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14-inch MacBook Pro review: A Mac Pro in your backpack

215 points by jdminhbg 5y ago

neonscribe 5y ago
If I had to choose between an SD card slot and a USB-A port, I definitely would have chosen a USB-A port. I would take both, if possible. I would even give up a USB-C port for a USB-A port, but that might be a little backward-thinking. The USB-A to USB-C adapter is small and inexpensive, but it is still something I will need, mainly for the occasional flash drive.
- prepend 5y ago
  I disagree. I don’t purposefully keep A and C devices. I’m switching everything over to C and have dongles to do that. Supporting both wastes the space for when I’ve moved to C. I’m more likely to have an A->C dongle than an SD card reader.
  - emperorcezar 5y ago
    Maybe Logitech will make a usb-c dongle one day, until then I'm stuck with an adapter that sticks out and is constantly in danger of being knocked and bent.
  - neonscribe 5y ago
    We may live in the future, but many of us still work with people who live in the past. I know Apple always tries hard to be forward-thinking, but USB-A is one of those ubiquitous standards that won't disappear for quite some time.
    - dkonofalski 5y ago
      That's why they went with USB-C. USB-C is backwards compatible, USB-A is not forwards compatible.
    - prepend 5y ago
      I’ve been migrating to usb-c since my MacBook four years ago. I don’t have any A devices and just keep adapter dongles for people who have thumb drives or something. I don’t care that much because it’s the size of a quarter and goes in my bad with hdmi and other adapters.
- more_corn 5y ago
  The magic keyboard still comes with a USB-A plug. Also, my low profile USB-A Yubikey is still fantastic and there's no viable replacement. It has been 6 years since Apple removed USB-A. I think we've found the line between forcing painful but necessary change (remember when apple removed the floppy drive in 2000?) and trying to force change, but failing. In the transition to USB-C they tried replicate their success killing the floppy. I think we can all agree that they failed.
  - lowbloodsugar 5y ago
    There's a USB-C Yubi 5 nano. https://www.yubico.com/product/yubikey-5c-nano https://www.yubico.com/product/yubikey-5c-nano
Avernar 5y ago
I think it's pretty cool that video is getting such a performance boost, however there are more developers than video editors out there that could have used few more general purpose cores on the silicon. If you look at compile times, the M1 MAX is just slightly better than AMD mobile CPUs produced on an inferior process node. Nothing to write home about.
- kitsunesoba 5y ago
  The big thing to look at here is perf-per-watt and heat output. For a little bit I had a laptop with a Ryzen 5900HS and though its performance was great, utilizing that performance meant turning the laptop into a cooking surface with fans raging while being plugged into a barrel-style power brick that delivered more power than USB PD could handle. A laptop delivering that same performance without the crazy heat and fan noise while on battery while still delivering good battery life is a big deal.
moneywoes 5y ago
Do ARM compatibility issues still exist?
- cassianoleal 5y ago
  Of course. Any time you try to run a non-ARM binary on an ARM CPU without some form of translation or emulation, it will fail. This is also true for any other CPU architecture. If you want to know about specific compatibility issues, I'm happy to try to help as I've been using an M1 Air as my daily driver for many months now.
  - grp000 5y ago
    Did they finally get Docker working on the M1 chips?
    - cassianoleal 5y ago
      Docker works mostly fine. ARM images are pretty common, and for those that don't have it, it runs a QEMU emulated x86 machine. I have hit issues with it but they're rare enough that I don't care.
    - X-Istence 5y ago
      Docker has been working for months.
    - lstamour 5y ago
      Yes. https://docs.docker.com/desktop/mac/apple-silicon/ https://docs.docker.com/desktop/mac/apple-silicon/
    - fulafel 5y ago
      Native ARM containers work but there are various things that break with Docker x86 emulation, eg with Node.
    - solarkraft 5y ago
      It’s somewhat unreliable and file system interaction is slow, but from what I’ve heard that means it’s no different from x86 Docker Desktop.
ptudan 5y ago
I can fit a 16" MBP in my backpack. Your mileage may vary.
- GhostVII 5y ago
  The title says Mac pro, not MacBook pro
  - ptudan 5y ago
    I'm aware. 16" is even more powerful though!
- arvinsim 5y ago
  I would have gone with the 16" MBP if it wasn't the weight. I am interested how much different the performance is between the 14"
  - buildbot 5y ago
    Considering the wattage and thickness of both designs, I bet they are almost identical when specced the same. I don’t think the 16 has significant extra cooling/that the M1 max throttles much.
  - ubermonkey 5y ago
    All the info I've found suggested no real delta, so i went 14". I run external monitors at home, and having the smaller size for travel was appealing.
toisanji 5y ago
which is the right one to get, 14 or 16?
- mthoms 5y ago
  One (small) consideration is weight. Both version weigh more than previously - so if the previous 16" was already pushing what you find comfortable to carry, then the 14' might be a better choice.
- arbirk 5y ago
  I used to go 15-16", but now I feel that is too big for a laptop.
- vehemenz 5y ago
  I'm wondering that too. As usual, the pros/cons of physical footprint and screen size cancel each other out. Unlike previous years, Apple allows you to configure the 14" model with the highest CPU/GPU configuration, so it changes the calculus a little bit. The 16" should have better battery life and cooling, but it starts at $500 more. And it has "high power" mode, but I doubt many would need it. This is probably the first time where it comes down to only which size you want to carry around.
- rootusrootus 5y ago
