ARM rushed to fulfill "by end of year" ?

[LonestarOne]

On top of that, slick marketing not giving us any numbers on specs really, only using 2X, 3X, 6X performing of old intel CPUs and old intel integrated graphics?

The face that a MacBook Air can now do a ProRes transcode 3.9x as fast and export Lightroom photos 2.3x as fast is far more significant than those so-called “real specs”.

Knowing how many horsepower your automobile engine puts out tells you nothing about how well it can carry groceries from the local supermarket. Bragging rights do not equal utility.

 

[AppleFeller]

People really skeptical on M1 performance...anandtech posted their A14 analysis today and well the little chip in a 5 watt thermal envelope is outperforming and keeping pace with TigerLake and Zen 3. Hilarious considering we haven't even seen the high end M chips yet, the M1 is a reworked A14X and its still a monster sipping battery with the graciousness of a princess at a tea party.

 

[jav6454]

Yes, but it doesn't look like we can even compare 2 bits (or 3) of the same, new thing. There's so much "Star Trekking" of the numbers (abstracting everything to just multiples and percentages) that it's really tough to even know how each M1 model compares to the others. For example, 8 GPU cores in the "better" config doesn't seem like much improvement over the 7-core GPU "good" config, so is it really just 1/7 or 14% faster on GPU tasks only? Or is there more to it? How do they compare in real-world performance? And is the 8/8 MacBook Air config running at the same base or boost frequency as the 8/8 MacBook Pro config that has a fan? I realize and understand it's a totally new architecture, but it wouldn't hurt to have some concrete #s to refer to and compare...

Obviously an extra GPU core will count in certain cases. As per the whole fan or fanless design, obviously the Air will perform less as peak performance can't be maintained due to thermals. It's logical.

Right now, what we have is two different M1s (7 or 8 core GPU). How well will they perform we will only finally know until we have them on hand. I for one think the MBA will perform less overall than a MBP due to the fan.

 

[ght56]

I don't think it was rushed but this timing is clearly intentional as it makes the most sense and the products they chose to launch also make a lot of sense.

But launching your product in a way to maximize its success doesn't automatically make it rushed!

 

[Serban55]

It is better this way...why? because the return policy is even better, from now until January is better than if Apple release these next month

 

[LonestarOne]

I don't think it was rushed but this timing is clearly intentional as it makes the most sense and the products they chose to launch also make a lot of sense.

But launching your product in a way to maximize its success doesn't automatically make it rushed!

Was it Steve Jobs or Guy Kawasaki who said “Real CEOs ship products”?

 

[pmiles]

I think it's not so much a "rushed" feeling as much as it didn't really pack a big punch. Apple Silicon has been touted as the second coming... and their first model is, well, akin to the Volkswagen Rabbit. Where is this Ferrari they've been touting? The machine that is supposed to make the PC world stop and take notice? This isn't it.

They have still yet to sell me on AS... so far it's still just an extension of iOS. Again, it's how this GPU of theirs is going to compete with the likes of AMD and nVidia. Right now, it's best in it's class because it's the only one in it's class. Can't fail there.

They needed their first introduction to be something other than a hybrid iPad offering... to show the world that yes, this CAN be a workstation class chip architecture. Right now, they only prove it works for mobile... which they basically already proved with the iPad.

They really didn't need to do the "One more thing"... because they really didn't have the "One more thing" yet. People would have rather waited for something big than get something that feels more like a refresh. These devices took away just as much as they claim to have given you. Maybe they can't power the same number of ports of the previous generation?

They really didn't get off on the right foot.

 

[Serban55]

I think it's not so much a "rushed" feeling as much as it didn't really pack a big punch. Apple Silicon has been touted as the second coming... and their first model is, well, akin to the Volkswagen Rabbit. Where is this Ferrari they've been touting? The machine that is supposed to make the PC world stop and take notice? This isn't it.

They have still yet to sell me on AS... so far it's still just an extension of iOS. Again, it's how this GPU of theirs is going to compete with the likes of AMD and nVidia. Right now, it's best in it's class because it's the only one in it's class. Can't fail there.

They needed their first introduction to be something other than a hybrid iPad offering... to show the world that yes, this CAN be a workstation class chip architecture. Right now, they only prove it works for mobile... which they basically already proved with the iPad.

They really didn't need to do the "One more thing"... because they really didn't have the "One more thing" yet. People would have rather waited for something big than get something that feels more like a refresh. These devices took away just as much as they claim to have given you. Maybe they can't power the same number of ports of the previous generation?

They really didn't get off on the right foot.

When you see what an entry level mac can do with M1....that is exactly what the others will understand
You dont start with the opposite like Mac Pro, you start with your profit devices. It is a marketing briliant decision
Not to mention the fact that they kept the same design for 2 reasons:
1)for users and tech reviewers to compare apple to apple the 2020 Macbook air with the M1 macbook air
2) not to risk an first redesign mac that can bring so many issues (see 2016 macbook pro fiasco) and make your entrance a big shame. You go for a secure chassis that works with no issues
Next year will be the risk macs like the 24" imac redesign and so on

M1 can support up to only 2 thunderbolt/usb 4 ports...thats why the M1 is for macbook air that also until now had 2 ports and for the entry Mbp 13" that also had until now only 2 ports

I suggest to read this ,since we dont have the time to explain why this is a huge leap that normal consumers cannot understand

Apple Announces The Apple Silicon M1: Ditching x86 - What to Expect, Based on A14

www.anandtech.com

 

[MalcolmH]

Right, but my point is, we get very little to go on here. It MAY just be 1/7 incrementally faster, OR that 8th core may unlock space-time portals for all we know.

Apple didn’t quote clock speeds for the M1, but my guess is that the ones in the Air are clocked lower anyway.