I have returned my M1 Mac mini and here is why

[Aoligei]

I took advantage of Apple's holiday return policy to try M1 Mac mini, because I am unsure about M1 chip. But at this point, we all know M1 is very powerful. For less price, you get a Mac mini that reveals much higher priced Intel Mac mini. So it is a good buy and I am happy with M1 Mac mini.

But why I decided to return M1 Mac mini?

Well, I already have a 2018 Core i5 Mac mini. So I really don't need other Mac mini.

Secondly and most importantly: I am not sure about future of Apple silicon based Macs. As we all know, Apple controls everything about their hardware, software. In one hand, it is provide excellent experience that no one else able to match. But in other hand, it is Apple get decided when your hardware become obsolete. We all know when Apple decide retire your old iPhone, you are stuck with old OS. The most recent victim is iPhone 6. But that is OK, people change their phone every few years. And when Apple decided no longer sign iOS ipsw files, you have no point of return.

I do not want that for Mac. Although at current stage, Apple allows you to install unsigned macOS ipsw files, who will know when Apple decides to otherwise. I want the ability to install old OS because I might have some software that can't run on new version. My 512GB Core i5 Mac mini has both Catalina and Big Sur installed.

Second: we all know ARM is different with x86. Apple is never been known as open in terms of their hardware design. I am not sure that alternative operating system will be available. With Intel Mac, I can run Windows, Linux. I am planning to migrate to Linux on my 2011 Mac mini when Apple no longer support Catalina. The ability to run alternative operating system is very important to me. I am sure it is important for lots of people. So when Apple decided to pull the plug for your expensive machine, you have most updated alternative OS to run.

I am sure Apple silicon based Mac will be fantastic and powerful. But to me, it is still too early for me to know everything. We don't know how long will Apple support ARM based Macs, we don't know if Apple would decided disallow unsigned version of macOS , we don't know if there are alternative OS will available in the future.

Therefore, I have decided to Apple silicon based Mac in mind, but in the meantime, I will use my Intel Mac and pocket the money for now.

 

[Colstan]

I understand your reasoning, but I am a bit more optimistic about Apple Silicon Macs, it's just not the right time for me to upgrade. I've got a base model 2018 Mac mini that I purchased as a "stopgap" two years ago to replace a 2011 model, because the rumors of ARM Macs were strong. I don't regret that decision. In the past six months I've added a Blackmagic RX 580 eGPU and upgraded to 64GB of system memory. That should last me plenty long enough until I feel that both the hardware and software ecosystem for Apple Silicon has matured enough.

While healthy sceptisismn is warranted, I've been impressed by the initial M1 Macs. Once Apple has finished the transition in rougly two years, I'll decide then what to do. Currently, based upon the latest rumors from reliable sources, I'm thinking of upgrading to the consumer focused monitor that Apple is allegedly developing paired with whatever high-end Mac mini is available in that time frame that will replace the Intel version. I don't mind waiting a few years for releases to sync up.

That's my current line of thinking, but I don't blame you at all for waiting. I have a few apps that function better with x86 and prefer to use Mojave for the next year. So, your thinking is somewhat aligned with mine. I don't have a need for alternative operating systems, there's a good chance they will only be able to run in a virtual machine, but that's not absolutely certain. While the Apple Silicon Macs may reduce some flexibility, I think in the long run, it will be worth it. I'll likely upgrade in the next two or three years, but it's good to keep your options open.

 

[bingeciren]

I am planning to migrate to Linux on my 2011 Mac mini when Apple no longer support Catalina.

Why migrate to Linux when you can continue to stay with the High Sierra. I have a 2011 Mini that runs on a patched Mojave very nicely. Although I can even run a patched Catalina and beyond on that machine, I have no intensions to do so because I do not want to lose 32bit support.

I have Linux machines for various purposes but no Linux comes close to any version of macOS for the availability of Apps and hardware support like printers and scanners. Linux requires a lot of work to make things run which is a no issue on other operating systems.

 

[cwerdna]

With Intel Mac, I can run Windows, Linux. I am planning to migrate to Linux on my 2011 Mac mini when Apple no longer support Catalina.

You can always buy or put together a PC for Windows and/or Linux.