  I have a 13 and 16 (one is mine, one was paid for by my office). All else being equal, I almost always choose the 13 when I need to be portable. YMMV. If your workflow benefits significantly from the extra screen size, that could tip the scales the other direction. It does not for me.
- chomp 5y ago
  Depends on your workflow. Do you find yourself working away from your monitors a lot? Do you move from place to place, or do you set up and not move for a while? How's your eyesight? Do you use the native screen at all while docked? I find 14" to be good for mostly docked work, or very mobile work. I use reading glasses anyway, so the smaller screen doesn't bother me much, but I find it difficult to side-by-side 2 windows. It's way lighter and fits in almost any bag. I like the 16" because when working, I use the native screen with my monitors. I don't use this laptop anywhere except in 2 places (home office, and work office). I can definitely fit multiple windows on the screen. I can scale the display up, and it doesn't wind up eating a bunch of my screen real-estate. Apple is quoting more battery life for the 16", so not sure if that factors into your workflow or not.
bitcurious 5y ago
Two charging question for owners: 1. can you still charge over usb-c or are you forced to use MagSafe? 2. Is the other side of the magsafe cable usb-c or is it glued to the brick? I rather like not having extra cables/charging blocks.
- dom96 5y ago
  Not an owner, but from the announcement: 1. You can charge over usb-c. 2. Yes, the magsafe cable as usb-c at the other end.
- xenonite 5y ago
  1. yes, you can charge with usb-c 2. it is a usb-c plug
- zchrykng 5y ago
  Don't own one but the reporting has been solid that USB-C charging is still available and that the magsafe cable just has USB-C on the other end.
- anamexis 5y ago
  1. You can still charge over USB-C. (The 16" cannot charge at full speed over USB-C, because it charges at 140W which is more than USB PD can currently deliver. But it will still charge to full, just slower.) 2. The other side of the cable is USB-C.
  - c-fe 5y ago
    If 140MW is more than USB PD can deliver, then how can the other side of the cable be USB-C?
    - jefftk 5y ago
      Extended Power Range gets you 240W: https://usb.org/document-library/usb-type-cr-cable-and-connector-specification-revision-21 https://usb.org/document-library/usb-type-cr-cable-and-conne...
    - 5y ago
jrochkind1 5y ago
> It will probably take a little while for Mac apps to be updated to support the ProMotion display. I found that some apps scrolled text in the same buttery-smooth way that apps do on my iPhone and iPad, but others didn’t. I was able to find a few Catalyst-based apps that have already been written to support 120Hz displays on iPad and iPhone, and they looked spectacular. It surprised me that an app would have to be updated to support a better display. Anyone know the details, and nature of the update that has to be done?
- anamexis 5y ago
  I don't know the details, but the idea behind ProMotion is that the display dynamically changes refresh rate based on need. So, apps would need to tell the OS when they want a higher refresh rate to display smoother motion.
- brundolf 5y ago
  It's not just a better display, it's a software system that dynamically adapts the framerate based on what's happening with the content at a given moment I am still a little surprised it requires app support, but not shocked
- troberti 5y ago
  For iPhone 13, you need to 'opt-in' for 120 FPS by adding a key to your app's Info.plist file. This is probably something similar.
- Closi 5y ago
  I think it depends on the framework - as part of the ProMotion library isn't automatically running everything at 120 FPS but dynamically scaling the framerate up/down based on demand and requirement so that it can balance the additional power consumption that 120fps drives. Because of this, apps that don't update for ProMotion might be capped at 60hz (or something like that) so that the laptop doesn't have to run everything at 120hz if one app isn't updated.
- Someone1234 5y ago
  It is about power consumption. They could, if they wanted, automatically opt existing applications to use 120 Hz refresh. But the power usage would be terrible, and it would be up to application authors to manually go in and tune it down (which many would not do, or would take too long). So instead they keep them at the current refresh, and have them "opt-in" to higher. Which I'm imagining Apple is hoping application developers will do responsibly and only ask for 120 Hz when it is beneficial (although big YMMV).
slg 5y ago
Have any of the reviews yet compared a similarly specced 14" vs 16"? Since the primary difference in performance between the MB and MBA was thermals, I wonder if the extra size allows for better thermal performance and better overall performance in the bigger version.
reilly3000 5y ago
Much has already been said about this, but this achievement of shipping a MBP that pro users seem to love is a triumph of user feedback over design purity. I suspect that Jony Ives’ departure may have facilitated this. I suspect it will be a breakout success and I aspire to contribute to their sales figures some day. Of all of Apple’s revenue streams I know their pro products are now merely an afterthought, but they remain an important part of the brand’s ethos and I’m delighted to see them shipping a truly superior product again.
- wayneftw 5y ago
  It's just a laptop in the same old rectangular shape, in the same old colors that is actually just catching up and there's nothing at all special about this one… Try to catch some breath. Nobody anywhere likes the notch either. Triumph? No.
- bombcar 5y ago
  What's amusing about the "design purity" is this is basically (from an externals point of view) an upgraded PowerBook G4. Good design isn't limited to "make it look as much like a thin sheet of metal as possible".
  - seumars 5y ago
    Which again is weird for someone like Ive considering that "form follows function" is one of those mantras that people like Rams and the Bauhaus folk based their entire work on.
