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

[Muathaz]

Hey guys bed a suggestion.

Looking for an ultrabook around the 1L mark which is light, has good battery, good screen and good performance (fast boot up, fast wake from sleep, fast performance in the usual mail, browser, excel, word) kind of stuff.

I am seriously confused if I should go with this new MacBook Air with M1 or the Intel 11th gen ultrabooks like Acer Swift 5, Asus Zenbook etc.

The primary usuals is media consumption and portability. The Swift 5 has insane specs compared to the air like 16gb ram, 1tb ssd, Intel xe gpu etc. while air has just 256gb storage and 8gb ram. Will that be enough for long term use like 5-6 years?

if you don’t need windows for any specific use cases, just go blindly with the air. i’d suggest upgrading the ram to 16gb if you intend to keep it 5 years +. no matter what people say, it’s always better to make it a little more future proof. for the storage, imo it’s wiser to get an external ssd as apple’s storage upgrade prices are just ridiculous. price would be around 1.06 with the upgraded ram. even if the intel chip is close to m1 in terms of performance, efficiency of the apple chip demolishes it completely.

dell xps 13 is the benchmark for windows ultrabooks. i doubt the xps is better than the air in any way except those display bezels.

 

[msankadi]

No amount of optimization can account for hardware. No matter what 8 gb ram is going to seriously limit any future proofing.

It will seriously limit you to have just 8 gb ram in today's world. If not today, you will regret it 2 3 years down the line. At any time if you for some reason need to play a game or in your home does, you will regret it.
A ssd onboard is going to give you much higher throughout rate than any usb connected hard disk so there is absolutely no comparison between USB connected hdd vs ssd onboard

Any which way the 11th gen Intel or m1 both will be overkill to play any 4k video locally or via streaming. Hell even 8k will be playable on both easily. So basically the processor of both are powerful enough to negate the only advantage m1 has. So, in real life usage all these cpu benchmarks will be useless, specially in your particular case. Not to mention that for the first year or more, anyone buying the M1 chip might be just beta testers while they iron out the apps and the bugs

If you actually want to use that much power you would need to game at insane details and resolution. However games themselves don't run natively on m1 so either availability won't be there or max or it will perform at best equal to intel

I would suggest asking this question outside this thread if you genuinely want frank unbiased opinion

 

[i_rock098]

First question that you need to ask is if you need to use Windows or any specific application that currently is not available in MacOS. If that is not the case, then go for the Macbook. As per the reviews, the Macbook is so optimised that you will never feel that 8GB RAM is low and storage issue can be resolved by just getting a cheap external HDD.

I personally use an 2018 MBP and it also has 8GB RAM, I did not have any performance issues with it yet. The software is just heavily optimised.

the only windows specific app I would need would be MS word and excel and both are available on Mac if I am correct. The only caveat is the less storage and just 8gb ram. Even if I manage with 8 gb won't 256gb os storage be too less? Heck my phone has 256gb of storage now.

No amount of optimization can account for hardware. No matter what 8 gb ram is going to seriously limit any future proofing.

It will seriously limit you to have just 8 gb ram in today's world. If not today, you will regret it 2 3 years down the line. At any time if you for some reason need to play a game or in your home does, you will regret it.
A ssd onboard is going to give you much higher throughout rate than any usb connected hard disk so there is absolutely no comparison between USB connected hdd vs ssd onboard

Any which way the 11th gen Intel or m1 both will be overkill to play any 4k video locally or via streaming. Hell even 8k will be playable on both easily. So basically the processor of both are powerful enough to negate the only advantage m1 has. So, in real life usage all these cpu benchmarks will be useless, specially in your particular case. Not to mention that for the first year or more, anyone buying the M1 chip might be just beta testers while they iron out the apps and the bugs

If you actually want to use that much power you would need to game at insane details and resolution. However games themselves don't run natively on m1 so either availability won't be there or max or it will perform at best equal to intel

I would suggest asking this question outside this thread if you genuinely want frank unbiased opinion

That is one thing I am worried about, the ram and the storage, otherwise I think the air is really good as an ultrabook. I actually have a dedicated gaming PC so I don't need any of the gpu power or gaming power. The reason I am looking for an ultrabook is for the portability, battery life and media consumption. We all know how much of a resource hog chrome is these days hence as a long term user even for excel/mail/chrome not sure if 8gb will be enough. Also 256gb storage sounds like a joke on a laptop. Other than these two factor I feel the air ticks all the boxes.

