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Considering that the 1st generation of each Apple device is a beta version (first Apple Watch, first iPhone, first iPad, ... but also first Mac Book Pro with Co

Considering that the 1st generation of each Apple device is a beta version (first Apple Watch, first iPhone, first iPad, ... but also first Mac Book Pro with Core Duo CPUs) and are abandonned quite quickly, the best bet would be to at least wait for the 2nd generation, so at best 2022. A regular mac can last 6 good years nowadays, and more depending on your use-cases, so if you can wait until 2022 you better wait. Otherwise renew now! (I'll likely renew my 2014 MBP this year)

sgt 6y ago
I second this. For pretty much every innovative and new electronic product, stay away from the first version, and Apple is no exception. Your Intel based Mac will be relevant and working just fine in 2025 even, based on what happened during the PPC to Intel switch, I don't see any huge risks here. Some people just like having the latest. I tend to buy a new iPhone every 2 years, and a new Mac every 4 years.
cerberusss 6y ago
> A regular mac can last 6 good years nowadays I found out I really enjoy working with the latest hardware. I'm enjoying a decent income and now upgrade to the latest base model every 2-3 years. If you get the 13 inch models, they have extremely good resale value and thus make it (relatively) affordable.
D13Fd 6y ago
I disagree that they are "beta" versions, although they do sometimes have issues. I got about 3 years out of the first Intel Macbook circa 2005. It ultimately failed due to the plastic yellowing/breaking issue, not anything to do with the CPU change. The first-gen Apple Watch was also fine. Personally I'd wait to see what comes out this fall, and buy then. They'll most likely release new Intel Macbooks in addition to any ARM offerings.
- gregoriol 6y ago
  What I consider beta is: - the Apple Watch 1 and iPhone 1 didn't have real apps (at least until the second year/generation) - the physical design of iPhone 1/iPad 1/Apple Watch 1 was changed with the second generation - the Core Duo MacBooks were the only Intel non-64 bit devices and there probably are quite a few other examples So as far as I am concerned, the first Apple CPU in a mac will be a no-go beta device, that will be much better at the second generation. Also, regarding the OS, we are not really yet aware of all the things that are going to break with the architecture change: it's not a switch to ARM but a switch to Apple. There's a huge lot of possible problems for a device I'll need running at 100% for my work.
  - fabioyy 6y ago
    agreed, every "new" implementation of apple hardware is cursed with bugs list of recalls: https://support.apple.com/en-asia/exchange_repair https://support.apple.com/en-asia/exchange_repair and there is a lot of bugs that apple don't even admit. (ex, ghosting screen on some macbookpro retina ( first version )
- raydev 6y ago
  I agree the first iPhones and Intel MBPs and Watches were not betas and were "fine," but the speed improvements in the following generations were just absolutely ridiculous. And at least for the Watch, significant features were added in the OS that the first gen simply couldn't handle. Support for Macs is certainly longer term, so feature change between years shouldn't be that dramatic, but shipping anything for the first time at Apple's scale means they're going to stumble upon optimizations they missed the first time around. For that alone, I would avoid buying a first-gen Apple Silicon Mac.
- ZebraDude 6y ago
  The Apple Watch first Generation was so slow and I believe was such a embarrassment to Apple that they did a redo (Apple Watch Series 1).

sgt 6y ago

I second this. For pretty much every innovative and new electronic product, stay away from the first version, and Apple is no exception. Your Intel based Mac will be relevant and working just fine in 2025 even, based on what happened during the PPC to Intel switch, I don't see any huge risks here. Some people just like having the latest. I tend to buy a new iPhone every 2 years, and a new Mac every 4 years.

cerberusss 6y ago

> A regular mac can last 6 good years nowadays I found out I really enjoy working with the latest hardware. I'm enjoying a decent income and now upgrade to the latest base model every 2-3 years. If you get the 13 inch models, they have extremely good resale value and thus make it (relatively) affordable.

D13Fd 6y ago

I disagree that they are "beta" versions, although they do sometimes have issues. I got about 3 years out of the first Intel Macbook circa 2005. It ultimately failed due to the plastic yellowing/breaking issue, not anything to do with the CPU change. The first-gen Apple Watch was also fine. Personally I'd wait to see what comes out this fall, and buy then. They'll most likely release new Intel Macbooks in addition to any ARM offerings.

gregoriol 6y ago
What I consider beta is: - the Apple Watch 1 and iPhone 1 didn't have real apps (at least until the second year/generation) - the physical design of iPhone 1/iPad 1/Apple Watch 1 was changed with the second generation - the Core Duo MacBooks were the only Intel non-64 bit devices and there probably are quite a few other examples So as far as I am concerned, the first Apple CPU in a mac will be a no-go beta device, that will be much better at the second generation. Also, regarding the OS, we are not really yet aware of all the things that are going to break with the architecture change: it's not a switch to ARM but a switch to Apple. There's a huge lot of possible problems for a device I'll need running at 100% for my work.
- fabioyy 6y ago
  agreed, every "new" implementation of apple hardware is cursed with bugs list of recalls: https://support.apple.com/en-asia/exchange_repair https://support.apple.com/en-asia/exchange_repair and there is a lot of bugs that apple don't even admit. (ex, ghosting screen on some macbookpro retina ( first version )
raydev 6y ago
I agree the first iPhones and Intel MBPs and Watches were not betas and were "fine," but the speed improvements in the following generations were just absolutely ridiculous. And at least for the Watch, significant features were added in the OS that the first gen simply couldn't handle. Support for Macs is certainly longer term, so feature change between years shouldn't be that dramatic, but shipping anything for the first time at Apple's scale means they're going to stumble upon optimizations they missed the first time around. For that alone, I would avoid buying a first-gen Apple Silicon Mac.
ZebraDude 6y ago
The Apple Watch first Generation was so slow and I believe was such a embarrassment to Apple that they did a redo (Apple Watch Series 1).