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Kuo: 2024 MacBooks and iPads to Feature 3nm Chips, But Demand Might Fall Below Expectations
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Apple’s 3nm node is extremely underwhelming. It’s not going to give a big benefit for people to upgrade.
Only 10% gain for CPU (historically anything under 10% is considered not noticeable in daily workflows so it’s just barely enough) and GPU performance appears to be the same (when comparing it at the same core count).
And the iPhone doesn’t have better battery life?!?
So all around, I don’t expect anything worthwhile for CPU/GPU/battery life. Apple is going to need to add other features to make upgrading worthwhile.
Only 10% gain for CPU (historically anything under 10% is considered not noticeable in daily workflows so it’s just barely enough) and GPU performance appears to be the same (when comparing it at the same core count).
And the iPhone doesn’t have better battery life?!?
So all around, I don’t expect anything worthwhile for CPU/GPU/battery life. Apple is going to need to add other features to make upgrading worthwhile.
Weird that storage space is amongst the most common complaints from friends and family, despite having already paid for iCloud storage and using those features. Also, all of those options require monthly subscriptions.
I’m the type of person who likes to have my data backed up and stored locally as well. If I want a Mac that can store my data internally, Apple wants $1,000 for 4tb of storage. That’s insane.
Oh, and thanks to the ingenuity of iCloud, I’ve had multiple incidents of my Mac just deciding to download all of my Messages attachments or other iCloud data, filling up my internal drive. I’d love to have all of my messages and iCloud data saved locally as well — but I guess that’s a luxury worth at least $200 per device.
It would also be nice to be able to select what you want to keep stored locally, as opposed to Apple “smartly” doing it for you — like keeping all photos and videos from the last year saved locally.
The notch has zero negative effect on the usability of this device but does improve screen size, however it would look slightly cleaner.
If they could stop copping out on base specs or reduce upgrade prices, that would be a start. In the market for a Mac Mini to replace my 2017 iMac but I’ve decided to wait until it really does need replacing.
As someone who frequently uses his laptop for remoting in to Windows machines, I really do notice the notch. It wastes the entire top strip of the display. It's also quite annoying when Mac app menu bar items don't fit to the left of it. Definitely not a zero negative effect on usability. Other laptop manufacturers seem to have no problem fitting their often even higher resolution webcams into equivalently thin bezels...
Put cellular and Face ID across the lineup and they will sell just fine. And release a 120hz OLED or Mini-LED display.
At the moment, for most use cases, the power (and battery life for mobile) is no longer an issue. It's other qualities like what I mentioned above.
At the moment, for most use cases, the power (and battery life for mobile) is no longer an issue. It's other qualities like what I mentioned above.
They really do need to come down to their normal markup levels for RAM/SSD options-- right now their storage options are 2-3x market rates (for storage of the same speed).
I'll be buying a M3 Mac Mini. If storage still isn't priced reasonably, I'll be using an external NVME adapter for storage and just keep apps/OS data on the internal SSD. That is a stupid situation-- external storage is what I should be doing years from now when out of space, not on day 1.
I'll be buying a M3 Mac Mini. If storage still isn't priced reasonably, I'll be using an external NVME adapter for storage and just keep apps/OS data on the internal SSD. That is a stupid situation-- external storage is what I should be doing years from now when out of space, not on day 1.
Three fourths of the people on this planet cannot afford the high-tech devices the other one fourth of us use on a daily basis.
So of course there is not "growth" ahead. Not unless the poorer people of the world have their lifestyle (= energy use per capita per year) changed to be more like the more fortunate of us.
Computational devices are now like toasters (and no, I don't mean the Amiga version.)
Everyone who wants one has one, at least for the everyones in the "first" world.
Computers and their mobile equivalents should be thought of as toasters and vacuum cleaners. There is a market for vacuum cleaners and toasters, but it doesn't change much year to year because the market is about turnover. That is, when a vacuum cleaner breaks people buy a new one, they don't just buy vacuum cleaners to collect vacuum cleaners.
Kuo just needs something to write. There is no insight to be had from his release.
So of course there is not "growth" ahead. Not unless the poorer people of the world have their lifestyle (= energy use per capita per year) changed to be more like the more fortunate of us.
Computational devices are now like toasters (and no, I don't mean the Amiga version.)
Everyone who wants one has one, at least for the everyones in the "first" world.
Computers and their mobile equivalents should be thought of as toasters and vacuum cleaners. There is a market for vacuum cleaners and toasters, but it doesn't change much year to year because the market is about turnover. That is, when a vacuum cleaner breaks people buy a new one, they don't just buy vacuum cleaners to collect vacuum cleaners.
Kuo just needs something to write. There is no insight to be had from his release.
To put it simply.
A little over 5 billion out of 8.063 billion persons alive have a iPhone or Android smartphone.
The over 3 billion persons without it are likely too young or too old to use it or live in places they cannot afford even a $42.90 model.
Totally agree.
I've experimented 256 GB on my iMac 24-inch and it was just impossible to develop in Xcode. I mean, the machine would have to be JUST about Xcode and absolutely nothing else. I did put everything I could on iCloud, on external drives, etc. and I could never get my head around it.