if you don’t need windows for any specific use cases, just go blindly with the air. i’d suggest upgrading the ram to 16gb if you intend to keep it 5 years +. no matter what people say, it’s always better to make it a little more future proof. for the storage, imo it’s wiser to get an external ssd as apple’s storage upgrade prices are just ridiculous. price would be around 1.06 with the upgraded ram. even if the intel chip is close to m1 in terms of performance, efficiency of the apple chip demolishes it completely.

dell xps 13 is the benchmark for windows ultrabooks. i doubt the xps is better than the air in any way except those display bezels.

Yup the original plan was to get a dell ups 13 but that unfortunately does not fit in my budget, and now out of nowhere apple launches the new air with m1 that seems to blow the ups out of the water. Given a choice between 16gb ram vs 8gb ram and 512gb vs 256gb which upgrade should I give preference to if I can only choose one between the ram and space upgrade?

 

[Muathaz]

the only windows specific app I would need would be MS word and excel and both are available on Mac if I am correct. The only caveat is the less storage and just 8gb ram. Even if I manage with 8 gb won't 256gb os storage be too less? Heck my phone has 256gb of storage now.


That is one thing I am worried about, the ram and the storage, otherwise I think the air is really good as an ultrabook. I actually have a dedicated gaming PC so I don't need any of the gpu power or gaming power. The reason I am looking for an ultrabook is for the portability, battery life and media consumption. We all know how much of a resource hog chrome is these days hence as a long term user even for excel/mail/chrome not sure if 8gb will be enough. Also 256gb storage sounds like a joke on a laptop. Other than these two factor I feel the air ticks all the boxes.

Yup the original plan was to get a dell ups 13 but that unfortunately does not fit in my budget, and now out of nowhere apple launches the new air with m1 that seems to blow the ups out of the water. Given a choice between 16gb ram vs 8gb ram and 512gb vs 256gb which upgrade should I give preference to if I can only choose one between the ram and space upgrade?

well that is down to just personal preference. personally i'm going for the base model with 8gb ram because i'll be upgrading again when the new form factor come in within 2 years. till then i'm pretty certain 8gb would be more than enough for 99% of use cases. however, if i were to keep this thing for 5 years+, I'll definitely go for the 16gb ram upgrade.

it's the opposite for me. 256 is more than enough for my laptop, but it's the minimum i want for my phone. if you're okay with an external ssd (they are small and light), 16 and 256 is the way to go.

 

[alekhkhanna]

the only windows specific app I would need would be MS word and excel and both are available on Mac if I am correct. The only caveat is the less storage and just 8gb ram. Even if I manage with 8 gb won't 256gb os storage be too less? Heck my phone has 256gb of storage now.


That is one thing I am worried about, the ram and the storage, otherwise I think the air is really good as an ultrabook. I actually have a dedicated gaming PC so I don't need any of the gpu power or gaming power. The reason I am looking for an ultrabook is for the portability, battery life and media consumption. We all know how much of a resource hog chrome is these days hence as a long term user even for excel/mail/chrome not sure if 8gb will be enough. Also 256gb storage sounds like a joke on a laptop. Other than these two factor I feel the air ticks all the boxes.

Yup the original plan was to get a dell ups 13 but that unfortunately does not fit in my budget, and now out of nowhere apple launches the new air with m1 that seems to blow the ups out of the water. Given a choice between 16gb ram vs 8gb ram and 512gb vs 256gb which upgrade should I give preference to if I can only choose one between the ram and space upgrade?

On Windows, anything less than 16gb is shit. My laptop came with 8gb, and I upgraded it myself the day my warranty expired. Chrome is ****all resource hog. But but but.... the Air will give you much better battery backup than any Windows laptop out there, without any performance hiccup/compromises. Nobody knows if 8gb RAM will be enough for the Air, unless we get long term reviews in. 256gb is measly storage too (currently running 2 TB SSDs on laptop), and I would think long and hard before going with it - ultimately you need to think whether the compromises are important to you.
I have zero hopes that we will get better than 256/8 under 1 lac from Apple - even in the future.

 

[raksrules]

I have zero hopes that we will get better than 256/8 under 1 lac from Apple - even in the future.