We don't know how long will Apple support ARM based Macs,

They will support them for a LOT longer than your Intel-based based Mac Mini.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Sounds to me like you bought the M1 mini on a whim knowing you didn't need it and were content with what you had. It is a good thing you returned it because you wouldn't have been happy. And what you said about upgrading is not really practical. for old devices. Apple does a great job of continue to upgrade device. There comes a time when older hardware cannot keep up and it would be detrimental from a user experience point of view, for Apple to upgrade the software on an old device. You have unrealistic expectations.

 

[Aoligei]

Sounds to me like you bought the M1 mini on a whim knowing you didn't need it and were content with what you had. It is a good thing you returned it because you wouldn't have been happy. And what you said about upgrading is not really practical. for old devices. Apple does a great job of continue to upgrade device. There comes a time when older hardware cannot keep up and it would be detrimental from a user experience point of view, for Apple to upgrade the software on an old device. You have unrealistic expectations.

I get that Apple does good job on providing software update. But the track record has yet been established with ARM based Mac.

I also get there is a point that software update no longer makes sense for old hardware. But that is what I want for alternative software.

For example, I am still able to run the most up to date Linux distributions on my almost 14 years old Acer laptop with Intel Core Duo processor (this is 32 bit processor) and I am able to keep this machine and use it from time to time.

This is my concern about Apple Silicon based Macs. Apple typically provide software update for iOS devices 5-6 years of software support. This is low for computers. Heck, Windows 10 runs fine on 10 years old Mac mini. We simply do not know how many years of support for Apple Silicon based Mac.

 

[ashman70]

I understand your points, IMO we are definitely entering uncharted territory with respect the the new silicone macs. My view is that Apple will at least maintain the same lifespan for the their own silicone based machines if not extend it. To me that means that I should get at least 8 years of being able to run the most recent macOS which is fine by me. Comparing Apple's rate of hardware deprecation to the iPhone is not reasonable as they tend to deprecate them a little faster than their mac computers. I see no believe that Apple has a long term plan for these new silicone based macs and we will be looked after, perhaps I am a little too optimistic but their track record speaks for itself.

 

[Osamede]

I took advantage of Apple's holiday return policy to try M1 Mac mini, because I am unsure about M1 chip. But at this point, we all know M1 is very powerful. For less price, you get a Mac mini that reveals much higher priced Intel Mac mini. So it is a good buy and I am happy with M1 Mac mini.

But why I decided to return M1 Mac mini?

Well, I already have a 2018 Core i5 Mac mini. So I really don't need other Mac mini.

Secondly and most importantly: I am not sure about future of Apple silicon based Macs. As we all know, Apple controls everything about their hardware, software. In one hand, it is provide excellent experience that no one else able to match. But in other hand, it is Apple get decided when your hardware become obsolete. We all know when Apple decide retire your old iPhone, you are stuck with old OS. The most recent victim is iPhone 6. But that is OK, people change their phone every few years. And when Apple decided no longer sign iOS ipsw files, you have no point of return.

I do not want that for Mac. Although at current stage, Apple allows you to install unsigned macOS ipsw files, who will know when Apple decides to otherwise. I want the ability to install old OS because I might have some software that can't run on new version. My 512GB Core i5 Mac mini has both Catalina and Big Sur installed.

Second: we all know ARM is different with x86. Apple is never been known as open in terms of their hardware design. I am not sure that alternative operating system will be available. With Intel Mac, I can run Windows, Linux. I am planning to migrate to Linux on my 2011 Mac mini when Apple no longer support Catalina. The ability to run alternative operating system is very important to me. I am sure it is important for lots of people. So when Apple decided to pull the plug for your expensive machine, you have most updated alternative OS to run.

I am sure Apple silicon based Mac will be fantastic and powerful. But to me, it is still too early for me to know everything. We don't know how long will Apple support ARM based Macs, we don't know if Apple would decided disallow unsigned version of macOS , we don't know if there are alternative OS will available in the future.

Therefore, I have decided to Apple silicon based Mac in mind, but in the meantime, I will use my Intel Mac and pocket the money for now.

If you had a 2018 Nac Mini you of course did not need an M1 Mac mini.

That’s the only reason needed. You could have put it in the thread headlines and saved us reading the schpiel...

 

[Aoligei]

If you had a 2018 Nac Mini you of course did not need an M1 Mac mini.

That’s the only reason needed. You could have put it in the thread headlines and saved us reading the schpiel...

it is not up to you to decide if I need M1 Mac mini or not. There are bunch of folks here have both 2018 Mac mini and M1 Mini.

