Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
True, but for me, I would have never even considered a Mac if they were still on Intel. I only finally considered a Mac after loving my iPad Pro and how much more responsive it was than even my desktop Windows machine. A lot of folks jumped to the Mac solely because of the M1
My windows laptop is just as responsive as my M2 MacBook Air these days.

Of course it depends what you’re doing and the exact spec of the machine… but for most tasks both OS are super response on the latest tech.
 
  • Like
Reactions: eltoslightfoot
My windows laptop is just as responsive as my M2 MacBook Air these days.

Of course it depends what you’re doing and the exact spec of the machine… but for most tasks both OS are super response on the latest tech.

For some reason at work Windows laptops always end up slowing down before we notice the same in Macs.
The best experience we've had so far in Windows is with Microsoft Surface laptops, but they are more expensive than MBA, so we've started changing users to Macs lately. This M1 deals of late have been amazing deals.
 
  • Like
Reactions: eltoslightfoot
Apple selling a fraction of the units of the big pc makers has been a constant for like 40 years.
Yep. But my point was that the M1 series gave the Mac a big advantage. I only switched to a Mac because of the M1 as Intel chips were terrible on a Mac or otherwise and the M1 gave Apple an advantage that has now been lost. There was finally a reason to buy a Mac over a Windows machine. Hopefully Apple can keep innovating and continue to produce a viable alternative to Windows.
 
For some reason at work Windows laptops always end up slowing down before we notice the same in Macs.
The best experience we've had so far in Windows is with Microsoft Surface laptops, but they are more expensive than MBA, so we've started changing users to Macs lately. This M1 deals of late have been amazing deals.
Sounds like a specific software problem with something you’re using at work. Surface laptops generally come without any crappy extra software that many other manufactures load onto their devices.. and beware many big corporations allow software/hardware vendors load a load of highly unoptimized security and auditing crap onto laptops that is worse than viruses and the like.

The same software is not usually available for Mac and so that might explain that situation.

I suspect your issue regarding windows laptops has nothing to do with windows at all.. but other extra software loaded onto it either by the computer vendor or your companies IT department.
 
Windows 11 - the best argument to buy a Ma

Have you noticed that the Apple silicon laptops have a better battery life, too? Mine sure does!
Windows becomes more like OSX and the surface laptops = MacBooks without the logo and better specs on many fronts. Business will choose Microsoft for certain because Apple has always been a pain in the ass for ict workers. Now that the battery improvements are there for the ms laptops running Qualcomm xelite with better specs and easier to integrate. Apple will be a hard sell. Even for consumers.
 
Are there any one that is even competing? Maybe I am out of the loop but last I heard its mostly Apple or Lenovo.

btw, shoutout to https://frame.work/ that makes you build modular laptops that you can fix. Not sure about build quality as I have never purchased one.
 
People don't yet care about on-device AI, but they will. Having to get to the cloud every time you want to use ChatGPT is expected, and no big deal. Having to get to the cloud every time you want to use OS-level AI features will be ridiculously slow. Apple has figured out a three part structure so using AI will "just work" on device for nearly all AI tasks, and that requires some very thoughtful integration between hardware and AI OS software development. It looks like Apple has been working on this for years, and is way ahead of both Microsoft (Windows) and Google (Android). I haven't even mentioned the privacy benefits of Apple's AI systems, which I really do care about, and think many, many others will as well (e.g. even Microsoft is now requiring iPhones over Android for its China employees).
 
Windows becomes more like OSX and the surface laptops = MacBooks without the logo and better specs on many fronts. Business will choose Microsoft for certain because Apple has always been a pain in the ass for ict workers. Now that the battery improvements are there for the ms laptops running Qualcomm xelite with better specs and easier to integrate. Apple will be a hard sell. Even for consumers.
That's an observation. Windows for business, Apple for consumers. Always been that way, always will be that way. Both are called "mature" tech stocks, now behaving like the traditional railroad, consumer essentials, automakers, and durable goods. Apple isn't a hard sell, and a $3 trillion market capitalization proves that. Numbers don't lie.
 
Sounds like a specific software problem with something you’re using at work. Surface laptops generally come without any crappy extra software that many other manufactures load onto their devices.. and beware many big corporations allow software/hardware vendors load a load of highly unoptimized security and auditing crap onto laptops that is worse than viruses and the like.

The same software is not usually available for Mac and so that might explain that situation.

