Apple M1 5nm chip launched for macbook air and pro 13 inch

[superczar]

Also, even if I don't get education pricing, can i still buy at retail price on apple india and will I get 6000 cashback if i say order tomorrow?
Since it is not instant discount, I have fear that later for some reason cashback won't come. Apple will charge my card immediately right?
Like in US many stores will only charge the card when they ship which means posted date will be late.

Not sure if the 6K cashback is available for online purchase of M1 at at apple india.

The store needs to punch in the S/N of the machine on the POS terminal to activate the cash back - so that probably won't work
Having said that, It may be worth calling to check.. I am not sure if the SN entry is only procedural or there is any actual validation that occurs

The Apple India site does not have the CB offer

 

[raksrules]

i have no idea about that.. but if they said so i’d suggest buying it through online education store. my brother got his delivery on monday which was after two weeks from the date of order, a week earlier than what was promised. from the online edu store.

Now I have scanned copies of the I'd card and Adhaar card of the guy whose details I used for pre booking but don't have them anymore in my hand.
Can I chat with apple pretending to be him and giving them the scanned documents and see if they give me pricing?
The local apple store had accepted it. The person whose student it is, is 1991 born. Will that be an issue? He is doing some sort of 3 year MBA and Aptronix had no issues with it.

 

[raksrules]

The store needs to punch in the S/N of the machine on the POS terminal to activate the cash back - so that probably won't work
Having said that, It may be worth calling to check.. I am not sure if the SN entry is only procedural or there is any actual validation that occurs

The Apple India site does not have the CB offer

Damn it. If serial number is a requirement then no option. Else I could have told them to charge entire amount now itself.
Seems I have to wait to get the M1 if i dont want to pay retail.

Is there any point buying from US at US retail prices? I have someone coming from US in March 2021 so can may be buy and get it shipped to them. But I want to avoid it. Not sure yet.

 

[superczar]

Damn it. If serial number is a requirement then no option. Else I could have told them to charge entire amount now itself.
Seems I have to wait to get the M1 if i dont want to pay retail.

Is there any point buying from US at US retail prices? I have someone coming from US in March 2021 so can may be buy and get it shipped to them. But I want to avoid it. Not sure yet.

The difference is minimal once you factor in the sales tax + CC FX charges vs the post CB prices locally.

I still maintain it would be worth calling the local stores to check if any of em have stock .
Also, if it does not entail too long a trip, drop in to see if they can figure out a way to work it out - for all you know, they may have an option for doing it without punching in the SN

Tatacliq had stocks till yesterday - I dropped that coz I was stupidly waiting for my existing one to sell
Refresh and see if they get any stock replenishment in time

Edit: They have it back in stock - order before it gets OOS again

https://www.tatacliq.com/apple-macbook-air-mgn63hn-a-m1-chip8-gb256-gb-ssd13-3-inchmac-osintegrated-graphicsspace-grey/p-mp000000008247739

 

[raksrules]

The difference is minimal once you factor in the sales tax + CC FX charges vs the post CB prices locally.

I still maintain it would be worth calling the local stores to check if any of em have stock .
Also, if it does not entail too long a trip, drop in to see if they can figure out a way to work it out - for all you know, they may have an option for doing it without punching in the SN

Tatacliq had stocks till yesterday - I dropped that coz I was stupidly waiting for my existing one to sell
Refresh and see if they get any stock replenishment in time

Edit: They have it back in stock - order before it gets OOS again

https://www.tatacliq.com/apple-macbook-air-mgn63hn-a-m1-chip8-gb256-gb-ssd13-3-inchmac-osintegrated-graphicsspace-grey/p-mp000000008247739

Yes saw it is in stock but want to gamble with the student discount tomorrow and then decide. I see there is 6K discount. Even if get 10% student discount I will be 9.2K off in that case. So yes if student discount doesn't work out and by some magic it is in stock tomorrow I will order.

