Watch: Apple Silicon Mac Reviews and Unboxing Videos

[MacRumors]

Apple's embargo has lifted on reviews of the first Apple Silicon Macs with the M1 chip, including the new MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini. In addition to our review roundup, we've gathered up some videos below.

Image: Created Labs​

The introduction of the M1 chip marks the beginning of Apple's transition away from Intel processors in Macs. Back in June, Apple revealed its plans to begin using its own custom Apple Silicon processors in Macs, promising industry-leading performance per watt. Apple expects the transition to take about two years to be completed.

We've already seen several benchmarks that prove the M1 chip delivers breakthrough performance, including the new MacBook Air outperforming the high-end 16-inch MacBook Pro in multi-core Geekbench 5 results. The M1 chip's integrated graphics also outperform some desktop GPUs, including Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1050 Ti and AMD's Radeon RX 560.

The new MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini are already beginning to arrive to customers after pre-orders commenced last week.

Videos


The Verge:

Marques Brownlee (MKBHD):

Justine Ezarik (iJustine):

Jenna Ezarik:

Karl Conrad:

Dave Lee:

CNET:

Judner Aura (UrAvgConsumer):

Andru Edwards:

Rene Ritchie:

Lance Ulanoff:

Lizzie Peirce:

Gary (The Everyday Dad):

AppleInsider:

Created Labs:

Article Link: Watch: Apple Silicon Mac Reviews and Unboxing Videos

 

[The_Interloper]

MacBook Pro ASi 8Gb model, up against AMD/Intel CPUs and MacBook Pro 16”:

 

[lyngo]

It would have been nice to see these come out yesterday. I am not sure what held them up. It’s kind of weird to me that they were released or allowed to be posted the same day as most of us would be getting our pre-orders. Oh well, at least we can enjoy our computers when they come very soon!

 

[polaris20]

It would have been nice to see these come out yesterday. I am not sure what held them up. It’s kind of weird to me that they were released or allowed to be posted the same day as most of us would be getting our pre-orders. Oh well, at least we can enjoy our computers when they come very soon!

You could have just waited to order, until you saw reviews. That's what I'm doing.

 

[dapa0s]

Well, seems like it’s time to finally cancel clueless nerds like linus tech tips ?

 

[dogslobber]

Anandtech and the the MacRumors video review is the Tier One Pro reviews. These all seem like bloggers reprinting Apple Marketing fluff.

 

[Celstra]

Anyone have a TDLR on these.. all three models side by side...

 

[Return Zero]

Someone convince me not to pull the trigger on the Mac mini... Hurry... Must wait for the iMac...

 

[dinobear]

Looks the same to me ?

Happy for everyone getting these new machines. I just have a feeling the form factor designs coming next year plus rev2 versions of the ARM chip are gonna make these first version feel so outdated. This is just a small first step for apple it seems.

 

[ascender]

Very interesting to see that the MBP doesn't seem to make the fans kick-in when you'd traditionally expect them to. I guess we'll learn more in the next few days.

 

[citysnaps]

Just scrolling down this page of the above videos makes my head hurt. Looks like a race to the bottom in desperately trying to get some attention. Yuck.

 

[burgman]

Anandtech and the the MacRumors video review is the Tier One Pro reviews. These all seem like bloggers reprinting Apple Marketing fluff.

Exactly the YouTube clown show rolls on.

 

[AngerDanger]

Anyone have a TDLR on these.. all three models side by side...

Yeah, this lesser-known fruit company made a comparison page.

 

[dinobear]

Just scrolling down this page of the above videos makes my head hurt. Looks like a race to the bottom in desperately trying to get some attention. Yuck.

yeah youtuber's thumbnail photos all seem so fake these days with clickbait titles. Every apple fan YouTuber has the "don't make these 5 mistakes when getting a new MacBook" type of thing. Fear-clickbate-garbage.

 

[dogslobber]

Yeah, this lesser-known fruit company made a comparison page.

This is a comparison by Apple Inc. Note that Apple makes the Mac computer.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Any non-video reviews, so far?

Edit: There they are...

Apple Silicon Mac Reviews: M1 Chip Delivers Exceptional Performance, Thermals, and Battery Life

As the first Macs containing Apple Silicon processors began arriving to customers today, reviewers have shared their first impressions of the new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini. In particular, reviewers praised the M1 chip's ability to deliver excellent performance, thermals, and battery...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[jlocker]

Someone convince me not to pull the trigger on the Mac mini... Hurry... Must wait for the iMac...

Most Mac applications have to run thru Rosetta II so the code can be converted, never a perfect process. 2. GPU processing is comparable to GPU's from 3 years ago, 3. New apps will be dual binary for a couple of years. 4. No bootcamp support. 5. New M1 processor, hopeful Apple does not have any security or math processing function errors on the chip. 6. In two years Apple will have all of the hardware and software bugs worked out, so if you want to be a early adopter for hardware and software then go for it. I am going to wait two years to see how the system progresses.

Of course video review are going to give all good reviews because they want to have views and money and have Apple keep sending them hardware.

 

[polaris20]

Looks the same to me ?

Happy for everyone getting these new machines. I just have a feeling the form factor designs coming next year plus rev2 versions of the ARM chip are gonna make these first version feel so outdated. This is just a small first step for apple it seems.

Why, do these automagically stop working?

 

[UndefinedxJoker]

Why so much hate for YouTubers? Is it just jealousy or something else?

 

[Rogifan]

I struggle with Dieter Bohn giving the Air a 9.5 while Nilay Patel gives the Pro only an 8.5. Unless they want to argue the low end MBP shouldn’t exist?

Two of Patel’s items in the bad column were # of ports and only 16GB RAM. He does know this is the low end MBP, right? He also said he had “hours of frustration” with the touchbar. Sounds hyperbolic to me. But throwing that comment in there I’m sure will generate more views/comments.

 

[iBluetooth]

Long time since I have been as excited for new computers!

 

[smithrh]

Any non-video reviews, so far?

Yes, in the usual places.

 

[DaveOP]

Why so much hate for YouTubers? Is it just jealousy or something else?

I don't hate them individually, but I hate that someone like Rene Ritchie has dumbed down his content, makes these stupid looking thumbnails all in search of more views on YouTube. It's where the platform has gone, sadly. I say this as someone that subscribes to YouTube Premium because there is still loads of good content, but most of these tech reviews have taken a nosedive in the past year or two.

 

[AngerDanger]

Why so much hate for YouTubers? Is it just jealousy or something else?

I think it's just the dumb thumbnails.

Marques and Justine seem to have fairly nice ones, though.

 

[iBluetooth]

I struggle with Dieter Bohn giving the Air a 9.5 while Nilay Patel gives the Pro only an 8.5. Unless they want to argue the low end MBP shouldn’t exist?

Two of Patel’s items in the bad column were # of ports and only 16GB RAM. He does know this is the low end MBP, right? He also said he had “hours of frustration” with the touchbar. Sounds hyperbolic to me. But throwing that comment in there I’m sure will generate more views/comments.

Patel just always complains about these things. But to put more memory into the machine they could't have used the faster low power. Sometimes reviewers don't consider the engineering balance that's needed, which should be aimed at the general user, not throw everything in to be able to check off some feature lists.