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Reliable Leaker Suggests Redesigned MacBooks in 2021 Will Include Both Apple Silicon and Intel Models
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Because we don't want Apple, or third-party developers for that matter, to continue to waste resources on a dead end, instead of focussing on making M-series Macs as great as they can possibly be.
If Apple wants to keep selling existing macs with Intel chips for the small percentage of the market that really needs them, fine, but no reason to put in new design efforts for them.
Indeed, if one takes MacRumors' interpretation at its face value, that means that M1 macs will suffer for this. If a "new design" Mac has to also support Intel, that means that it will be bigger than it needs to be, to allow cooling, etc. It's like having to design a new car for both electric motors and internal combustion engines - the resulting HomerMobile will not be optimized for either.
When Apple made the PPC->Intel transition I really thought they were going to continue to make PPC versions for a while. They really didn't. The announcement was made in June and the final new PPC Macs were released in Oct. So now I don't really expect any more Intel updates. Possibly a small spec bump at most.
At least for laptops, I find it a bit hard to believe Apple will come up with an updated chassis design and stick an Intel processor in it with the Intel thermal requirements. Based on Apple's previous history I think they will come out with a new chassis design and only use Mxx processors in it. But, when you go to the Apple store they will be options to buy the old Intel-based Mac laptops along-side the new Mxx models. This would be similar to how they carried the older 13" and 15" MBP designs after the 2016 redesign that brought the infamous Butterfly keyboard. Doing this provided corporate and other users that are tied to the old system for hardware or other compatibility reasons, a way to get a new device, with a new warranty, etc.
Personally I think MacRumors just jumped to a conclusion that wasn't stated in the original tweet.
New Intel Macs in 2021 doesn't mean they have to be in new enclosures. I think it is possible, but is less likely than Apple simply reusing existing enclosures for new Intel Macs.
New Intel Macs? Sure, at a premium price for those who still need it and can’t rely on the new M-platform. Good way to make more money from those who “depend”... 🤣
If Apple puts out one last high end 13" Intel MBP I'd snag it. I have one from early 2019 that I would replace that is boot camped and hooked up to an eGPU for gaming. The rig I have replaced my need for a laptop for work and a desktop for gaming. The longer I can keep it that way the better.
I hope you are right because I want to sell the fleet of my Intel Macs for 3x their original price.
I can understand Apple spec' bumping the current chassis with Intel, but a redesign? No chance. These products would have been designed from the ground up for M1.
This to me sounds like a good idea to still have the option for native x86 cisc in spite of the lower efficiency. If even just for developers.
Reliable leaker known as "L0vetodream" has today suggested on Twitter that redesigned MacBooks coming in the second half of 2021 will include models with both Apple Silicon chips and Intel processors.
The brief Tweet came in response to a MacRumors article from earlier today, which outlined a report from Ming-Chi Kuo claiming that Apple plans to release redesigned MacBook models with Apple Silicon in the second half of 2021.
L0vetodream simply says that the MacBook redesigns expected in the second half of 2021 will not be only for Apple Silicon models, implying that the redesigns will also come to new Intel-based MacBooks.
Apple just released its first Apple Silicon Macs, which include the MacBook Air and lower-end configurations of the 13-inch MacBook Air and Mac mini. While the new MacBook Pro and Mac mini still have a few shortcomings relative to their more expensive Intel counterparts, they are demonstrating better performance in a number of core benchmarks, even matching or outperforming higher-end machines like the 16-inch MacBook Pro in some tasks.
As a result, L0vetodream's claim is a bit curious given that these rumored redesigned MacBooks are still more than six months away, which gives Apple time to improve the performance of Apple Silicon even further.
In announcing the transition to Apple Silicon chips for the Mac at WWDC in June, Apple said that the transition to Apple Silicon would take about two years and that new Macs with Intel processors were still in the pipeline.
We've already seen a few of those with updated 27-inch iMac models in August, and so many have assumed based on the competitive performance of Apple's M1 chip that most of Apple's Macs will be quickly moving solely to Apple Silicon, with only specialized models like the Mac Pro and iMac Pro perhaps taking the full two years to make the transition.