 

[Alan Wynn]

For example, I am still able to run the most up to date Linux distributions on my almost 14 years old Acer laptop with Intel Core Duo processor (this is 32 bit processor) and I am able to keep this machine and use it from time to time.

I can answer your question now. There is no way that Apple will be supporting the current OS on an M1 Mac mini in 14 years. If that is a concern of yours, I would get used to some other operating system quickly. Apple is likely to support Apple Silicon Macs as they do with their current Macintosh systems 5 to 9 years. Unfortunately, if you wanted to know how long it will really be, you would have to wait until the made the first system obsolete. This is not happening for at least 5 years, so you would not be able to buy a machine for at least 5 years, or 3 years after the last possible Intel machine ships. I will predict that many third party applications will stop being updated for Intel well before that.

 

[Aoligei]

I can answer your question now. There is no way that Apple will be supporting the current OS on an M1 Mac mini in 14 years. If that is a concern of yours, I would get used to some other operating system quickly. Apple is likely to support Apple Silicon Macs as they do with their current Macintosh systems 5 to 9 years. Unfortunately, if you wanted to know how long it will really be, you would have to wait until the made the first system obsolete. This is not happening for at least 5 years, so you would not be able to buy a machine for at least 5 years, or 3 years after the last possible Intel machine ships. I will predict that many third party applications will stop being updated for Intel well before that.

if anything, the recent Linux developments is encouraging. Maybe there will be Linux district that will run on Apple Silicon chip.

But since it is ARM and Apple can technically change anything on their chip, I don’t know how well Linux will adapt with each chip update.

I would wait until at least a functional Linux distribution.

The only way to get obsolete Mac second life is either put Windows or Linux. I would rather do that than trash obsolete Mac

 

[nothingtoseehere]

if anything, the recent Linux developments is encouraging. Maybe there will be Linux district that will run on Apple Silicon chip.

But since it is ARM and Apple can technically change anything on their chip, I don’t know how well Linux will adapt with each chip update.

I would wait until at least a functional Linux distribution.

The only way to get obsolete Mac second life is either put Windows or Linux. I would rather do that than trash obsolete Mac

As far as I understand the Asahi project (looking at marcan on YouTube doing things, have no clue whatsoever), if there will be a Linux distro, it will work for the very machine it had been made. So if we will have our old M1 Macs and there is Linux for exactly that machine, everything should be fine.
Of course, your point to wait for a functional Linux is clear. Especially as you have a rather new Mac. I got a Mac mini M1 which is great but I kept my MBP early 2015...

 

[Aoligei]

As far as I understand the Asahi project (looking at marcan on YouTube doing things, have no clue whatsoever), if there will be a Linux distro, it will work for the very machine it had been made. So if we will have our old M1 Macs and there is Linux for exactly that machine, everything should be fine.
Of course, your point to wait for a functional Linux is clear. Especially as you have a rather new Mac. I got a Mac mini M1 which is great but I kept my MBP early 2015...

Technically yes. Getting Linux working could be tricky.

I mean x86 only has two manufacturers and pretty similar. But ARM is world different.

I don’t know if Microsoft would pull this off, making ARM’ed Windows working for Apple Silicon.

I would rather wait at this point. I just made Core i7 Hackintosh about half years ago. I can afford to wait two- three years time.

I don’t know if Apple would ever plan support tiger lake processor, I guess comet lake would be the last one. This is kind sad, if I want keep wait, my only option is upgrading to comet lake next year. CPU, motherboard shortage is not helping either.

 

[iluvmacs99]

I took advantage of Apple's holiday return policy to try M1 Mac mini, because I am unsure about M1 chip. But at this point, we all know M1 is very powerful. For less price, you get a Mac mini that reveals much higher priced Intel Mac mini. So it is a good buy and I am happy with M1 Mac mini.

But why I decided to return M1 Mac mini?

Well, I already have a 2018 Core i5 Mac mini. So I really don't need other Mac mini.

Secondly and most importantly: I am not sure about future of Apple silicon based Macs. As we all know, Apple controls everything about their hardware, software. In one hand, it is provide excellent experience that no one else able to match. But in other hand, it is Apple get decided when your hardware become obsolete. We all know when Apple decide retire your old iPhone, you are stuck with old OS. The most recent victim is iPhone 6. But that is OK, people change their phone every few years. And when Apple decided no longer sign iOS ipsw files, you have no point of return.

