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New MacBook Air, 13-Inch MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini With M1 Chip Available to Order, Launch Next Week

It's going to be interesting to see the (presumably) capped performance of the M1 chip in the MBA compared to the MBP 13. The new MBA still seems like it's going to be insanely fast - and no fan! 😍
 
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I suppose the M2 will support 32+ GB of RAM. That's going to be the difference between the Big Pro machines and the Prosumer machines, it seems.

It did take Intel a while to support >16gb on the mobile side; it was in the last 2-3 years, but I can't remember when. 6th gen?
 
The lack of RAM is ridiculous. 2x SSD speed is helpful, but it's still not good enough for making up for not having enough RAM.

I don't get how they can brag about high-res video playback but then cap RAM at 16GB! It's not like the ProRes video codec will just magically cut the size of a frame to 0.25x just by running on an M1.

Also, rubbing salt in the wound, the memory is shared?! AAA games can easily surpass 10GB of RAM just for the GPU. If the GPU speed is accurate, it is equivalent to GPUs that often have at least 6GB of ram. That leaves 10GB leftover...absolutely unacceptable for the Mac Mini, and certainly disappointing for the MBP 13.

Excited by the performance gains, though. It has been a fun couple months in tech.
 
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I am wondering what the real differences between these models are.

Both have:
  • M1 chip with 8-core CPU and 16-core Neural Engine;
  • 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD;
  • instant waking;
  • unified memory;
  • 13-inch retina display;
  • P3 color (25% more colors than sRGB);
  • True Tone;
  • Face Time HD Camera;
  • 3-mic array;
  • Magic Keyboard with ambient light sensor;
  • Touch ID;
  • Wi-Fi 6;
  • Thunderbolt / USB 4
The differences seem to be:
  • 7-core vs. 8-core GPU;
  • Faster SSD on Pro??;
  • 500 vs 400 nits brightness;
  • 17/20 vs. 15/18 hour battery;
  • Touch Bar vs. no Touch Bar;
  • Stereo speakers with/without high dynamic range;
  • Size and weight;
  • Active cooling vs. no fan.
Would this be enough to justify a 30% price difference on the base models?
 
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Deinocheirus said:
Because no one wants such a ridiculous thing. There is an iPad already.
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My Wife's MacBook Air disagrees with you after I've been using an iPad all day it becomes second nature to touch anything with a screen to open tabs, end calls etc ..
 
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Deinocheirus said:
Maybe take stock for a second and realize Apple Silicon doesn't need that much RAM. Hell the iPad Pro has 6 GB of RAM.
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iPad Pro does not multitask like a computer... I can have 20 tabs open in the same time on my macbook pro and another 3 to 10 applications. On an iPad when it remains without ram is just pausing the applications in the background or simply makes you reload tabs on safari. That's not going to be acceptable on a laptop or desktop...
 
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torncanvas said:
The lack of RAM is ridiculous. 2x SSD speed is helpful, but it's still not good enough for making up for not having enough RAM.

I don't get how they can brag about high-res video playback by then cap RAM at 16GB! It's not like the ProRes video codec will just magically cut the size of a frame to 0.25x just by running on an M1.

Also, rubbing salt in the wound, the memory is shared?! AAA games can easily surpass 10GB of RAM just by themselves. If the GPU speed is accurate, it is equivalent to GPUs that often have at least 6GB of ram. That leaves 10GB leftover...absolutely unacceptable for the Mac Mini, and certainly disappointing for the MBP 13.

Excited by the performance gains, though. It has been a fun couple months in tech.
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You plan on playing AAA games on your non-X86 Mac? Let me know who's gonna be coding those, lmao.
 
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mariusignorello said:
Yep. I think people, specifically actual pro users will be confused and put-off for a while until the reviews and proof of performance becomes widely known.
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A-series has been blowing the roof off for years without a single device using more than 2 - 6 GB of RAM.

And you have a forum full of whiners confused that Apple Silicon doesn't need more than 16 GB of RAM.
 
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dannys1 said:
Well obviously the M2 will replace those systems. The M1 replaced the 8th gen Intel systems (which only had 16gb of ram) they're entry level models. The new chip will compete with the top end 10th gen intel chips and obviously have more ram capacity. It's not difficult to understand and work out.
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Yes, a machine called “MacBook Pro,” which is marketed to “Pros,” is “entry level.”

81AFD139-77CB-4705-8EE3-CDFE8DFB8D4C.gif
 
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otternonsense said:
what was the first leap? What they presented today was barely a crawl.
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That's otter nonsense. I haven't seen a 5x performance leap since the 1980s. Yes - it's just replacing the inside, and just on the lowest end models, but for those lowest end models, we might now see a Macbook Air outperform a $4,500 16" Macbook Pro.
 
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ghitaeu said:
iPad Pro does not multitask like a computer... I can have 20 tabs open in the same time on my macbook pro and another 3 to 10 applications. On an iPad when it remains without ram is just pausing the applications in the background or simply makes you reload tabs on safari. That's not going to be acceptable on a laptop or desktop...
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Ok great. You're comparing 4 GB of RAM to 16 GB RAM under similar circumstances.
 
I wonder if the M1 can compete well with the 10th gen i5 or i7 since those are still available. Would seem a bit odd to have less powerful intel 13" macbooks costing more if they perform worse.

Did Apple state in the figures they put out that they were compared to the latest intel chips, or are they comparing them to older ones?
 
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IG88 said:
Pretty sure they're comparing to 8th Gen Intel there. Which is of course favorable to Apple.
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unsure. It says "Intel Quad core i7 with 16gb RAM and 2TB storage". Either way, the base 13" pro wasn't touching that previously.

Getting the equivalent of an i7 or possibly better in a base Mac is only a win for us.
 
Steve121178 said:
Then why did they put 1080p web cams in the last iMac update if it didn't matter?

It does matter, especially in the age of video calls as many of us work from home permanently now.
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It matters if you're using the built-in camera to record something to upload.

It makes absolutely no difference for any kind of video call.
 
dannys1 said:
No chance of that, the MacBook Air replaces it.
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disappointed but understandable. just have to hope a future Air redesign gets the body more similar to what the 12" was. i always thought the 12" macbook without bezels could fit a 13" screen and be the new Air, a true ultra-portable.

the physical dimensions between the Air and the MBP are too similar, they're basically the same machine outside of the taper, and not really an ultra-portable.

0.16–0.63 H x 11.97 W x 8.36 D, 2.8lbs (Macbook Air)
........0.61 H x 11.97 W x 8.36 D, 3.0lbs (13" MBP)
0.14-0.52 H x 11.04 W x 7.74 D, 2.03lbs (12" Macbook)
 
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