Question M1 MacBook Pro

[Rottie]

Who is going to buy a new M1 MacBook Air or Pro?

 

[Commodus]

I'm probably going to hold until the second generation, but my stepdad already has a MacBook Air on the way.

It's a bit ridiculous, no matter what. Apple completely up-ended buying advice — where you used to avoid base systems at all costs, now they're more than enough for most people. My partner will be in the market for a new laptop soon, and the entry-level Air may all she needs even though her tasks are fairly demanding.

I also can't help but think that the Mac mini became a much more compelling machine. Pay $699 and you get more than enough desktop for everyday tasks. It's back to the way it was in 2005 when the mini was a gateway for some first-time Mac users.

 

[Harry_Wild]

Thinking about it still; but it definitely going be the fan less Air if I do buy a MacBook!

 

[Aikouka]

I ended up getting my hands on what I think was a pretty good deal as Best Buy had a MacBook Pro rated Open Box - Excellent Certified for $200 off. (If you want to look for deals like this, consider checking any variant. This one was specifically under the Silver color.) They also had a MacBook Air marked down a bit, but it was only $70 off for the same condition. The only thing that I don't really know is how that affects the warranty? Does Apple just give me one year from the original buyer's purchase date as long as they fully initialized/setup the system? (I know you can check your warranty state from within iOS on an iPhone/iPad.)

There is one thing that I was curious about. When I entered the WiFi credentials, it seemed to take a somewhat long time to actually connect and get past the screen. What I don't know is if Apple is doing more behind the scenes (and not telling you) as it took about 20-30 seconds when connecting to WiFi normally takes about 5-10 seconds at worst. With a returned item, I'm a bit hesitant to just write something off as I want to make sure something isn't wrong... especially if the controllers are embedded.

As for why, I had always wanted to get into iOS development, but I hesitated on spending money on something without a real plan. At best, I would maybe consider getting a cheaper Mac Mini as the cost is far less excessive for just wanting to dabble. It wasn't until I thought of an interesting app idea, which I'm sure has already been done, to actually get into it. Then, after considering what sort of "simple app" to start off with to get my feet wet, I thought of another interesting idea... which I'm sure has also already been done.

 

[Commodus]

I am going to buy a new M1 MacBook but I am confused between Air and Pro because both offer similar features, performance, and configuration options. One side MackBook Air gives better value than the Pro and on the other hand, the MackBook gives a bit more performance than the Air so give me advice which one is better option to buy.

It's fairly simple: the MacBook Pro is better if you regularly handle tasks that require sustained performance, like video editing, or you want the absolute longest battery life you can get.

For everything else, you're likely better off with the Air. It offers very similar performance in typical conditions, it's cheaper, and it's quieter. The battery life isn't quite as good, but it's still ridiculously long.

 

[Mahzinho]

Who is going to buy a new M1 MacBook Air or Pro?

As I knew from a great programmer it uses RISC architecture, like if you want just a line and you get a line instead of getting a 100% made button converted into a line { for x86_64 cases }, for this reason the management is so good and the performance superb and even for x86_64 Rosetta 2 looks fine. I prefer the Windows side with a PC built by myself, but Apple def is very good, very competent brand.

 

[Fir]

Sold my maxed out 16" MBP before it wasn't worth half what I got, will get new 16" based on M2 or whatever they use.
In the meantime, got a 13" M1 to hold me over. Wow what a nice laptop! I have a Dell 9310 2in1 to compare it to and the Dell is very nice but fails miserably in battery life. The 3840x2400 display is partly to blame. The M1 chip with 16GB RAM performs admirably AND doesn't get the huge performance hit when running on battery either.

 

[StinkyPinky]

I may trade in my 16" to Apple (I was quoted over $1600 for it, and that's just a 16GB ram model which is out of warranty) and get the M2/M1X laptop 32GB ram instead.

 

[phillyTIM]

I'm probably going to hold until the second generation, ....

I'm of the same opinion, but what should we consider to be the 'second generation' - the M1X or the M2?

 

[Commodus]

I'm of the same opinion, but what should we consider to be the 'second generation' - the M1X or the M2?

I'd say M1X. Really, it just means systems that build on what Apple learned from the first wave (i.e. 'plain' M1 chips). M2 may not be faster than M1X, after all.

 

[phillyTIM]

I'd say M1X. Really, it just means systems that build on what Apple learned from the first wave (i.e. 'plain' M1 chips). M2 may not be faster than M1X, after all.

For me, I feel like the M2/X would be true second-gen; I'll probably hold out for that.

At this rate, by the time the new MacBook Pro comes out - the M1-platform will effectively have been a year old, which looks bad in the face of the A15 release next month (which will morph into the M2-platform for Macs/iPads). Apple should just go M2 in the Pros, at this point.

It is still anyones guess as to how Apple intends to release the M-series, especially in the face of chip shortages (mostly non-CPU chip shortages, in Apple's case).