I do not want that for Mac. Although at current stage, Apple allows you to install unsigned macOS ipsw files, who will know when Apple decides to otherwise. I want the ability to install old OS because I might have some software that can't run on new version. My 512GB Core i5 Mac mini has both Catalina and Big Sur installed.

Second: we all know ARM is different with x86. Apple is never been known as open in terms of their hardware design. I am not sure that alternative operating system will be available. With Intel Mac, I can run Windows, Linux. I am planning to migrate to Linux on my 2011 Mac mini when Apple no longer support Catalina. The ability to run alternative operating system is very important to me. I am sure it is important for lots of people. So when Apple decided to pull the plug for your expensive machine, you have most updated alternative OS to run.

I am sure Apple silicon based Mac will be fantastic and powerful. But to me, it is still too early for me to know everything. We don't know how long will Apple support ARM based Macs, we don't know if Apple would decided disallow unsigned version of macOS , we don't know if there are alternative OS will available in the future.

Therefore, I have decided to Apple silicon based Mac in mind, but in the meantime, I will use my Intel Mac and pocket the money for now.

For me, I'll wait it out and see what can the M1 truly bring software wise in the coming future. Between my Mac Pro and my Win10 Gaming PC, there is really nothing that both of these machines can not handle with my most modern software. My Mini is running Sierra to keep compatibility with older 32bit apps as well as server duties and most of the software I use like AI imaging and video processing and editing haven't truly leveraged the full M1 chip just yet. Perhaps more revolutionary software might come due the pipeline in the near future, but it's not here yet. Making it native is nice, but I'm looking for something that transcend my current software setup, not just it's faster by a number of seconds. I suspect that many of us are just on the sidelines for now and are happy with the current Intel Macs as they are fast enough for what we do.

 

[mini5apple]

TBH i wish i never bothered buying a mac mini had nothing but trouble with it

 

[pldelisle]

TBH i wish i never bothered buying a mac mini had nothing but trouble with it

Such a constructive comment.

 

[Alan Wynn]

TBH i wish i never bothered buying a mac mini had nothing but trouble with it

Which Mac mini did you buy? What configuration? What problems have you had? What application software do you use?

 

[understudyhero]

I made the G4/G5/Intel jumps on both laptop and desktop.
I went from G5 towers to Mac Pros.
I know you think you're holding on to power but you are not. It's like losing OS9 compatibility, it's like when the PS3 quit being backwards compatible to the PS2 etc.... Time moves on, drop the cruft and go ARM. Apple is with or without you.

The M1 chip in the base model Mac mini is heads and shoulders above everything in your list of machines, I should know because I have the M1 Mac mini and the M1 MacBook Air now to replace a 2017 i7 MacBook Pro and a 2013 Mac Pro and is used in conjunction with a fully loaded 2018 Mac mini i7.

Literally every single thing on the m1 machines is better with the exception of Davinci Resolve (since my Intel Mac mini has 64gb of RAM and a RX580 EGPU).

If you need x86 VMs or EGPU, you stay on intel for now. All other cases should absolutely go M1.

 

[Aoligei]

I made the G4/G5/Intel jumps on both laptop and desktop.
I went from G5 towers to Mac Pros.
I know you think you're holding on to power but you are not. It's like losing OS9 compatibility, it's like when the PS3 quit being backwards compatible to the PS2 etc.... Time moves on, drop the cruft and go ARM. Apple is with or without you.

The M1 chip in the base model Mac mini is heads and shoulders above everything in your list of machines, I should know because I have the M1 Mac mini and the M1 MacBook Air now to replace a 2017 i7 MacBook Pro and a 2013 Mac Pro and is used in conjunction with a fully loaded 2018 Mac mini i7.

Literally every single thing on the m1 machines is better with the exception of Davinci Resolve (since my Intel Mac mini has 64gb of RAM and a RX580 EGPU).

If you need x86 VMs or EGPU, you stay on intel for now. All other cases should absolutely go M1.

I have never doubt about M1's performance, it is great and it is better than most Intel based Mac.

But I have my reservations on Apple Silicon Macs. From how tight of control that Apple willing to put on these Macs, will Apple lock down Mac as they do on iOS devices. How long will Apple support M1 Macs, will there will be patcher (like Catalina patcher or Big Sur Patcher) available once Apple render these machine obsolete, will there be alternative operating system available for Apple Silicon Macs... There are lots of unknowns for me and I am willing to wait.