    - bombcar 5y ago
      Even if that was the basis at some point I suspect much of it is now just an argument for particular parts the designer likes, as "function" isn't necessarily completely defined.
  - beaner 5y ago
    Personally I dislike this bit. Thinness isn't everything, but it's something. I don't know that the new models really needed to look as brick-ish as they do, and the previous design was certainly sexier.
losvedir 5y ago
I ordered mine on release day and am eagerly awaiting its delivery. Glad to hear that about the notch. I couldn't for the life of me think why it mattered. When the presentation showed it, I looked at the very display of the Mac laptop I was watching it on and sure enough, there was a gap in the menu bar where the notch would be, with the menu items on the left and the clock and all those little widget icons on the right. I was streaming it on my personal 2013 MacBook air (which is a great little machine but ready for an upgrade), and then glanced at my work Macbook Pro and its external display. On both those, there was also empty space where the notch would be. I thought, wow, what a great idea. But then I saw all these comments about how it was horrible and a deal breaker, and some designer pompously talking about how when you're like him and pay close attention to detail it will be distracting, I thought either everyone had lost their collective mind, or I was missing something. I realize there are some apps with a lot of menu items which might have to oddly flow to the other side, but I don't think that's super common, and I guess I'll just have to see how it feels in the end. But glad that this reviewer isn't bothered by it.
- deergomoo 5y ago
  > But then I saw all these comments about how it was horrible and a deal breaker [...] I thought either everyone had lost their collective mind, or I was missing something I think people dialled the outrage back again when they realised the area below the notch is a full 16:10 display—i.e. they added display where bezel used to be, rather than cutting into the display area.
  - wayneftw 5y ago
    It limits how many menus your apps can have or makes them draw around it. If you enable compatibility mode you'll be back to an even fatter bezel which looks like dog shit. Rationalize that away.
    - r00fus 5y ago
      Understand you may be that 5-10% of the market that the notch impacts. The vast vast majority aren't running Photoshop and will spend 90% of their time on a browser which likely complies with notch.
seanalltogether 5y ago
Can anyone recommend a good thunderbolt dock they've been using. Ideally I would like a dock that at least provides for displayport, ethernet, audio, and 1 or 2 usb-a ports. I'm fine with using the magsafe if power through the dock is not available.
- cjbconnor 5y ago
  I've been using the Caldigit TS3+ for the last ~year, and it's pretty good. The only real issue with it I have is the fact that it only supports DisplayPort 1.2, so I have to run another cable for my 4k 120hz display.
  - seanalltogether 5y ago
    What version of displayport is needed to support that? I thought that 2560x1440 was the highest resolution you could run over displayport with 120hz or 144hz
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - cjbconnor 5y ago
      Displayport 1.4 (with DSC enabled) can support 4k 144hz+ with HDR enabled
- CharlesW 5y ago
  I've been a happy user of the CalDigit TS3 Plus for a couple years: https://www.caldigit.com/ts3-plus/ https://www.caldigit.com/ts3-plus/ Based on their reputation and my experience with them, I assume their TB4 Element Hub is a winner as well: https://www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-4-element-hub/ https://www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-4-element-hub/
- avojak 5y ago
  Another +1 from me for the CalDigit TS3+ dock. I've been using it for about 1 1/2 years now with dual 4K UHD @ 60Hz displays, and haven't had any issues whatsoever. I also use it for a wired network connection and several USB peripherals at the same time. I really appreciate its layout where most ports are rear-facing so that you don't have cables on your desk coming out towards you and then looping back. The additional front-facing ports are great for popping in the occasional flash drive when needed. For some people the 87W output may not be enough, but it's never been a problem for me.
wyldfire 5y ago
> The "butterfly" mechanism offered reduced key travel and keyboard reliability. I couldn't quite tell whether this was a subtle joke or not. I didn't know whether the butterfly design was actually intended to improve reliability or not. Regardless, the effect was actually worse reliability. I decided to get a second opinion from a machine [1] that probably was trained on input from humans. It said that the noun phrases were {reduced key travel} and {keyboard reliability} and did not suggest that {reduced} modified both. [1] https://explosion.ai/demos/displacy?text=The%20%E2%80%9Cbutterfly%E2%80%9D%20mechanism%20offered%20reduced%20key%20travel%20and%20keyboard%20reliability.&model=en_core_web_sm&cpu=1&cph=1 https://explosion.ai/demos/displacy?text=The%20%E2%80%9Cbutt...
- lights0123 5y ago
  reduced (key travel and keyboard reliability), not (reduced key travel) and keyboard reliability
- kgermino 5y ago
  Interesting input from the ai, but reduced is definitely intended to apply to both "key travel" and "keyboard reliability" in that sentence.
  - wyldfire 5y ago
    So it is a subtle joke? What was the intent of the butterfly design change, then? Just reduced key travel?
    - ghshephard 5y ago
      I thought the joke was pretty explicit as I read it, and pretty funny.
    - kgermino 5y ago
      Yep I think the writer intended it as a joke, or at least a comment on how bad the butterfly keys were. The butterfly keyboards didn’t do much except help make a laptops a bit thinner. That had the effect of reduced key travel (often seen as a negative) and massive reliability problems (universally bad).
nicoburns 5y ago
