The Future is Apple Silicon
The new M1 Macs are blistering fast at every level. An M1 MacBook Air is now as fast in many scenarios as an Intel iMac Pro which costs five times as much. There is no doubt that the Apple M1 Silicon, replacing the old Intel chips, is a masterstroke and a huge step forward for computing. This new generation of processors are System on a Chip (SOC), integrating the CPU, GPU and RAM, a big step forward. They were inspired by by the A14 bionic chip found in iPhones and iPads, this is an evolutionary technology. Soon it will no longer matter which computer you have, they will all be incredibly fast. Computers have finally become a mature technology. Just like a kettle.
The sweet spot at the moment appears to be a 512GB 13 inch MacBook Air with the 8 core chip, which retails for £1,249. The new unified memory appears to make RAM less important, but as usual Apple are still charging a premium for it, 16BG costs an extra £200. This machine is faster and more efficient than any previous laptop – full stop. If you don’t need a laptop the M1 Mac mini starting at £699 is excellent value, just as fast as the base £5449 Mac Pro. In the meantime, Apple are not making too much fuss about all this – they still have to sell off their inventory of old Intel machines. The transition to the new silicon architecture will take some time.
The only downside is that you have to run Big Sur Mac OS, which prevents old 32 bit apps from running and conceals the actual user interface. Obviously Windows, designed for Intel processors, will no longer run in Boot Camp on these new chips. Another consideration may be that we are now awaiting an M2 processor for the new iMac and MacBook Pro 16”, which should be even better, who knows. Meanwhile apps that have not been optimised for Apple Silicon appear to run well under Rosetta 2, and eventually they will all be translated to the new processor. Let’s face it, Apple Silicon is now the future of computing.
Just one example, you can now seamlessly edit 8k video on a MacBook Air, which previously required a high end workstation where the video card alone cost as much as one of these new M1 Macs. Meanwhile we await the new iMacs which should have more Thunderbolt / USB-C ports. The current machines only have 2, although they can be expanded with cheap USB-C adaptors. As we wait, there is no doubt that Apple has once again made a transformative leap in the world of computing.
Update 25 October 2021
The new M1Pro and M1Max chips now available for 14″ and 16″ MacBook Pro laptops are showing the amazing potential of these new system on a chip (SOC) designs. They are so far ahead of the game that Intel must be quaking in their oversize (14nm) boots. The highly reputed AnandTech has this to say about the latest M1 (5nm) iterations:
The M1 Pro and M1 Max change the narrative completely – these designs feel like truly SoCs that have been made with power users in mind, with Apple increasing the performance metrics in all vectors. We expected large performance jumps, but we didn’t expect the some of the monstrous increases that the new chips are able to achieve.
The chips here aren’t only able to outclass any competitor laptop design, but also competes against the best desktop systems out there, you’d have to bring out server-class hardware to get ahead of the M1 Max – it’s just generally absurd.
Update January 2023
If on a budget buy this machine, it can do everything you need!
Mac Mini – 512GB – £1049
Apple M2 with 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine
16GB unified memory
512GB SSD storage (256GB is never enough)
Gigabit Ethernet
Two Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI port, two USB-A ports, headphone jack