One more thing, I dislike the way Apple soldiers everything now days. I disliked how Apple disallowed storage upgrade on 2018 Mac mini and I liked how Apple allowed RAM upgrade on 2018 Mac mini. Everything, from MacBooks to Mac mini, from iMacs to Mac Pro would almost guarantee no future upgrade.

The RAM is built into Apple Silicons now and due to size limit, Apple can only fit 16GB RAM for now. How well will Apple adopt in the future, I do not know. How well does Apple Silicon capable handle PCI-E Gen. 4 Specifications, i.e. how many PCI-E devices can be added? Will Apple Silicon capable to offer more than 2 thunderbolt ports?

I have 9th Coffee Lake Core i7 Hackintosh with 16GB RAM (upgradeable to 32 if I choose), 1TB NVME drive with 4TB Hard drives x2., AMD RX 580 Graphic card. I can upgrade everything here, if I choose to.

I also have Core i3 Comet Lake based Hackintosh with 16GB RAM, 500GB NVME with 4TB Hard drive as it connects to my TV for entertainment purpose.

Heck for fun, I even built cheap ass AMD based Hackintosh (Ryzen 3 2200GB, 8GB RAM, 128GB NVME Drive with Nvidia 710GT)

You know why I build Hackintosh? Because Apple won't offer any kind of Mac that is reasonably priced with upgradability. Mac Pro, it is way to over kill for most people and way to expensive for most of people.

Like I said, I will can wait I have plenty of Macs or Hackintosh for me for next few years. If I need more power, I can always upgrade my mackintosh

 

[LaLuce75]

i also had the concern what to do after support of the first M1 Mac Mini ends, will there be a possibility to run anything on the machine we do not know yet if Microsoft will allow their ARM based version of Windows to run on M1. i opted to go for it because i used my imac mid 2011 until november 2020 where the support for High Sierra ended and my late 2013 macbook pro is running Big Sur and even if no updates will be there the OS will be supported until 2023. even if in 5 years i will not be able to update to the next OS support is given for 2 more years.
i reserve 25 Euro per month so i will have a budget of 1500 in 5 years to spend on my next new machine and move on and i simply was way to curious to test the new M1 for myself after all i heard about it to see how it fit in my workflow and i am not returning it

 

[Aoligei]

i also had the concern what to do after support of the first M1 Mac Mini ends, will there be a possibility to run anything on the machine we do not know yet if Microsoft will allow their ARM based version of Windows to run on M1. i opted to go for it because i used my imac mid 2011 until november 2020 where the support for High Sierra ended and my late 2013 macbook pro is running Big Sur and even if no updates will be there the OS will be supported until 2023. even if in 5 years i will not be able to update to the next OS support is given for 2 more years.
i reserve 25 Euro per month so i will have a budget of 1500 in 5 years to spend on my next new machine and move on and i simply was way to curious to test the new M1 for myself after all i heard about it to see how it fit in my workflow and i am not returning it

That is great. I am happy it worked for you.

For me, i can wait and see.

Apple really need offer something that is upgradable for reasonable amount of money.

For now, I can hang on my Hackintosh, but I don’t know how long this whole Hackintosh thing will be over.

 

[Alan Wynn]

I have never doubt about M1's performance, it is great and it is better than most Intel based Mac.

The next ones will likely be better than anything from Intel or AMD.

But I have my reservations on Apple Silicon Macs. From how tight of control that Apple willing to put on these Macs, will Apple lock down Mac as they do on iOS devices.

If you mean prevent one from installing open source software or software not from the Mac App Store, the answer is no. There is nothing about the Apple Silicon that makes that easier or more likely than on any system with a T2.

How long will Apple support M1 Macs, will there will be patcher (like Catalina patcher or Big Sur Patcher) available once Apple render these machine obsolete, will there be alternative operating system available for Apple Silicon Macs...

If you are waiting for the answers to those questions, you will be waiting a long time 5 - 7 years.

There are lots of unknowns for me and I am willing to wait.

For how long? When will you know if you have the answers? Given that one of your concerns is Apple making a change to how software gets installed, and that people have been saying that Apple will prevent non-Mac App Store software for years, you do understand that you will never really know the answer. If they do not do in this year, they might do it next year or the year after or the one after that.