Does anyone have any insight into how many GPU cores to choose with these machines? I don’t do much in the way of video work; but I’d like to be able to run a couple of 4k external displays as well as the internal display. And ideally have video calls not slow down my entire machine.
- fermentation 5y ago
  The higher end options are really only for intense video encoding, like if you're working on a movie (I wonder how many people choose macbooks that task). The basic option should be more than fast enough for running displays.
- pornel 5y ago
  The minimum. Even the smallest M1 GPU in MacBook Air has performance better than most Intel Macs.
- nojito 5y ago
  Pro can do 2 external 6k monitors and Max can do 3
Thorncorona 5y ago
Can someone tell me whether their 14in gives enough real estate when debugging in VS code with the terminal open? A screenshot would be greatly apprecoated, thanks.
- edot 5y ago
  I almost never work without an external monitor (or two), so the laptop screen is really just for chat and email for me. Honestly anything below 20 inches is too small to be usable for serious work in my opinion. Hunched over a little screen is unergonomic and tiring. The 16” is only $200 more than the 14”, I think, for comparable hardware setups, so probably just go with the 16”.
- madeofpalk 5y ago
  Only you can answer this question. If you're used to a larger screen then it's quite the adjustment
- k8sToGo 5y ago
  For me 14" is enough to do work, but definitely would not wand to stare at it all day. These days you can just connect a second (portable) display via USB-C so that helps a little. Though I don't recommend doing that on battery alone.
- EugeneOZ 5y ago
  No, especially with the terminal.
Oddskar 5y ago
The body text of this is very hard to read on Windows (Firefox & Edge) since the text appears to be bolded. I would change to font-weight 300 or something like this.
- Abimelex 5y ago
  indeed. All is wrapped into one huge <strong> tag which causes browsers to apply the bold font style.
itg 5y ago
I'm curious what specs are software developers planning on getting. From what I've seen, the m1 mba/mbp was good enough for a lot of use cases so I dont see the point of get some specced out mpb. I am currently leaning towards the base model 14" but with 1tb of space.
- eyelidlessness 5y ago
  Minimum config that allows 64 GB RAM which unfortunately means the M1 Max, 2 TB SSD. Prices out just under 4k for the 14”, over 4k for the 16”. Not sure I care about the screen size, I’m almost always at my desk with a 43” display. But either way it’s gonna be a few months before I can budget it.
- upbeat_general 5y ago
  Getting the 10/16 CPU/GPU with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. The only real uncertainty for me was the GPU, whether to get 14/16 but the difference in cost was small and I figured it might be nice for some physics sims + tensorflow work.
schaefer 5y ago
If it was above board to download and run MacOS in VMWare as a guest under my linux host (slowdowns because of arc differences forgiven), I'd be way more willing dip a toe into the ecosystem and see how I like it...
- lode 5y ago
  Aside from going into an Apple store, probably the cheapest way to try out the M1 Macs is to rent one from Scaleway (€0,10/hour + tax, minimum 24h - https://www.scaleway.com/en/hello-m1/ https://www.scaleway.com/en/hello-m1/ ).
- tasogare 5y ago
  If you were really curious you would use MacOS bare metal as shipped out of the box, with Linux running in a VM instead of wishing for premises you know won't happen.
  - schaefer 5y ago
    Yes, I really am curious. And NO, your assumptions about what I would do if I really was curious aren't correct. I had a mac book pro around 2011 (OS X snow leopard). half a dozen happy years with it until it was stolen. But these days since Apple is forbidding running MaxOS under virtualization, that's a deal breaker for me.
    - tasogare 5y ago
      Apple have not forbidding running MacOS under virtualization for years...
rz2k 5y ago
I assumed that 10gbit ethernet was only quietly released as an option for the M1 Mac Mini some time after the initial announcement, because Apple didn't want to commit to components where supply constraints could limit their ability to scale up production in the case of high demand. Likewise, I wonder if there will be options for HDMI 2.1 (for 4K@120Hz), SD slot with UHS-III, and wifi 6E in the next few months for the new MacBook Pros.
- deergomoo 5y ago
  I expect the lack of HDMI 2.1 is bandwidth related. Full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 is 48Gbps but Thunderbolt 4 is "only" 40. I'm not sure if they still do, but at one point each pair of Thunderbolt ports shared a bus, so you could have something on the left running at 40Gbps and something on the right running at 40Gbps, but not two things on one side. If that's still the case, the SD card slot and the HDMI port are probably sharing bandwidth with the one Thunderbolt port on that side of the machine.
  - rz2k 5y ago
    That's an interesting point. What interface do they use for the integrated display? It looks like there are multiple sets of chips involved in the physical ports for Thunderbolt or USB depending on what is connected.
nitins_jakta 5y ago
Apple still won't take some accessibility issues seriously, which is unfortunate given they are a leader in this space. They don't test their devices on people with binocular vision dysfunction, although I've asked them to. There is a whole community of people on LEDStrain.org who suffer from severe eyestrain, vertigo, headaches and migraines to the point where these devices are unusable for a minority of people. One possible cause is temporal dithering which can be seen as the dancing pixels on a slow e-ink display: https://youtu.be/0y-I3hqQgCQ https://youtu.be/0y-I3hqQgCQ. Windows also uses this technique, but Apple's causes more strain for some reason. It would be great if apple could look into this. Some of us are desperate and will gladly pay for help. I am at risk of losing my IT job cause of these companies. I have a binocular vision dysfunction but treatment is not working well. Any ideas from the community as the technical root cause? Edit: not sure why I am being downvoted. Please have some empathy!