Having 16 GB of base RAM across the entire Mac lineup will also drive sales. I've also experimented 8 GB, and it was doable but it's just being ridiculous and cheap to offer that to customers nowadays.
If they come up with M3, with base storage of 512 GB, base RAM of 16 GB RAM, even with a small price increase, it'll be the most well balanced Mac lineup I've ever seen in my life and at this point I can't really see people complaining all that much on Mac hardware.
Yes, people have phones.
Many people in the world had phones before the iPhone existed. We used to dial them the old fashioned way.
But this thread is about laptop computers and iPads.
Someone in the world who is using a hand-me-down originally-$99 phone is not going to be buying a $1200 MacBook.
A lot of you here suggest Apple drops prices on their products (be that via cheaper ssd or ram and so on). What effect would that have on the user base? Will it increase proportionally, exponentially or not much? I suspect (and certainly hope) that Apple have looked into that and that the current prices reflect a reasonable compromise of retaining profits and the size of their user base.
iPadOS is fine but there’s no need for an m2 or even m3 chip for most people so why spend the extra $$$? If iPadOS had a dex mode or some other killer software feature(s), that would likely spur excitement.
But as it stands, an m1 iPad is more than good enough and will be so for a long time. So why pay full price for a new iPad and the experience is exactly the same as an older one ? iPad’s biggest completion are the older models and stagnation of iPadOS.
But as it stands, an m1 iPad is more than good enough and will be so for a long time. So why pay full price for a new iPad and the experience is exactly the same as an older one ? iPad’s biggest completion are the older models and stagnation of iPadOS.
I buy new. A used laptop could’ve been left on 24/7 for all I know. Things get worn down that Apple won’t replace
I imagine demand luxury tech sales will continue to fall off. With the corpse-in-chief we have in the US signing policies that have worsened inflation, worsened the cost of living, much like many other countries poor policy makers, the world is struggling to recover economically.
The design is stale. Just upgrades to the processor will not drive new sales. A design update is required if they want consumers to replace the current working machines that they have now. It could be additional features and/or cosmetic. But just a+1 to component ( e.g.; processor, modem, memory) series number or standards (e.g. wifi, Bluetooth, HDMI, thunderbolt, etc.) used won’t drive new sales.
If they want to go the route of lowering costs to incentivize sales. That can be done without physical changing the current products. They don’t need new models to lower costs or increase memory.
If they want to go the route of lowering costs to incentivize sales. That can be done without physical changing the current products. They don’t need new models to lower costs or increase memory.
I’ll be buying a M3 machine, if the single core performance is faster than M2. For recording audio in Logic Pro, singlecore speed is the most important factor to reduce latency. Latency, is what keeps bands like mine from using their computers as live mixers with automated software plugins on to rock out along backing tracks, video projection, while using in-ear-monitors, on stage. The potential of this is awesome, because it means not having to use any physical EFX Pedals. When it’s time for Guitar solo, just play it and let the automation bring on the distortion, instead of worrying about having to tap dance on various pedals.
The M2 is pretty close to doing it, but my hope is that M3 will cross the finish line.
For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, imagine, singing to an audience where your mixed voice is slightly behind your real voice, giving you a strange chorus effect that messes with your timing and intimacy with the audience.
The M2 is pretty close to doing it, but my hope is that M3 will cross the finish line.
For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, imagine, singing to an audience where your mixed voice is slightly behind your real voice, giving you a strange chorus effect that messes with your timing and intimacy with the audience.
There is a pragmatic difference between "upgrade" and "churn the stuff you just bought; Apple take my money please".
10% per generation over 2-3 generations ( if generation 1.5 years 3 - 4.5 years) is a 21-33% jump ( 1.1^3 ) . 10% doesn't have to move the M2 buyers who just bought last year. It is mainly aimed at folks who bought last generation Intel and some M1 folks who didn't 'right size' other elements . All Apple has to do is make steady improvements to get upgrade traction over several cycles.
TSMC estimates for N3 vs N5 was a 10-15% improvement (if throw all power improvements completely out the windows and sacrifice it all on performance ) . Not sure what 'magic' folks were expecting with N3. It really was far more non Apple and non TSMC folks raising expectations far past what they should have been. Apple has already plucked off much of the easy , 'low hanging fruit' of goosing up IPC. They didn't move the baseline memory bandwidth up ( probably for money/cost and logistics reasons ) .
Is that really all the SoC? Turn all the radios off. Always on screen . Always changing widgets . Churn churn churn of more tracking apps , bigger photo files/processing , etc.
For some folks they added hardware raytracing assist. The 'extra' GPU core in a cluster is multiplied 4 , 8 , 16 times for bigger Mn dies. The NPU cluster is far , far better.
You literally forget about the existence of the notch within ten minutes of using the machine.
People who are deep obsession about bezel size won't. But yeah if just sit down and focus on what is one the screen rather than what is not ... it is ignorable. [ there is another set of folks with 20 widgets in the menu bar. ]