One more thing, I dislike the way Apple soldiers everything now days. I disliked how Apple disallowed storage upgrade on 2018 Mac mini and I liked how Apple allowed RAM upgrade on 2018 Mac mini. Everything, from MacBooks to Mac mini, from iMacs to Mac Pro would almost guarantee no future upgrade.

The Mac Pro is defined as a machine that is upgradable, so it seems pretty unlikely that it will not be upgradable in the future.

The RAM is built into Apple Silicons now and due to size limit, Apple can only fit 16GB RAM for now.

Apple includes RAM in the package, but limits it to 16GB not because of size restrictions, but because the machines they these Apple Silicon machines replace had 16GB limits. The replacements for the higher end machines will support more RAM (whether that is in the same package or external).

How well will Apple adopt in the future, I do not know.

You never will know what their future is, but one can look at the fact that they have many years of A-series processors with annual release cycles and significant performance increases.

How well does Apple Silicon capable handle PCI-E Gen. 4 Specifications, i.e. how many PCI-E devices can be added? Will Apple Silicon capable to offer more than 2 thunderbolt ports?

This will likely be answered in the next round of systems, but I will note that these machines have 2 Thunderbolt ports with two busses, so it seems pretty likely that they can at least offer 4 ports with 2 busses as the current higher end laptops do.

I have 9th Coffee Lake Core i7 Hackintosh with 16GB RAM (upgradeable to 32 if I choose), 1TB NVME drive with 4TB Hard drives x2., AMD RX 580 Graphic card. I can upgrade everything here, if I choose to.

You have a system that is slower than the low end Apple Silicon Mac Mini that was just released. You are correct that you can upgrade it as long as there is software support from Apple for your new parts.

I also have Core i3 Comet Lake based Hackintosh with 16GB RAM, 500GB NVME with 4TB Hard drive as it connects to my TV for entertainment purpose.

You mean as a streaming box? That system is too slow for gaming, can it support 4K DolbyVision content at 60P? What do you store on it? What does it offer that a FireStick, AppleTV or RokuTV does not offer?

Heck for fun, I even built cheap ass AMD based Hackintosh (Ryzen 3 2200GB, 8GB RAM, 128GB NVME Drive with Nvidia 710GT)

Which for sure will not be supported much longer given the nVidia GPU.

You know why I build Hackintosh? Because Apple won't offer any kind of Mac that is reasonably priced with upgradability. Mac Pro, it is way to over kill for most people and way to expensive for most of people.

Really? A 2018 Mac mini would with an eGPU would have matched the performance of your largest system and offered you all the storage upgrade you want over Thunderbolt 3. None of the other machines are likely to be upgraded beyond what storage for which Thunderbolt is fine.

Like I said, I will can wait I have plenty of Macs or Hackintosh for me for next few years. If I need more power, I can always upgrade my mackintosh

All of which are slower than the slowest Apple Silicon systems that will ever ship. Everything that they release from this point forward will be faster than what we have already seen. Do you use any commercial software that you purchase on your systems? For how long after the transition to Apple Silicon do you expect third parties to continue to support intel systems? The big companies will do it for a while, but the smaller ones will likely start releasing things that take advantage of the features of Apple Silicon creating a growing feature gap.

 

[Aoligei]

The next ones will likely be better than anything from Intel or AMD.

Maybe or maybe not. What I know is that Intel is going to offer hybrid architecture, which is similar to ARM's big-small core. Alder Lake can offer up to 16 core... It is highly going to be competitive with Apple's ARM. And AMD is already offering Ryzen 7 that is more powerful than current M1 processor.

If you mean prevent one from installing open source software or software not from the Mac App Store, the answer is no. There is nothing about the Apple Silicon that makes that easier or more likely than on any system with a T2.

If you read carefully, I meant installing Linux or Windows ARM on Apple Silicon Mac. As far as I know, it is quite difficult to port Linux, due to Apple is not offering any details about its M1 processor, so I don't know how useable Linux port would be. But so far looks promising.

If you are waiting for the answers to those questions, you will be waiting a long time 5 - 7 years.

Until I went to upgrade my computers, mainly purchased 2020 MacBook Air, 2020 revision of Mac mini, build there my Hackintosh PC. I was using 2012 MacBook Pro, Intel Core i5 2300 (Sandy Bridge) and AMD Phenom II x4 Processor.