- HiroProtagonist 5y ago
  I think it is unfair to generally state 'Apple still refuses to take accessibility issues seriously' because the one issue you care about most isn't addressed to your satisfaction. I think you'll find that generally speaking, Apple cares a lot about accessibility.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - nitins_jakta 5y ago
    I agree, apple has done great with things like VoiceOver. There is other stuff they can do, like a toggle to disable temporal dithering. Or actually test their devices with people with binocular vision dysfunction.
- slezyr 5y ago
  > Some are unable to work in IT or as programmers because of it. This point is very forced. Just don't buy the most expensive laptop on the market. I have never had any apple devices, and yet I'm a software developer.
BoyRobot777 5y ago
Is everything still glued together without being able to repair yourself? /s
dang 5y ago
Ongoing related threads: MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch review (2021): Apple’s mighty Macs - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28987380 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28987380 - Oct 2021 (81 comments) Apple's M1 Pro, M1 Max SoCs Investigated - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28987276 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28987276 - Oct 2021 (78 comments) Previously: New 16-inch MBP with M1 Max to feature High Power Mode for intensive workloads - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28950733 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28950733 - Oct 2021 (105 comments) Apple M1 Max Geekbench Score - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28933663 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28933663 - Oct 2021 (870 comments) MacBook Pro 14-inch and MacBook Pro 16-inch - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28908383 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28908383 - Oct 2021 (2056 comments) Apple’s new M1 Pro and M1 Max processors - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28908031 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28908031 - Oct 2021 (981 comments)
mathrall 5y ago
M1 is one of the best things that happened to the MacBook. This is one of the best Macs to buy right now.
adwi 5y ago
> the minimalist design mid-2010s Apple, which achieved design simplicity by forcing complexity and frustration on users This is a really insightful, succinct take on how they strayed from the path.
racl101 5y ago
Other than that stupid notch it looks pretty good.
_xnmw 5y ago
The most striking benchmark for me as a developer is the disk read/write speed. Wonder why Apple didn't highlight that. Nearly 2x as fast as last year's M1 Air or Intel macs - that sounds amazing to me. As a simple web dev, I thought I would never use any of the extra power available in an M1 Pro/Max, as I never do anything GPU-intensive. However, disk speed is a noticeable factor in day-to-day workloads, even when I'm running an IDE like IntelliJ and indexing a large repo. Interesting because Apple chose to focus on the 200 vs. 400 "memory bandwidth" figure in their marketing to differentiate between the M1 Pro and Max, but as this review suggests, the 400 GB/s rate cannot be reached even in theoretical workloads, so it might as well be meaningless. Disk speed seems more important. Can anyone comment? 1) https://www.anandtech.com/show/17024/apple-m1-max-performance-review/2 https://www.anandtech.com/show/17024/apple-m1-max-performanc...
- lowbloodsugar 5y ago
  I can walk out right now and get as fast an SSD and slot it into my Dell. Next year, I'll be able to put in a faster one, and the following year one that is yet faster. I am surprised that the soldered in SSD speed is merely on par. And of course, for roughly 2x the price. So maybe that's why they aren't shouting about it.
- fomine3 5y ago
  > However, disk speed is a noticeable factor in day-to-day workloads, even when I'm running an IDE like IntelliJ and indexing a large repo. You may want to check IOPS benchmark rather than throughput.
  - _xnmw 5y ago
    Thank you, that's the term I was looking for (IOPS benchmark). Do you know how I can test the IOPS speed on a Mac? Looking for a online benchmark, can't find one.
    - fomine3 5y ago
      https://www.atto.com/disk-benchmark-macOS/ https://www.atto.com/disk-benchmark-macOS/ https://www.katsurashareware.com/amorphousdiskmark/ https://www.katsurashareware.com/amorphousdiskmark/
Meekro 5y ago
I wonder how the fan noise is going to be. My old (late 2013) MBP is dead silent unless I'm running something heavy like a video game.
glogla 5y ago
I'd love to buy it for the better screen, but since it is my personal laptop and I don't need the performance, I don't know if I can justify the cost :/
Abimelex 5y ago
> the Touch Bar. It was introduced in 2016 and… never really went anywhere. A more aggressive set of software updates from Apple might have turned it into something, but that never happened. > Now it’s gone, replaced instead by a very traditional row of function keys. Well to be honest I liked the Touch Bar and I used it quite often. On the other hand I never used the "Function Keys".
- gomox 5y ago
  How did you change volume or brightness?
  - marcellus23 5y ago
    You can set the touch bar to always show the "control strip" instead of keeping it minimized on the right side of the touch bar.
    - acid__ 5y ago
      This is a game changer, thank you! For anyone else looking to configure this:  > "System Preferences" > "Keyboard" > "Touch Bar shows" => "Expanded Control Strip"
    - gomox 5y ago
      I was replying to the comment of a person that "never used the function keys" (in non-touchbar macs).
JAlexoid 5y ago
I watched the abridged intro video an I swear I thought it was a parody... Everything introduced seemed like a joke.
Lamad123 5y ago
A fucking a notch!!!