 

[superczar]

Hmm..not sure if this helps..
But I'd say that don't delay the gratification for a possible 3% difference ..
Seriously, it's that good

 

[pauldmps]

LTT review is out finally

 

[Muathaz]

LTT review is out finally

I watched the full review only because of the click bait title.

ig if this guy says (renowned mac hater) it's such a brilliant product, there's nothing more to say. well at least now I hope certain people here have the ability to understand why I was in high praise of its excellence as a daily driver laptop and that the debate we had was totally pointless. there is simply no comparison with a similarly priced laptop and even punches way above its weight class. indeed the most vfm product in it's segment and can even go on to say it's a bargain considering xps 13 with a cheap i3 processor asks 1100$.

 

[pauldmps]

That wasn't a debate. Just a troll trying to start a flame war. Good that he got banned.

However, the VFM argument really depends on the budget. If you can spend 90k or more, then there is no reason to get a non-Apple laptop.
For most people in India though, they can get a i5 laptop for 40-55k (HP, Dell, Lenovo etc.) for their normal use.

 

[Muathaz]

That wasn't a debate. Just a troll trying to start a flame war. Good that he got banned.

However, the VFM argument really depends on the budget. If you can spend 90k or more, then there is no reason to get a non-Apple laptop.
For most people in India though, they can get a i5 laptop for 40-55k (HP, Dell, Lenovo etc.) for their normal use.

there was a similar debate on another unrelated thread with a few other people.

yep that's why I worded 'in its segment'. it is incredible vfm w.r.t to other products in its segment (the xps and likes from razer and hp for eg) and even segments higher.

 

[rdst_1]

That wasn't a debate. Just a troll trying to start a flame war. Good that he got banned.

However, the VFM argument really depends on the budget. If you can spend 90k or more, then there is no reason to get a non-Apple laptop.
For most people in India though, they can get a i5 laptop for 40-55k (HP, Dell, Lenovo etc.) for their normal use.

Even in the same budget, there are very nice choices available. The problem is, especially for someone like me (and there are many out there like me), that I can't buy the Air or Pro unless I will be able to run Windows on it.
No doubt, it is a great update for people who already use MacOS and even for those who can make the jump easily. Before this update, I was seriously contemplating buying an Air from US, but with this one, I can't. I used to have an Air for a few months but couldn't live with the low storage, but this time I was contemplating buying a used 512GB from US.
Now, I have no choice but to buy anything but Apple, being a Windows user. It also helped that earlier, it was much easier to upgrade Macs, but now it is going to be impossible and who wants to pay $200 extra for 8GB RAM or extra 256GB hard disk space.

 

[Nalin]

Apart from the usual click bait title, all I see is praises in the whole video.

One new thing I noticed is the extra 8 hours of battery life on Pro against the Air. Now suddenly the price difference between the Air and Pro model seems well justified. You get better screen along with active cooling and the 20 hour battery life. Wow, can’t get better then this.

The problem is, especially for someone like me (and there are many out there like me), that I can't buy the Air or Pro unless I will be able to run Windows on it.

Any particular reason to rely on Windows?

 

[rdst_1]

Any particular reason to rely on Windows?

Nothing particular apart from being a Windows user for over 15 years now, so pretty set in my ways.
I am still on Windows 7 for this very reason and if I did have to upgrade to Windows 10, I might try and learn how to use MacOS instead, but it will be very cumbersome. Thankfully, MacOS should be more intuitive than Linux, where I had to Google almost everything and hence couldn't stick for long.

Edit -
Also, I am now a much more casual user compared to my earlier days, so there is even much less incentive to learn a new OS now. Apart from that, I hate the thought of what would happen if anything was to go wrong within a few years as I surely won't be able to get it repaired outside. Same for upgrades. All these combined make it a hard buy for someone like me, no matter how much I love the innovation and performance of the new chip.
I am thankful to Apple though. Because they launched an iPhone, I am able to enjoy Android today. I hope this will have similar effect on Windows offerings as well.

 

[Muathaz]

Before this update, I was seriously contemplating buying an Air from US, but with this one, I can't. I used to have an Air for a few months but couldn't live with the low storage, but this time I was contemplating buying a used 512GB from US.

no offence, but prior airs (2018-early 2020) are totally horrible choices for anyone but the lightest of users. thermals were absolute crap on those things. even as a mac user I wouldn't consider it unless I got a really good deal. I'd assume it'd run worse on Windows. trading off significant amount of performance compared to similarly priced windows laptops (pre M1), why would you even consider an Air if you must require windows in your workflow?

ram upgrade costs a bomb, but totally worth it in the long run if required. ssd on the other hand, much better going off with an external drive. external ssds are extremely compact and convenient these days that it simply is not worth spending exorbitant amounts for more internal storage.

