket for the computer, and put a magnetic socket on each side of my two 4-port MBP's for convenience. After trying a few of the other alternatives on Amazon, I find these to be the closest thing to Apple's MagSafe 2 on my beloved Macbook Air.....

It doesn't sit flush. It sticks out a bit. I have one attached to my Chromebook.