215 points by jdminhbg 5y ago

If I had to choose between an SD card slot and a USB-A port, I definitely would have chosen a USB-A port. I would take both, if possible. I would even give up a USB-C port for a USB-A port, but that might be a little backward-thinking. The USB-A to USB-C adapter is small and inexpensive, but it is still something I will need, mainly for the occasional flash drive.

prepend 5y ago
I disagree. I don’t purposefully keep A and C devices. I’m switching everything over to C and have dongles to do that. Supporting both wastes the space for when I’ve moved to C. I’m more likely to have an A->C dongle than an SD card reader.
- emperorcezar 5y ago
  Maybe Logitech will make a usb-c dongle one day, until then I'm stuck with an adapter that sticks out and is constantly in danger of being knocked and bent.
- neonscribe 5y ago
  We may live in the future, but many of us still work with people who live in the past. I know Apple always tries hard to be forward-thinking, but USB-A is one of those ubiquitous standards that won't disappear for quite some time.
  - dkonofalski 5y ago
    That's why they went with USB-C. USB-C is backwards compatible, USB-A is not forwards compatible.
  - prepend 5y ago
    I’ve been migrating to usb-c since my MacBook four years ago. I don’t have any A devices and just keep adapter dongles for people who have thumb drives or something. I don’t care that much because it’s the size of a quarter and goes in my bad with hdmi and other adapters.
more_corn 5y ago
The magic keyboard still comes with a USB-A plug. Also, my low profile USB-A Yubikey is still fantastic and there's no viable replacement. It has been 6 years since Apple removed USB-A. I think we've found the line between forcing painful but necessary change (remember when apple removed the floppy drive in 2000?) and trying to force change, but failing. In the transition to USB-C they tried replicate their success killing the floppy. I think we can all agree that they failed.
- lowbloodsugar 5y ago
  There's a USB-C Yubi 5 nano. https://www.yubico.com/product/yubikey-5c-nano https://www.yubico.com/product/yubikey-5c-nano

Avernar 5y ago

I think it's pretty cool that video is getting such a performance boost, however there are more developers than video editors out there that could have used few more general purpose cores on the silicon. If you look at compile times, the M1 MAX is just slightly better than AMD mobile CPUs produced on an inferior process node. Nothing to write home about.

kitsunesoba 5y ago
The big thing to look at here is perf-per-watt and heat output. For a little bit I had a laptop with a Ryzen 5900HS and though its performance was great, utilizing that performance meant turning the laptop into a cooking surface with fans raging while being plugged into a barrel-style power brick that delivered more power than USB PD could handle. A laptop delivering that same performance without the crazy heat and fan noise while on battery while still delivering good battery life is a big deal.

moneywoes 5y ago

Do ARM compatibility issues still exist?

cassianoleal 5y ago
Of course. Any time you try to run a non-ARM binary on an ARM CPU without some form of translation or emulation, it will fail. This is also true for any other CPU architecture. If you want to know about specific compatibility issues, I'm happy to try to help as I've been using an M1 Air as my daily driver for many months now.
- grp000 5y ago
  Did they finally get Docker working on the M1 chips?
  - cassianoleal 5y ago
    Docker works mostly fine. ARM images are pretty common, and for those that don't have it, it runs a QEMU emulated x86 machine. I have hit issues with it but they're rare enough that I don't care.
  - X-Istence 5y ago
    Docker has been working for months.
  - lstamour 5y ago
    Yes. https://docs.docker.com/desktop/mac/apple-silicon/ https://docs.docker.com/desktop/mac/apple-silicon/
  - fulafel 5y ago
    Native ARM containers work but there are various things that break with Docker x86 emulation, eg with Node.
  - solarkraft 5y ago
    It’s somewhat unreliable and file system interaction is slow, but from what I’ve heard that means it’s no different from x86 Docker Desktop.

ptudan 5y ago

I can fit a 16" MBP in my backpack. Your mileage may vary.

GhostVII 5y ago
The title says Mac pro, not MacBook pro
- ptudan 5y ago
  I'm aware. 16" is even more powerful though!
arvinsim 5y ago
I would have gone with the 16" MBP if it wasn't the weight. I am interested how much different the performance is between the 14"
- buildbot 5y ago
  Considering the wattage and thickness of both designs, I bet they are almost identical when specced the same. I don’t think the 16 has significant extra cooling/that the M1 max throttles much.
- ubermonkey 5y ago
  All the info I've found suggested no real delta, so i went 14". I run external monitors at home, and having the smaller size for travel was appealing.

toisanji 5y ago

which is the right one to get, 14 or 16?

mthoms 5y ago
One (small) consideration is weight. Both version weigh more than previously - so if the previous 16" was already pushing what you find comfortable to carry, then the 14' might be a better choice.
arbirk 5y ago
I used to go 15-16", but now I feel that is too big for a laptop.
vehemenz 5y ago
I'm wondering that too. As usual, the pros/cons of physical footprint and screen size cancel each other out. Unlike previous years, Apple allows you to configure the 14" model with the highest CPU/GPU configuration, so it changes the calculus a little bit. The 16" should have better battery life and cooling, but it starts at $500 more. And it has "high power" mode, but I doubt many would need it. This is probably the first time where it comes down to only which size you want to carry around.
rootusrootus 5y ago
I have a 13 and 16 (one is mine, one was paid for by my office). All else being equal, I almost always choose the 13 when I need to be portable. YMMV. If your workflow benefits significantly from the extra screen size, that could tip the scales the other direction. It does not for me.
chomp 5y ago
Depends on your workflow. Do you find yourself working away from your monitors a lot? Do you move from place to place, or do you set up and not move for a while? How's your eyesight? Do you use the native screen at all while docked? I find 14" to be good for mostly docked work, or very mobile work. I use reading glasses anyway, so the smaller screen doesn't bother me much, but I find it difficult to side-by-side 2 windows. It's way lighter and fits in almost any bag. I like the 16" because when working, I use the native screen with my monitors. I don't use this laptop anywhere except in 2 places (home office, and work office). I can definitely fit multiple windows on the screen. I can scale the display up, and it doesn't wind up eating a bunch of my screen real-estate. Apple is quoting more battery life for the 16", so not sure if that factors into your workflow or not.