I have to agree on this. No point to keep hope. But do remember that before this, Air came with 128GB SSD as base and I guess that too cost similar price.

 

[y2s]

First of all you didn't hire me for a day to do the research for you, so don't give me the crap that after a days research etc.

. I just came across this during my search for my box so shared it. You can see my post history I'm building one for myself in 15k. For that you start name calling and shaming?

For what it's worth yes this particular box doesn't look worth it compared to the mac mini which starts at 65000 in India. (which is 870 usd not 650). For a non fanboy who doesn't want to burn their money and willing to do research or ask politely from others, I can't believe you can't configure something much more powerful in a mini itx at this price point. Base full gaming dedicated graphics can be constructed in this so only premium has to be paid for form factor. It will have at least 4 x ram compared to the puny 8gb ddr4 in mini too plus capable of gaming. +repairability+upgradable+os choice+accessories compatibility

I guess I shouldn't have shared only. It is your money, you can go and burn it for all I care, I will see you outside apple fanboy thread. I am done in this thread.

I wouldn't hire you! I'd be surprised if anyone would. I just gave you the opportunity to back up your comments. You obviously were not able - I did not name call - you did, I just returned the favor.

FWIW - a Mini ITX build would not work as I mentioned the constraint of a small unventilated space - . Given these constraints I am willing to pay a premium like many others for the low TDP - Ultra small form factor. Is there something wrong with that? Can you come up with a better solution than the NUC or Mac mini? If not, then just drop it. Peace.

 

[msankadi]

I wouldn't hire you! I'd be surprised if anyone would. I just gave you the opportunity to back up your comments. You obviously were not able - I did not name call - you did, I just returned the favor.

FWIW - a Mini ITX build would not work as I mentioned the constraint of a small unventilated space - . Given these constraints I am willing to pay a premium like many others for the low TDP - Ultra small form factor. Is there something wrong with that? Can you come up with a better solution than the NUC or Mac mini? If not, then just drop it. Peace.

Don't worry, the likes of you couldn't even hire me if you wanted. I wish I would have long retired if a day comes when people with close minds like you are out to hire consultants,.

How many others are you referring to? Is it the room full of 10 people who have bought the mac mini along with you? I can bet it is going to be a minuscule number. It is going to be a subset of people who are not able or willing to do research to find a product, especially if it goes against their confirmation bias. After all, how difficult can it be for someone to operate an Intel NUC for media playback!

Also for your knowledge, if you ever come out of your bias there are many ITX form factors, from full to smallest. So don't discard any ITX just because it is ITX. If you see the light, you can then go and research how to build those.

Types of Motherboards | On the Motherboard | Pearson IT Certification

<p>In this chapter from <em>Complete CompTIA A+ Guide to IT Hardware and Software, 7th Edition</em>, Cheryl A. Schmidt explores the importance of motherboard components, their purpose, and properties.</p>

www.pearsonitcertification.com

 

[alekhkhanna]

I have to agree on this. No point to keep hope. But do remember that before this, Air came with 128GB SSD as base and I guess that too cost similar price.

Oh yeah, that's true. But unless storage gets REALLY cheap, and most competitors start bundling 1 TB SSD on mid range builds, I don't expect Apple to change their base to 512 GB (and by then, the apps would have ballooned in size, making the upgrade partially moot).
The new Macbooks have so much going for them - excellent silicon, great OS and optimizations - but artificial limitations on storage and RAM. Had the default been 512/16, there would be ZERO competition at that price point. You could close your eyes and just say BUY THE AIR ! But, heh, who are we kidding - it's Apple. One step forward, two steps back.

 

[rdst_1]

Hey guys bed a suggestion.

Looking for an ultrabook around the 1L mark which is light, has good battery, good screen and good performance (fast boot up, fast wake from sleep, fast performance in the usual mail, browser, excel, word) kind of stuff.

I am seriously confused if I should go with this new MacBook Air with M1 or the Intel 11th gen ultrabooks like Acer Swift 5, Asus Zenbook etc.

The primary usuals is media consumption and portability. The Swift 5 has insane specs compared to the air like 16gb ram, 1tb ssd, Intel xe gpu etc. while air has just 256gb storage and 8gb ram. Will that be enough for long term use like 5-6 years?