Article Link: Reliable Leaker Suggests Redesigned MacBooks in 2021 Will Include Both Apple Silicon and Intel Models
This is really the moment when Microsoft can grab Apple by its cast-iron balls and try to squeeze them hard.
Apple’s idea of jettisoning Intel is panning out to be a great success except for one hitch, which is the fact that most enterprises buy Macs to run a bunch of Windows software - if not natively, then in a Windows VM. This is where the Achilles heel of this transition is.
Without being able to run Windows, these new Apple Silicon Macs are useless for 75% of enterprise use even if they are 3x as fast as the Intel machines. If Microsoft refuses to play along and doesn’t release the Windows for ARM version that works (and is licensed) for third-party ARM-based hardware, Apple is stuck with a dual-architecture for a foreseeable future.
Even at home, 100% of Apple Silicon Macs may not work out. I bought my son an Apple Silicon MacBook Air a few days before he came to me and said he wanted to be able to run Windows on his computer because he wants to stream his Xbox games to his computer from the Xbox that is connected to our TV in the living room. He also wants to play Epic games worth his friends over thr Internet (since he hasn’t seen his friends for over half a year now), but Epic is no longer available on the Mac. And that’s the kid who didn’t even have a computer a year ago (except for the iPad that he has had since the age of 3), and whose first computer was a Raspberry Pi (which I bought him last December), and who has been using a Mac exclusively since March (when the school went online because of COVID). The kid has never used Windows outside of very small exposure to it in school), and now he is really asking for a machine that can run Windows. Yeah, I know, Windows is so uncool, right? Except it doesn’t seem to be so uncool after all for even pre-teens.
I’m considering giving him my 2020 13” Intel MacBook Pro and using his Apple Silicon MacBook Air. But then, I need to run Windows VMs for my work occasionally. So, with all of my desire to transition away from Intel Macs, the only one that I could do it with is my wife’s 5K iMac. However, Apple doesn’t make 5K iMacs with Apple Silicon yet, and my wife hates the Mac Mini because it takes her desk space. As it turns out, my Mac-centric and Apple-centric household, which doesn’t have a single non-Apple computing device in it, is not compatible with the Apple’s vision of abandoning the Intel architecture.
Only Microsoft can save the Apple vision, but I have a hunch they are not in a hurry to bail Apple out of this dual-architecture hell any time soon.
Apple’s idea of jettisoning Intel is panning out to be a great success except for one hitch, which is the fact that most enterprises buy Macs to run a bunch of Windows software - if not natively, then in a Windows VM. This is where the Achilles heel of this transition is.
Without being able to run Windows, these new Apple Silicon Macs are useless for 75% of enterprise use even if they are 3x as fast as the Intel machines. If Microsoft refuses to play along and doesn’t release the Windows for ARM version that works (and is licensed) for third-party ARM-based hardware, Apple is stuck with a dual-architecture for a foreseeable future.
Even at home, 100% of Apple Silicon Macs may not work out. I bought my son an Apple Silicon MacBook Air a few days before he came to me and said he wanted to be able to run Windows on his computer because he wants to stream his Xbox games to his computer from the Xbox that is connected to our TV in the living room. He also wants to play Epic games worth his friends over thr Internet (since he hasn’t seen his friends for over half a year now), but Epic is no longer available on the Mac. And that’s the kid who didn’t even have a computer a year ago (except for the iPad that he has had since the age of 3), and whose first computer was a Raspberry Pi (which I bought him last December), and who has been using a Mac exclusively since March (when the school went online because of COVID). The kid has never used Windows outside of very small exposure to it in school), and now he is really asking for a machine that can run Windows. Yeah, I know, Windows is so uncool, right? Except it doesn’t seem to be so uncool after all for even pre-teens.
