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petvas

macrumors 603
Original poster
Jul 20, 2006
5,479
1,808
Munich, Germany
I got yesterday my M1 13" MacBook Pro as a replacement for my 16" Intel based MBP. The reasons for the change can be summarized as follows:
  • I didn't need the bigger display since I also use a 27" iMac at home
  • When traveling the 16" MBP is just too big and heavy.
  • I wanted to get an M1 Mac
My normal laptop usage is not very demanding to the CPU, but benefits a lot from a lot of RAM and a speedy SSD. I normally have the following applications open at all times:
  • Safari with multiple tabs. At some times more than 20 tabs are open
  • Mail.app connected to an O365 mailbox
  • Fantastical, configured with O365 and iCloud
  • Contacts.app, connected to O365 and iCloud
  • Things
  • iMessage
  • Twitter
  • Photos
  • 1Password
  • Apple Notes
  • Numbers
  • Microsoft Remote Desktop
  • Microsoft Teams (runs only when required)
  • Zoom (runs only when I join a call)
  • Microsoft Word (I run it only when I need it)
  • Microsoft Excl (also on demand)
  • Microsoft Powerpoint (on demand)
I also need to run Citrix Receiver when I support some of my customers.
I watch quite a few Youtube Videos and also stream many podcasts. I also use my iMac as a file server.

These two first days I can say that the M1 MBP is much better for this usage than my 16" Intel based MBP:
  • Battery life is incredible. I get around 130 minutes of usage (with brightness at 50%) per 10% battery
  • The UI responsiveness is much better than on my 16" MBP. There is 0 stutter, zero delays and everything is snappy. I don't play any games on my Mac, so I cannot say anything about that, but for my usage this is a big improvement.
  • Power Nap is gone, but we have something much better. The M1 Mac is almost always in a low standby mode but networking and other services continue to work, with minimal battery drain.
  • WiFi performance is much better than before. I get 600-700Mbps compared to 300-400Mbps before on my 5Ghz network.
  • Apps that use Rosetta just work and the performance difference is subtle. After the second run you barely notice any difference to before.
  • The ability to use iPad apps is very handy. I use Overcast and it works pretty well. With time we will see many more capabilities through iPad apps.
  • I haven't heard the fan working yet, despite installing an OS update..

I am really impressed by what Apple has done here and I am excited to see what the M2 will bring to Pro Macs. I am planning to get the 27" iMac when it comes out.

The only issue I had so far was with my HP Color Laserjet Pro 276nw. I had to google in order to find the right drivers, so that scanning will work on my M1 Mac. Just a side note, I decided to not restore from a Time Machine backup (which I usually do). I thought it would be better to just set up my Mac as new, since it has a different internal architecture. My data are stored in the cloud, so it took me not that much time to install and configure everything according to my liking.
This is the best Mac I ever had. My 27" iMac is also great, and I love it mainly because of its great display, but in terms of performance and overall feel I prefer my M1 Mac.
 
Did I mention that resuming from standby is instant? The old Intel architecture has really many issues.
 
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