I have somewhat similar requirements as you and just because of the media consumption part, my suggestion would be LG Gram 17. Do check out some reviews. The only issue I see is Windows 10 which can be a PITA. Frankly, the only reason even I am considering MBA is because of MacOS over Windows 10. I so wish I could find a latest ultrabook which supports Win 7.
Apart from that, yes 256GB SSD does feel very low and it was the reason I sold off my MBA back in 2013 when I had first bought it.
For the kind of usage you have mentioned, 8GB RAM should be enough. My current laptop has 8GB ram and I have extremely similar usage like yours and I have many tabs open on Chrome without any issues. Of course 12/16GB would be futureproof, but 8GB ain't that bad.

 

[alekhkhanna]

I have somewhat similar requirements as you and just because of the media consumption part, my suggestion would be LG Gram 17. Do check out some reviews. The only issue I see is Windows 10 which can be a PITA. Frankly, the only reason even I am considering MBA is because of MacOS over Windows 10. I so wish I could find a latest ultrabook which supports Win 7.
Apart from that, yes 256GB SSD does feel very low and it was the reason I sold off my MBA back in 2013 when I had first bought it.
For the kind of usage you have mentioned, 8GB RAM should be enough. My current laptop has 8GB ram and I have extremely similar usage like yours and I have many tabs open on Chrome without any issues. Of course 12/16GB would be futureproof, but 8GB ain't that bad.

Cant you just install Win 7 over it from a bootable USB drive ? Should be easy. Drivers shouldn't be a problem IMO. Win 7 had great support,

 

[raksrules]

I know 256GB is not so great but with MacOS, isn't 8GB good enough? I don't know since I have never used MacOS but what are the opinions of Mac users?
Like in iPhone, even with 2-3 GB it performs great while androids stutter.

 

[alekhkhanna]

Apple's new M1 graphics work makes resolution shifts instantaneous | AppleInsider

New Mac models powered by M1 Apple Silicon are not just fast in the conventional sense. They're also much more sophisticated, right down to making settings to their display resolution happen instantly.

appleinsider.com

We need a hashtag for how good Apple Silicon is.

 

[msankadi]

Apple's new M1 graphics work makes resolution shifts instantaneous | AppleInsider

New Mac models powered by M1 Apple Silicon are not just fast in the conventional sense. They're also much more sophisticated, right down to making settings to their display resolution happen instantly.

appleinsider.com

We need a hashtag for how good Apple Silicon is.

Great but I dont understand is the mac os targeted only to graphic designers? How many normal users care for such features apart from the hype? Are common users on Mac really using this kind of feature on multiple monitors none the less?

It smells like android vs ios in reverse where android enthusiasts try to hype up all things which ios users say are gimmicks or not needed for a 'common user'

 

[alekhkhanna]

Great but I dont understand is the mac os targeted only to graphic designers? How many normal users are using this kind of feature on multiple monitors none the less?

It smells like android vs ios in reverse where android enthusiasts try to hype up all things which ios users say are gimmicks or not needed for a 'common user'

Why is res shift only for designers ? It just gives a smooth, pleasurable way of working.
And the benefits of Apple Silicon are more than that for enthusiasts. Say you are working on some documents, and are out of reach of a charging point for 8-10 hours (happens with people who travel quite a bit), you really don't need to worry with the new Macs since they are "truly" full day workhorses. I don't think there's any Windows laptop (specially at those price points) which can have the same performance and TDP and battery life.
Same goes for people who want constant entertainment on the go - you are abroad a flight etc, no point, but no issues nonetheless.
While I am not a fan of previous Macs and any iPhones, one cannot but laud Apple for their chip. They outdid both Intel and AMD in mobile device segment - which sells way more than desktops. Earlier you HAD to chose between a powerful HW or battery life (the ULW Intels are shit) - but not anymore. Decent to great performance, great battery life across the whole spectrum. And it will only get better. Indeed a generational shift.
The shit point - user repair is almost dead. I wonder how what Louise Rossman will do once all these silicons become common. Love his channel !

-------------------------

Brilliant write up

These are called opportunities

fabiensanglard.net

ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK

---

While I am impressed both by the undertaking of replacing an arch and the significant resulting performance leap, there is a caveat.