bitcurious 5y ago

Two charging question for owners: 1. can you still charge over usb-c or are you forced to use MagSafe? 2. Is the other side of the magsafe cable usb-c or is it glued to the brick? I rather like not having extra cables/charging blocks.

dom96 5y ago
Not an owner, but from the announcement: 1. You can charge over usb-c. 2. Yes, the magsafe cable as usb-c at the other end.
xenonite 5y ago
1. yes, you can charge with usb-c 2. it is a usb-c plug
zchrykng 5y ago
Don't own one but the reporting has been solid that USB-C charging is still available and that the magsafe cable just has USB-C on the other end.
anamexis 5y ago
1. You can still charge over USB-C. (The 16" cannot charge at full speed over USB-C, because it charges at 140W which is more than USB PD can currently deliver. But it will still charge to full, just slower.) 2. The other side of the cable is USB-C.
- c-fe 5y ago
  If 140MW is more than USB PD can deliver, then how can the other side of the cable be USB-C?
  - jefftk 5y ago
    Extended Power Range gets you 240W: https://usb.org/document-library/usb-type-cr-cable-and-connector-specification-revision-21 https://usb.org/document-library/usb-type-cr-cable-and-conne...
  - 5y ago

jrochkind1 5y ago

> It will probably take a little while for Mac apps to be updated to support the ProMotion display. I found that some apps scrolled text in the same buttery-smooth way that apps do on my iPhone and iPad, but others didn’t. I was able to find a few Catalyst-based apps that have already been written to support 120Hz displays on iPad and iPhone, and they looked spectacular. It surprised me that an app would have to be updated to support a better display. Anyone know the details, and nature of the update that has to be done?

anamexis 5y ago
I don't know the details, but the idea behind ProMotion is that the display dynamically changes refresh rate based on need. So, apps would need to tell the OS when they want a higher refresh rate to display smoother motion.
brundolf 5y ago
It's not just a better display, it's a software system that dynamically adapts the framerate based on what's happening with the content at a given moment I am still a little surprised it requires app support, but not shocked
troberti 5y ago
For iPhone 13, you need to 'opt-in' for 120 FPS by adding a key to your app's Info.plist file. This is probably something similar.
Closi 5y ago
I think it depends on the framework - as part of the ProMotion library isn't automatically running everything at 120 FPS but dynamically scaling the framerate up/down based on demand and requirement so that it can balance the additional power consumption that 120fps drives. Because of this, apps that don't update for ProMotion might be capped at 60hz (or something like that) so that the laptop doesn't have to run everything at 120hz if one app isn't updated.
Someone1234 5y ago
It is about power consumption. They could, if they wanted, automatically opt existing applications to use 120 Hz refresh. But the power usage would be terrible, and it would be up to application authors to manually go in and tune it down (which many would not do, or would take too long). So instead they keep them at the current refresh, and have them "opt-in" to higher. Which I'm imagining Apple is hoping application developers will do responsibly and only ask for 120 Hz when it is beneficial (although big YMMV).

slg 5y ago

Have any of the reviews yet compared a similarly specced 14" vs 16"? Since the primary difference in performance between the MB and MBA was thermals, I wonder if the extra size allows for better thermal performance and better overall performance in the bigger version.

reilly3000 5y ago

Much has already been said about this, but this achievement of shipping a MBP that pro users seem to love is a triumph of user feedback over design purity. I suspect that Jony Ives’ departure may have facilitated this. I suspect it will be a breakout success and I aspire to contribute to their sales figures some day. Of all of Apple’s revenue streams I know their pro products are now merely an afterthought, but they remain an important part of the brand’s ethos and I’m delighted to see them shipping a truly superior product again.

wayneftw 5y ago
It's just a laptop in the same old rectangular shape, in the same old colors that is actually just catching up and there's nothing at all special about this one… Try to catch some breath. Nobody anywhere likes the notch either. Triumph? No.
bombcar 5y ago
What's amusing about the "design purity" is this is basically (from an externals point of view) an upgraded PowerBook G4. Good design isn't limited to "make it look as much like a thin sheet of metal as possible".
- seumars 5y ago
  Which again is weird for someone like Ive considering that "form follows function" is one of those mantras that people like Rams and the Bauhaus folk based their entire work on.
  - bombcar 5y ago
    Even if that was the basis at some point I suspect much of it is now just an argument for particular parts the designer likes, as "function" isn't necessarily completely defined.
- beaner 5y ago
  Personally I dislike this bit. Thinness isn't everything, but it's something. I don't know that the new models really needed to look as brick-ish as they do, and the previous design was certainly sexier.

losvedir 5y ago

I ordered mine on release day and am eagerly awaiting its delivery. Glad to hear that about the notch. I couldn't for the life of me think why it mattered. When the presentation showed it, I looked at the very display of the Mac laptop I was watching it on and sure enough, there was a gap in the menu bar where the notch would be, with the menu items on the left and the clock and all those little widget icons on the right. I was streaming it on my personal 2013 MacBook air (which is a great little machine but ready for an upgrade), and then glanced at my work Macbook Pro and its external display. On both those, there was also empty space where the notch would be. I thought, wow, what a great idea. But then I saw all these comments about how it was horrible and a deal breaker, and some designer pompously talking about how when you're like him and pay close attention to detail it will be distracting, I thought either everyone had lost their collective mind, or I was missing something. I realize there are some apps with a lot of menu items which might have to oddly flow to the other side, but I don't think that's super common, and I guess I'll just have to see how it feels in the end. But glad that this reviewer isn't bothered by it.