One new thing I noticed is the extra 8 hours of battery life on Pro against the Air. Now suddenly the price difference between the Air and Pro model seems well justified. You get better screen along with active cooling and the 20 hour battery life. Wow, can’t get better then this.

I'm surprised it took a while for this to come out. It has a noticeably bigger battery while powering the same components. Should last at least 3 hours more on standard usage than the air imo. slightly better speakers + mic + battery + sustained performance + extra gpu core + faster charger + slightly brighter display imo worth extra 300$ for people needing it, not for people on a budget.

 

[i_rock098]

no offence, but prior airs (2018-early 2020) are totally horrible choices for anyone but the lightest of users. thermals were absolute crap on those things. even as a mac user I wouldn't consider it unless I got a really good deal. I'd assume it'd run worse on Windows. trading off significant amount of performance compared to similarly priced windows laptops (pre M1), why would you even consider an Air if you must require windows in your workflow?

ram upgrade costs a bomb, but totally worth it in the long run if required. ssd on the other hand, much better going off with an external drive. external ssds are extremely compact and convenient these days that it simply is not worth spending exorbitant amounts for more internal storage.


I'm surprised it took a while for this to come out. It has a noticeably bigger battery while powering the same components. Should last at least 3 hours more on standard usage than the air imo. slightly better speakers + mic + battery + sustained performance + extra gpu core + faster charger + slightly brighter display imo worth extra 300$ for people needing it, not for people on a budget.

I would say 256gb is a joke for internal storage. Heck my phone has more memory than that. Even if you store barely anything on the laptop you still kind of need more storage than 256gb for all the apps music and a few movies. As far as I know you can’t install apps on external drive making the 512gb option the bare minimum.

 

[rdst_1]

no offence, but prior airs (2018-early 2020) are totally horrible choices for anyone but the lightest of users. thermals were absolute crap on those things. even as a mac user I wouldn't consider it unless I got a really good deal. I'd assume it'd run worse on Windows. trading off significant amount of performance compared to similarly priced windows laptops (pre M1), why would you even consider an Air if you must require windows in your workflow?

Back in 2013,when I had purchased my MBA, it was the best Windows laptop I could buy at that moment. And it ran Windows 7 beautifully. You have to realize, I didn't run Windows via Parallels. Instead I formatted the hard drive, removed MacOS completely and installed Windows instead, as you would in a normal laptop. I couldn't survive for long with the 256GB internal storage so sold it off and bought a basic Lenovo for 35k and installed a 1TB SSD in it for another 31k,back in 2013.
My usage is just media consumption and that's it. I need high internal storage to seed my torrents. So, even today, all I need is a laptop capable of playing 4k h265 rips, which my current laptop fails at. Ironically, my phone plays those same rips flawlessly.
Frankly, I could probably survive without a laptop as well with my needs being met by an Android tablet instead, but I have never been without a Windows machine for the last 15 years and hence feel the need to own one still for whatever need that may come up once in a blue moon.

 

[pauldmps]

Nothing particular apart from being a Windows user for over 15 years now, so pretty set in my ways.
I am still on Windows 7 for this very reason and if I did have to upgrade to Windows 10, I might try and learn how to use MacOS instead, but it will be very cumbersome. Thankfully, MacOS should be more intuitive than Linux, where I had to Google almost everything and hence couldn't stick for long.

MacOS is equivalent to Windows and sometimes even more intuitive. Think it as a toned-down OS for non-tech users (while still being feature-rich enough to be the first choice of mainstream professionals, due to the UNIX-like functionalities and availability of pro apps). I don't think anyone will have problems picking up MacOS.

 

[Nalin]

Nothing particular apart from being a Windows user for over 15 years now, so pretty set in my ways.
I am still on Windows 7 for this very reason and if I did have to upgrade to Windows 10, I might try and learn how to use MacOS instead, but it will be very cumbersome. Thankfully, MacOS should be more intuitive than Linux, where I had to Google almost everything and hence couldn't stick for long.

