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halofan56

macrumors 6502
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Oct 23, 2015
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How is the macOS Monterey running on intel-based Macs? Is Apple cutting back on features for intel Macs.
 
Yes, according to a MR article that was posted I believe, last week.

 
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How is the macOS Monterey running on intel-based Macs? Is Apple cutting back on features for intel Macs.
Fantastic. I've to say... this has been the worst Apple notebook I've owned (MBP 16" 2019)... but after MacOS Monterey I could immediately tell the difference. The computer is simply faster, snappier between apps (greatly), and maximizing and minimizing app tabs is smoother (much more)... it is considerably less hot now, much much cooler, asking the same tasks from last week under BigSur; the fans are working much more intelligently, and the sound has never bothered me. Video playing is not lagging anymore while in mission control (which was always happening)... the only thing that still performs poorly, and even worse, is battery... at almost 450 cycles, while on a video call, I can have just one hour of battery, even applying the new Low Power Mode.

Other than that... the battery behaves decently (when not on video calls)... I'm used to this battery already I guess... (9am to 3pm is the longest I get under constant use)... we already know they couldn't do much with Intel draining it all up.

Things have also been updated for Intel-based Macs in case you missed it... the only real features we're not getting with Monterey are a few things on FaceTime and uninterrupted and offline dictation. Other than that, it's sharing all other features with M1 Macs... the most important and useful being Live Text.

I don't say this lightly... I feel I have a new MacBook Pro with Monterey.
 
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I installed macOS Monterey on Monday and works as good as Big Sur in my case. I think what really helped Monterey is the core of Big Sur. The installer after downloading and actual install toke 55 minutes.
 
Fantastic. I've to say... this has been the worst Apple notebook I've owned... but after MacOS Monterey I could immediately tell the difference. The computer is simply faster, snappier between apps (greatly), and maximizing and minimizing app tabs is smoother (much more)... it is considerably less hot now, much much cooler, asking the same tasks from last week under BigSur; the fans are working much more intelligently, and the sound has never bothered me. Video playing is not lagging anymore while in mission control (which was always happening)... the only thing that still performs poorly, and even worse, is battery... at almost 450 cycles, while on a video call, I can have just one hour of battery, even applying the new Low Power Mode.

Other than that... the battery behaves decently (when not on video calls)... I'm used to this battery already I guess... (9am to 3pm is the longest I get under constant use)... we already know they couldn't do much with Intel draining it all up.

Things have also been updated for Intel-based Macs in case you missed it... the only real features we're not getting with Monterey are a few things on FaceTime and uninterrupted and offline dictation. Other than that, it's sharing all other features with M1 Macs... the most important and useful being Live Text.

I don't say this lightly... I feel I have a new MacBook Pro with Monterey.
good to hear.
 
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I can understand when a company decide to cut off features when the old hardware can't do it, but when the hardware can do it, its unacceptable. The best exemple I have in mind is AirPlay for older macs. I can perfectly do it with a third party program for years but Apple cut it off on my 2015 iMac ? This is just ridiculous.

Montery on any macs older than 2017 is very barebone.
 
Your right!

It runs fine for the most part, but i don't think i have any new features or anything on my maxed out late 2015 27" iMac.

Not sure what the point in keeping it supported was tbh. Still a very capable machine, but Apple just leaves it hanging.

No doubt had they kept running with Intel we would have hardly any of these latest features cut!

Frustrating but expected i guess!
 
i've noticed the boot up time has increased on my 2019 21.5" iMac 6 core i5 32GB ram 1tb Blade, the loading bar gets to half way and pauses for about 20 seconds then continues to boot. on Big Sur it wouldn't pause at all. other than that everything else is running the same if not slightly better than Big Sur
 
I have a 2014 Mac mini and a 2019 iMac 27”, both upgraded to Monterey and both running significantly faster and cooler than running Big Sur. Both machines now run 15-20 C cooler at idle, boot up is noticeably faster, and the interface in general feels much snappier.
 
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No difference for me between Big Sur and Monterey. They both run just as good with the exception of 1 unexplained restart when I installed Monterey. It hasn't happened since.
 
Monterey is definitely snappier than Big Sur. Love it. Screen brightness and mouse acceleration only problems so far (iMac Pro/MX Master 3)
 
No difference for me between Big Sur and Monterey. They both run just as good with the exception of 1 unexplained restart when I installed Monterey. It hasn't happened since.

Exact same experience here except for the unexplained restart hehe. Ive got a couple AU plugins that need updating, couple minor apps as well, but everything I actually use and need every day is still going great. This things been rock solid.
 
First impressions of macOS 12 on a 2020 i5/8/512 Air are good, overall seems as good or slightly smoother than 11.6. I notice a slight lag in safari animations. The features not included on Intel Macs are of no interest to me so I can't speak to how how terrible their lack of inclusion is. This particular Mac has had 3 major versions of macOS at this point and I would say 12 has been great.
 
Monterey is slightly faster on my Macbook Pro 2015 according to Geekbench and Cinebench. Also a bit snappier in the finder. For the first release it’s quite stable. But i don’t use USB hubs. It remains however battery hungry.
 
MacBook Pro Retina 15inch Mid 2015: very happy with Monterey on this, overall it feels like a more polished and optimised experience. Everything feels slightly more snappy, particularly waking from sleep. I'm seeing occasional stutters on OS animations, but it isn't bad and I'm guessing this will be sorted in a future update.

iMac 27-Inch 5K, Late 2015: slightly less of a difference here, but still more refined and slicker than Big Sur. I'm not seeing the occasional animation stutters that I'm seeing on the laptop.

Two things to note: recognising and selecting text in photos is working well on both machines, and I'm finding it far more useful than I had expected when it was initially announced. I also like the customisation options in Safari - traditional tabs work well on the iMac 5K screen, while the compact address bar is great on the more cramped MacBook Pro screen.
 
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