For a few months, those who will buy M1 machines will enjoy great responsiveness and blazing start-up time. Some once bloated applications will again behave like most tools should. But soon these metrics will start to degrade. Responsiveness and start-up time will progressively revert to what they used to be and old "non-M1" machines will become even slower than they used to.

For every cycle a hardware engineer saves, a software engineer will add two instructions[3].

My most vivid recollection of this issue is from 2008 when I replaced my HDDs with SSDs. It was such a life changer that I wrote about it so the five people who read my blog could also change their lives[4]. Photoshop started within one second. XCode booted instantaneously. It was glorious.

Ten years later, a M.2 NVMe with a Ryzen 5 2600 takes 13 seconds to boot Photoshop. And I no longer use XCode.

 

[msankadi]

Why is res shift only for designers ? It just gives a smooth, pleasurable way of working.
And the benefits of Apple Silicon are more than that for enthusiasts. Say you are working on some documents, and are out of reach of a charging point for 8-10 hours (happens with people who travel quite a bit), you really don't need to worry with the new Macs since they are "truly" full day workhorses. I don't think there's any Windows laptop (specially at those price points) which can have the same performance and TDP and battery life.
Same goes for people who want constant entertainment on the go - you are abroad a flight etc, no point, but no issues nonetheless.
While I am not a fan of previous Macs and any iPhones, one cannot but laud Apple for their chip. They outdid both Intel and AMD in mobile device segment - which sells way more than desktops. Earlier you HAD to chose between a powerful HW or battery life (the ULW Intels are shit) - but not anymore. Decent to great performance, great battery life across the whole spectrum. And it will only get better. Indeed a generational shift.
The shit point - user repair is almost dead. I wonder how what Louise Rossman will do once all these silicons become common. Love his channel !

-------------------------

Brilliant write up

These are called opportunities

fabiensanglard.net

|
Definitely, this will help push the industry in the right direction. However, the battery gain over other laptops is 2 hours, 14 vs 16 based on tests. So, again 'first true full day', 'revolutionary chip' etc. are just exaggerations in my mind. Battery gain and performance improvements are not the gimmicks - However, instant resolution change and a full article on that is like a Samsung galaxy feature being hyped

 

[Muathaz]

|
Definitely, this will help push the industry in the right direction. However, the battery gain over other laptops is 2 hours, 14 vs 16 based on tests. So, again 'first true full day', 'revolutionary chip' etc. are just exaggerations in my mind. Battery gain and performance improvements are not the gimmicks - However, instant resolution change and a full article on that is like a Samsung galaxy feature being hyped

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1329413281182834694

 

[alekhkhanna]

|
Definitely, this will help push the industry in the right direction. However, the battery gain over other laptops is 2 hours, 14 vs 16 based on tests. So, again 'first true full day', 'revolutionary chip' etc. are just exaggerations in my mind. Battery gain and performance improvements are not the gimmicks - However, instant resolution change and a full article on that is like a Samsung galaxy feature being hyped

Also add that whatever it does - better performance, better battery - is mostly without melting your balls. In most tests, the fans on Mini only started when super intensive apps were being used. The Air is now fanless, and hence pin drop silent, and you have no performance drop - JUST INCREDIBLE.

I legit hope Intel and AMD catch up sooner than later and we see similar improvements on Windows side of things.

 

[raksrules]

Guys take it this way, if Apple succeeds in this, we will see other manufacturers pull up their socks to come up with great offerings. Apple is known to disrupt the market and others try to mimic them. Be it Airpods or the all glass iphones or full screen capacitive touch iPhone.
Ultimately, consumer gets more choices.

 

[msankadi]

Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 (2020) review: speedy, spectacular convertible

It can even play some games.

www.theverge.com

DELL XPS 13 2-IN-1 (2020) REVIEW: SPEEDY, SPECTACULAR CONVERTIBLE

The really exciting news is that you can actually play Shadow of the Tomb Raider on this machine at 1080p. The 2-in-1 averaged 36fps on the game’s built-in benchmark (at the lowest-possible settings). That’s just two off from the newest MacBook Air with Apple’s M1 chip (38fps), which has been outperforming 1165G7 systems across the board. Now, you may very well not want to play demanding titles like Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 38fps, but you can play them on this machine without feeling like you’re watching a flipbook. That’s a big accomplishment for these integrated graphics, especially considering that the standard XPS 13 only averaged 22fps on the same benchmark.