Edit -
Also, I am now a much more casual user compared to my earlier days, so there is even much less incentive to learn a new OS now. Apart from that, I hate the thought of what would happen if anything was to go wrong within a few years as I surely won't be able to get it repaired outside. Same for upgrades. All these combined make it a hard buy for someone like me, no matter how much I love the innovation and performance of the new chip.
I am thankful to Apple though. Because they launched an iPhone, I am able to enjoy Android today. I hope this will have similar effect on Windows offerings as well.

Well, imho if you never found MacOS worthwhile then no point spending extra just to get a fancy fruit logo. I don’t know how it was back in 2013 but it’s very similar to Linux except that it has Apple backing thus providing it with exceptional polish and support.

Windows 7 is gem, never upgrade to Windows 10 unless you need it. There is a reason it was provided free of cost.

I'm surprised it took a while for this to come out. It has a noticeably bigger battery while powering the same components. Should last at least 3 hours more on standard usage than the air imo. slightly better speakers + mic + battery + sustained performance + extra gpu core + faster charger + slightly brighter display imo worth extra 300$ for people needing it, not for people on a budget.

Well these small things are what I look for in a laptop. These extras are what makes the model a Pro machine. But not everyone needs these extras or are ready to pay for. Perfectly fine, but in past few years this thin line of difference between Air and Pro model was disappearing.

 

[alekhkhanna]

LTT review is out finally

Saw this yday. Not surprised. Great stuff by Apple ! 20 hours of streaming video playback - that's beats an iPad.
But... 256 gb of storage, eh.
Currently sitting on 2 tb SSDs on my laptop. Can't really do with such low storage.

 

[Muathaz]

I would say 256gb is a joke for internal storage. Heck my phone has more memory than that. Even if you store barely anything on the laptop you still kind of need more storage than 256gb for all the apps music and a few movies. As far as I know you can’t install apps on external drive making the 512gb option the bare minimum.

256 is perfectly alright for most essential apps. Personally for me I don't store music and movies on my laptop as I use spotify, prime and netflix. And movies not available on those two, I download and delete after watching. If you want to store just music and movies, you don't even need an SSD, would be fine with a normal HDD. If this is a dealbreaker for you, this is not the kind of laptop for you. Or if you have the money, upgrade. If i was in your shoes, I'd trade slight inconvenience of connecting a small external ssd for everything these machines offer.

Also unlike windows, i found macos not to eat up storage everyday with random stuff (C drive).

Whereas on a phone 256 is minimum for me. I take a lot of photos and 4k videos. and there's shared media too.

Back in 2013,when I had purchased my MBA, it was the best Windows laptop I could buy at that moment. And it ran Windows 7 beautifully. You have to realize, I didn't run Windows via Parallels. Instead I formatted the hard drive, removed MacOS completely and installed Windows instead, as you would in a normal laptop. I couldn't survive for long with the 256GB internal storage so sold it off and bought a basic Lenovo for 35k and installed a 1TB SSD in it for another 31k,back in 2013.
My usage is just media consumption and that's it. I need high internal storage to seed my torrents. So, even today, all I need is a laptop capable of playing 4k h265 rips, which my current laptop fails at. Ironically, my phone plays those same rips flawlessly.
Frankly, I could probably survive without a laptop as well with my needs being met by an Android tablet instead, but I have never been without a Windows machine for the last 15 years and hence feel the need to own one still for whatever need that may come up once in a blue moon.

I was not referring to Parallels either. I tried windows 10 on my 2015 mpbr and it was worse than macos performance wise. not to mention battery as well.

The problem is, especially for someone like me (and there are many out there like me), that I can't buy the Air or Pro unless I will be able to run Windows on it.

I thought you required Windows for your workflow. uhm.. not sure it's a logical reason. switch to macos is fairly easy. many things are much more intuitive than windows.

Well these small things are what I look for in a laptop. These extras are what makes the model a Pro machine. But not everyone needs these extras or are ready to pay for. Perfectly fine, but in past few years this thin line of difference between Air and Pro model was disappearing.

exactly. these are very minor improvements for what is a considerable amount of money for a budget conscious buyer (30k here, while providing 95% of the same experience). personally I like the wedge design more too. I'm sure the difference between Air and Pro will be substantial once they update the 4 port model, most probably with the 14" refresh.