I suspect your issue regarding windows laptops has nothing to do with windows at all.. but other extra software loaded onto it either by the computer vendor or your companies IT department.
You are correct. We do have a good experience with Microsoft Surface laptops. But I believe the fan less design of the MBA and Apple Silicon outperform the current design of Microsoft.

I have a feeling that this design that will keep dust out of the insides of the laptop, has the great possibility of offering MBA a lifespan like those of iPads.
 
True to a point. It seems most people here want on device processing instead of having to use something like the ChatGPT integration (which calls to a server). You want on device then you need to beef up all your specs... cpu, ram, storage, gpu, battery performance.
Most people here are not "the general public". the indifferent, passive public do not join forums and post replies about tech like we do here. They still call the watch iWatch and their iPhone the i15. Their devices are appliances to them and they care as much about how the AI works as they care about which R version their refrigerator uses or what the compression ratio is of their car engine. The device does what they want it to when they press the right icon is about all they care about.
 
Windows becomes more like OSX and the surface laptops = MacBooks without the logo and better specs on many fronts. Business will choose Microsoft for certain because Apple has always been a pain in the ass for ict workers. Now that the battery improvements are there for the ms laptops running Qualcomm xelite with better specs and easier to integrate. Apple will be a hard sell. Even for consumers.
image.thumb.jpeg.bf40104317b48159efc974e727292ed2.jpeg


The Mac has been on the rise for a while-- don't think Apple silicon was the cause, even if it created a notable bump.
 
I got a 14-inch M3 Pro Macbook Pro a couple of weeks ago and it's the best computer I've ever had. I mean every new computer is the best ever, but the leap compared to my 15 inch Intel MBP… the battery life is astonishing. And I downsized!
My same reaction when I bought the 13 inch M1 in 2020. I came from a 2015 i7 15 inch MBP. I work in video, and the i7 would stutter with 4K footage out of some cameras in Adobe Premiere Pro. The fans would always kick on even when you were not rendering footage.

Then the M1 sliced through all of it like butter, the fans only come on during an extended render, and the battery life as you said - was just amazing. Unbelievable. I intend to hold on to this computer under AppleCare until Apple refuses to support it, then just get whatever M-series laptop they have available at the time and repeat for the next 8-10 years.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dannyyankou
Are there any one that is even competing? Maybe I am out of the loop but last I heard its mostly Apple or Lenovo.

btw, shoutout to https://frame.work/ that makes you build modular laptops that you can fix. Not sure about build quality as I have never purchased one.
Love the Framework concept but they are making laptops with a worse display resolution than my 2019 Intel MacBook Pro, let alone the gorgeous displays on the new M3 Pros…It has a lot of potential and I really hope it gets better though.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MacBH928
I believe the Macbook Airs have been a huge hit.
Not only are they amazing computers, they actually are a great value.
It’s hard to recommend them with 8 GB RAM unless for very basic tasks like the type of stuff I can do with my iMac from a decade ago. We’re heading to a world where that’s not going to be enough anymore, especially with the on-device machine learning. Reminds me of 4 GB in 2012 or so.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 9081094
Are there any one that is even competing? Maybe I am out of the loop but last I heard its mostly Apple or Lenovo.

Competing in what sense? According to the IDC data, the top selling PCs globally right now are (in order): Lenovo, HP, Dell, Apple, and Acer Group.
 
My windows laptop is just as responsive as my M2 MacBook Air these days.

Of course it depends what you’re doing and the exact spec of the machine… but for most tasks both OS are super response on the latest tech.
I grew up on Windows machines and they have always sucked. There was never a time I didn't curse my Windows machine with a "this (bleep)ing thing sucks". Thankfully Apple was able to take the risk and move away from Intel now we have more choices, which is great for the consumer. My M1 Max Studio is the first desktop computer I have actually loved. Sure, I still require a Windows Intel machine for rendering with an Nvidia card, but we are getting there. Hopefully, soon we will get Nvidia graphic cards for Windows machines and we can be completely rid of Intel machines.

As we saw with Intel and now with Google search, monopolies are bad for a whole lot of reasons, lack of choice and complacency. These companies stopped trying and didn't care anymore, which luckily for us, this apathy opened up an opportunity for someone else. Now both Apple and Windows machines have decent chips running their laptops. Everybody wins.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: eltoslightfoot
I grew up on Windows machines and they have always sucked. There was never a time I didn't curse my Windows machine with a "this (bleep)ing thing sucks". Thankfully Apple was able to take the risk and move away from Intel now we have more choices, which is great for the consumer. My M1 Max Studio is the first desktop computer I have actually loved. Sure, I still require a Windows Intel machine for rendering with an Nvidia card, but we are getting there. Hopefully, soon we will get Nvidia graphic cards for Windows machines and we can be completely rid of Intel machines.

