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Ask HN: Is it worth switching to M1 Mac as a Linux user

6 points by mraza007 6y ago

As Linux user, I would love hear the opinion of my fellow linux users how they feel about the M1 Mac and is it worth making the switch to apple m1 macbook, if not then what are some powerful alternatives that we could use that would be as powerful as m1 macbook

marvel_boy 6y ago
Powerful alternatives? uh no.
rvz 6y ago
> is it worth making the switch to apple m1 MacBook Not now. Wait for an M2 or an M3 MacBook. By then not only the software would be finally optimised for Apple Silicon, it would run even faster than M1 with an M2 or M3 Macbook. Perhaps the 16 inch MacBook (2021) or the other 2021 Macbooks would probably run M2 or so. So I'd wait for those instead of getting last years model. > if not then what are some powerful alternatives that we could use that would be as powerful as m1 MacBook Judging by the statistics, M1 MacBooks are already 3 years ahead. Until the M2 or M3 Macs come in, there would be no point buying these intel laptops.
- mraza007 6y ago
  I totally agree with you but do you think there could be other companies who might compete with apple in designing powerful chips that could compete with apple besides intel
  - nulld3v 6y ago
    Some of the new laptops with Zen 3 Ryzen chips are very nice. They are fairly powerful and very energy efficient. Not quite on the level of the M1 but I believe they are very close. I have a Zen 2 Ryzen laptop and it is fast while having long battery life.
    - mraza007 6y ago
      I see, I’ll definitely look into ryzen laptop
peteroneilljr 6y ago
I would doubt it, the time it will take some time for linux operating systems to optimize for the M1 architecture
- Delk 6y ago
  I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that to happen in any reasonable time frame. It's not just that there's a proprietary Apple CPU (with e.g. power-saving features that might also be more or less proprietary, although I don't know how uniform those are among ARM processors). If there's also e.g. an Apple-proprietary GPU or any other components with no specifications or driver source available, there's going to be endless catchup to play for open source support. And if those components are Apple-only, there's almost certainly going to be no incentive for Apple to release any information to outside developers. Getting code to run on, or even optimized for, an M1 CPU is probably the smallest of the obstacles.

6 points by mraza007 6y ago

marvel_boy 6y ago

Powerful alternatives? uh no.

rvz 6y ago

> is it worth making the switch to apple m1 MacBook Not now. Wait for an M2 or an M3 MacBook. By then not only the software would be finally optimised for Apple Silicon, it would run even faster than M1 with an M2 or M3 Macbook. Perhaps the 16 inch MacBook (2021) or the other 2021 Macbooks would probably run M2 or so. So I'd wait for those instead of getting last years model. > if not then what are some powerful alternatives that we could use that would be as powerful as m1 MacBook Judging by the statistics, M1 MacBooks are already 3 years ahead. Until the M2 or M3 Macs come in, there would be no point buying these intel laptops.

mraza007 6y ago
I totally agree with you but do you think there could be other companies who might compete with apple in designing powerful chips that could compete with apple besides intel
- nulld3v 6y ago
  Some of the new laptops with Zen 3 Ryzen chips are very nice. They are fairly powerful and very energy efficient. Not quite on the level of the M1 but I believe they are very close. I have a Zen 2 Ryzen laptop and it is fast while having long battery life.
  - mraza007 6y ago
    I see, I’ll definitely look into ryzen laptop

peteroneilljr 6y ago

I would doubt it, the time it will take some time for linux operating systems to optimize for the M1 architecture

Delk 6y ago
I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that to happen in any reasonable time frame. It's not just that there's a proprietary Apple CPU (with e.g. power-saving features that might also be more or less proprietary, although I don't know how uniform those are among ARM processors). If there's also e.g. an Apple-proprietary GPU or any other components with no specifications or driver source available, there's going to be endless catchup to play for open source support. And if those components are Apple-only, there's almost certainly going to be no incentive for Apple to release any information to outside developers. Getting code to run on, or even optimized for, an M1 CPU is probably the smallest of the obstacles.