And you know when did Sandy Bridge processors were sold. So yeah, waiting 5-7 years its doable. Of course, this would relies on how long will Apple continue offering x86 version of MacOS... But I would think at least 5 years. Currently Apple is still selling Intel based Mac...

For how long? When will you know if you have the answers? Given that one of your concerns is Apple making a change to how software gets installed, and that people have been saying that Apple will prevent non-Mac App Store software for years, you do understand that you will never really know the answer. If they do not do in this year, they might do it next year or the year after or the one after that.

The Mac Pro is defined as a machine that is upgradable, so it seems pretty unlikely that it will not be upgradable in the future.

Well, Mac Pro is well beyond most people's budget. And both iMac and Mac mini really does not offer any upgradability (with exception of RAM upgrade on iMac)... And I don't like this habit.

Apple includes RAM in the package, but limits it to 16GB not because of size restrictions, but because the machines they these Apple Silicon machines replace had 16GB limits. The replacements for the higher end machines will support more RAM (whether that is in the same package or external).

So far Apple has include RAM in the CPU package, the maximum 16GB, at least for now is due to package size restrictions and thermal. Would Apple able to put external RAM, I would think so. But this is wait and see

You have a system that is slower than the low end Apple Silicon Mac Mini that was just released. You are correct that you can upgrade it as long as there is software support from Apple for your new parts

You mean as a streaming box? That system is too slow for gaming, can it support 4K DolbyVision content at 60P? What do you store on it? What does it offer that a FireStick, AppleTV or RokuTV does not offer?

Which for sure will not be supported much longer given the nVidia GPU.

Really? A 2018 Mac mini would with an eGPU would have matched the performance of your largest system and offered you all the storage upgrade you want over Thunderbolt 3. None of the other machines are likely to be upgraded beyond what storage for which Thunderbolt is fine.

Comet Lake Core i3 10100 is perfectly cable playing 4K HDR at 60Hz... My contents are stored at internal HDD... For reference, my Core i3 Hackintosh has 2 4TB hard drives... I don't really keep my content long as I often delete some of staffs... So 8TB hard drive is plenty enough for me.

eGPU is pointless if I can put dedicated GPU on PCI-E Slot. I don't know why would you buy a Mac mini then use eGPU when you able to build similar spec Hackintosh for much less. You can pick up RX580 for much less than similar RX580 eGPU.

And you also do know how expensive Thunderbolt based external storage is. So far, I have yet to find a decent thunderbolt based case.

All of which are slower than the slowest Apple Silicon systems that will ever ship. Everything that they release from this point forward will be faster than what we have already seen. Do you use any commercial software that you purchase on your systems? For how long after the transition to Apple Silicon do you expect third parties to continue to support intel systems? The big companies will do it for a while, but the smaller ones will likely start releasing things that take advantage of the features of Apple Silicon creating a growing feature gap.

You keep saying how fast Apple Silicon is. I understand how fast Apple Silicon is and I am not denying it. But I don't really care about performance. My Core i7 based Hackintosh is plenty enough for me, if I need more power, I can always put Core i9 chip or I can even go to AMD Threadripper based Hackintosh. It is doable. And as far as I know, M1 can't compete with AMD Threadripper yet.

I would expect Adobe or any commercial software support x86 based Mac for long time. Since current Mac Pro is still using Intel processors and there are millions of Mac using Intel. Also keep in mind, Windows world is still x86. All these commercial software would offer x86 version for a while. Until then, I can decide to stay with Mac or complete switch to Windows/ Linux.

For example: I use Tableau for my work purpose. However, Tableau seems to stop working on M1 after 2020.4 version, but worked for 2020.3. It seems Tableau blocked application run on CPU without SSE4.2 and POPCNT instruction set. I don't know if they fixed the issue or not, but I didn't really check since have returned my M1 Mac mini. I have no idea when will Tableau support M1 Mac, but none the less, I will have to wait until official support is announced.

 

[ivnj]

Somebody posted here I think that in 2 years m1 arm will be finalized. So intell will be obsolete soon. So it was time to upgade for me.

 

[iMav]

Note, there are several linux distributions that only provide/support 64-bit installations. Certainly, there will be several linux (and *BSD, for that matter) distros that will support 32-bit x86 (as well as other architectures) for a long time. But many of the popular linux distros no longer do.