As we saw with Intel and now with Google search, monopolies are bad for a whole lot of reasons, lack of choice and complacency. These companies stopped trying and didn't care anymore, which luckily for us, this apathy opened up an opportunity for someone else. Now both Apple and Windows machines have decent chips running their laptops. Everybody wins.
There is nothing wrong with intel processors. Apple actually transitioned to them way back in 2006 or so precisely because they were so much better than the prior architecture they had used.

In my experience Macs pre intel were slow and unresponsive at times. I think your recollection of all tech in the past isn’t 100 percent.
 
There is nothing wrong with intel processors. Apple actually transitioned to them way back in 2006 or so precisely because they were so much better than the prior architecture they had used.

In my experience Macs pre intel were slow and unresponsive at times. I think your recollection of all tech in the past isn’t 100 percent.
I know what you are saying and owned one of the first intel macbook pros (I think it was 2008?), but those intel macs by the late teens (say 2017 to 2020) were pretty bad. Really hot, throttled almost immediately, loud fans...not good.

Intel is only now innovating with chiplets and the like. What nanometer are they currently at? 10? It hasn't been good over there, although I like their current CEO.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fuzzball84
There is nothing wrong with intel processors. Apple actually transitioned to them way back in 2006 or so precisely because they were so much better than the prior architecture they had used.

In my experience Macs pre intel were slow and unresponsive at times. I think your recollection of all tech in the past isn’t 100 percent.
This isn't a Mac vs Windows thing. This is about a monopoly that didn't care anymore because it had no competition thing. Windows machines were something we all had to use because there was really no choice. Both Windows and Macs were using the same components because that's what was available. It was a seemingly immovable situation where everyone was stuck on Intel. The economics didn't work for anyone to even try and rock that boat. I am just glad that Intel, on their own, through complacency and thinking they had it in the bag forever blew it, and Apple was there to say F this, we're out. Windows would have never moved from Intel and we would be stuck with Intel garbage for possibly ever. A lot of things had to happen for this monumental change to happen. Apple had to around with deep iPhone pockets for this to happen. We would have been stuck with computers that sucked if it wasn't for Apple spending the money on ARM development. With Apple silicon, and now with Qualcomm, computers do not have to suck as much anymore. Thank you, Apple.
 
It’s hard to recommend them with 8 GB RAM unless for very basic tasks like the type of stuff I can do with my iMac from a decade ago. We’re heading to a world where that’s not going to be enough anymore, especially with the on-device machine learning. Reminds me of 4 GB in 2012 or so.

Why do we need so much RAM these days? unless you work in video and computer graphics, literally we are just using same apps from 20 years ago. I had an iMac that came with 256MB I upgraded to 768MB it did:

Adobe Flash, Photoshop, iMovie, Web Browser, Microsoft Office, Email, and even 3D games no issue. I find it funny today when I hear a linux distribution is minimal it only needs 1GB RAM. I had a full fledge computer using less than that.

Competing in what sense? According to the IDC data, the top selling PCs globally right now are (in order): Lenovo, HP, Dell, Apple, and Acer Group.

I mean I do not see any advancement or recommendations. Again I am out of the loop. I hardly hear any one aim for a Dell or HP. Its basically Lenovo for work or Apple users. There was the Microsoft surface last i remember.
 
Intel is only now innovating with chiplets and the like. What nanometer are they currently at? 10? It hasn't been good over there, although I like their current CEO.

Have you seen the stuff they're up to lately? An entire new graphics architecture, leveraging TSMC's N3B manufacturing, dropping hyperthreading to simultaneously improve performance and efficiency, adopting on-package memory for reduced latency, etc etc.

Intel is pulling out all the stops to put up a fight against AMD and ARM alternatives. Innovation doesn't look the same everywhere.
 
Have you seen the stuff they're up to lately? An entire new graphics architecture, leveraging TSMC's N3B manufacturing, dropping hyperthreading to simultaneously improve performance and efficiency, adopting on-package memory for reduced latency, etc etc.

Intel is pulling out all the stops to put up a fight against AMD and ARM alternatives. Innovation doesn't look the same everywhere.
I’m glad they’re moving along, but it is funny to see their answer is to adopt as much ARM-like technology (dropping of HT is hilarious) as x86 can allow 🤷‍♂️

Where is the outrage that Intel is now going with non-upgradable RAM? How did they get in on the “Apple tax” format? 😉
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.