I’m considering giving him my 2020 13” Intel MacBook Pro and using his Apple Silicon MacBook Air. But then, I need to run Windows VMs for my work occasionally. So, with all of my desire to transition away from Intel Macs, the only one that I could do it with is my wife’s 5K iMac. However, Apple doesn’t make 5K iMacs with Apple Silicon yet, and my wife hates the Mac Mini because it takes her desk space. As it turns out, my Mac-centric and Apple-centric household, which doesn’t have a single non-Apple computing device in it, is not compatible with the Apple’s vision of abandoning the Intel architecture.
Only Microsoft can save the Apple vision, but I have a hunch they are not in a hurry to bail Apple out of this dual-architecture hell any time soon.
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This is the redesign that should have been introduced along the new M1 macbooks. I don't believe most consumers in the market for a new laptop have any idea what an Intel or ARM chip is, and a new design would have sparked more sales.
Instead Apple gave us this:
Instead Apple gave us this:
Why drag the poor cat's tail. Just quit cold turkey! Apple silicon is way superior, no room for pleasantries!
Hmmm. If Apple plans to redesign their hardware starting in 2021, and then offer 2 different processor options, that would seem to A) really drag out their stated 2-yr transition plans, if not just B) really junk up their offering.
I think that's possible but I am aware of at least one market that will not hop on board - music producers and VST junkies.
I'm guessing Apple have signed a contract with Intel and they can't just reneged on it? It would explain why the MacMini still has an Intel version. I bet Apple will drop Intel as soon as they can.
2021 should be a very interesting year, for all sorts of reasons, including what Apple launches for new and hopefully redesigned MacBooks and iMacs (assuming Mac Pro won't get updated until late 2021 at best). I'm so tempted to pick up an M1 MBA, even knowing that there will be 14" and 16" variants of the Pro's out next year that will likely have a much more modern form factor. Given the great performance per dollar that the new M1's have, it would be easy enough to upgrade again next year, either trading in or selling what I have, or passing it down to one of my kids.
I would bet we'll see a bunch of that happening, given the Air's and 13" Pro's both fall so close in line to what iPhone Pro's go for now, and a lot of people upgrade those every year. That and the fact that I think more and more people will see the performance (battery life and power) is something they can't live without, especially once we're out of the woods with the pandemic.
I would bet we'll see a bunch of that happening, given the Air's and 13" Pro's both fall so close in line to what iPhone Pro's go for now, and a lot of people upgrade those every year. That and the fact that I think more and more people will see the performance (battery life and power) is something they can't live without, especially once we're out of the woods with the pandemic.
So the author thinks six months is enough time to uh “improve” the architecture, retool the line, test and move to install? Cool cool cool.
? Apple explicitly said there are new intel macs in the pipeline.
Yeah I haven't written it off yet. I'm going to try messing with more settings in case what I've been using for the AMD based GPU encoding is not optimized as well for the M1 but it definitely is using the GPU and not the CPU according to Activity Monitor. I also checked to make sure it wasn't doing excessive swapping since its just the 8gb model. So far I've tested with both ProRes 422 and h.264 input and the output is h.264.What format are you using? I'm curious.
I suspect at a lot of M1's encoding prowess is due to its excellent image signal processor. However, it's not all encompassing, and it's possible whatever you're doing or the format you are using requires pure CPU encode, and in that context the M1 being a lower end chip will fall down.
That's just my undereducated guess though.
This makes no sense. The goal is to move away from Intel. The only way we'd be seeing more Intel notebooks is if Apple is seriously struggling to add 4 ports and more than 16GB of RAM to its SoCs (in the case of both remaining Intel MacBook Pros) and to make a GPU that can trounce the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (in the case of the 16" MacBook Pro). But even then, they could also just not update those Macs until they're ready. It's not like there wasn't an awkwardly long gap between the final "Retina" body style MacBook Pros and the first butterfly-keyboard-laden Touch Bar MacBook Pros.
Then again, his tweets are always cryptic as hell. He might not necessarily mean what we think it means.
Has he ever been wrong about anything? (I'm legitimately asking.)
Then again, his tweets are always cryptic as hell. He might not necessarily mean what we think it means.
Has he ever been wrong about anything? (I'm legitimately asking.)