deergomoo 5y ago
> But then I saw all these comments about how it was horrible and a deal breaker [...] I thought either everyone had lost their collective mind, or I was missing something I think people dialled the outrage back again when they realised the area below the notch is a full 16:10 display—i.e. they added display where bezel used to be, rather than cutting into the display area.
- wayneftw 5y ago
  It limits how many menus your apps can have or makes them draw around it. If you enable compatibility mode you'll be back to an even fatter bezel which looks like dog shit. Rationalize that away.
  - r00fus 5y ago
    Understand you may be that 5-10% of the market that the notch impacts. The vast vast majority aren't running Photoshop and will spend 90% of their time on a browser which likely complies with notch.

seanalltogether 5y ago

Can anyone recommend a good thunderbolt dock they've been using. Ideally I would like a dock that at least provides for displayport, ethernet, audio, and 1 or 2 usb-a ports. I'm fine with using the magsafe if power through the dock is not available.

cjbconnor 5y ago
I've been using the Caldigit TS3+ for the last ~year, and it's pretty good. The only real issue with it I have is the fact that it only supports DisplayPort 1.2, so I have to run another cable for my 4k 120hz display.
- seanalltogether 5y ago
  What version of displayport is needed to support that? I thought that 2560x1440 was the highest resolution you could run over displayport with 120hz or 144hz
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - cjbconnor 5y ago
    Displayport 1.4 (with DSC enabled) can support 4k 144hz+ with HDR enabled
CharlesW 5y ago
I've been a happy user of the CalDigit TS3 Plus for a couple years: https://www.caldigit.com/ts3-plus/ https://www.caldigit.com/ts3-plus/ Based on their reputation and my experience with them, I assume their TB4 Element Hub is a winner as well: https://www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-4-element-hub/ https://www.caldigit.com/thunderbolt-4-element-hub/
avojak 5y ago
Another +1 from me for the CalDigit TS3+ dock. I've been using it for about 1 1/2 years now with dual 4K UHD @ 60Hz displays, and haven't had any issues whatsoever. I also use it for a wired network connection and several USB peripherals at the same time. I really appreciate its layout where most ports are rear-facing so that you don't have cables on your desk coming out towards you and then looping back. The additional front-facing ports are great for popping in the occasional flash drive when needed. For some people the 87W output may not be enough, but it's never been a problem for me.

wyldfire 5y ago

> The "butterfly" mechanism offered reduced key travel and keyboard reliability. I couldn't quite tell whether this was a subtle joke or not. I didn't know whether the butterfly design was actually intended to improve reliability or not. Regardless, the effect was actually worse reliability. I decided to get a second opinion from a machine [1] that probably was trained on input from humans. It said that the noun phrases were {reduced key travel} and {keyboard reliability} and did not suggest that {reduced} modified both. [1] https://explosion.ai/demos/displacy?text=The%20%E2%80%9Cbutterfly%E2%80%9D%20mechanism%20offered%20reduced%20key%20travel%20and%20keyboard%20reliability.&model=en_core_web_sm&cpu=1&cph=1 https://explosion.ai/demos/displacy?text=The%20%E2%80%9Cbutt...

lights0123 5y ago
reduced (key travel and keyboard reliability), not (reduced key travel) and keyboard reliability
kgermino 5y ago
Interesting input from the ai, but reduced is definitely intended to apply to both "key travel" and "keyboard reliability" in that sentence.
- wyldfire 5y ago
  So it is a subtle joke? What was the intent of the butterfly design change, then? Just reduced key travel?
  - ghshephard 5y ago
    I thought the joke was pretty explicit as I read it, and pretty funny.
  - kgermino 5y ago
    Yep I think the writer intended it as a joke, or at least a comment on how bad the butterfly keys were. The butterfly keyboards didn’t do much except help make a laptops a bit thinner. That had the effect of reduced key travel (often seen as a negative) and massive reliability problems (universally bad).

nicoburns 5y ago

Does anyone have any insight into how many GPU cores to choose with these machines? I don’t do much in the way of video work; but I’d like to be able to run a couple of 4k external displays as well as the internal display. And ideally have video calls not slow down my entire machine.

fermentation 5y ago
The higher end options are really only for intense video encoding, like if you're working on a movie (I wonder how many people choose macbooks that task). The basic option should be more than fast enough for running displays.
pornel 5y ago
The minimum. Even the smallest M1 GPU in MacBook Air has performance better than most Intel Macs.
nojito 5y ago
Pro can do 2 external 6k monitors and Max can do 3

Thorncorona 5y ago

Can someone tell me whether their 14in gives enough real estate when debugging in VS code with the terminal open? A screenshot would be greatly apprecoated, thanks.

edot 5y ago
I almost never work without an external monitor (or two), so the laptop screen is really just for chat and email for me. Honestly anything below 20 inches is too small to be usable for serious work in my opinion. Hunched over a little screen is unergonomic and tiring. The 16” is only $200 more than the 14”, I think, for comparable hardware setups, so probably just go with the 16”.
madeofpalk 5y ago
Only you can answer this question. If you're used to a larger screen then it's quite the adjustment
k8sToGo 5y ago
For me 14" is enough to do work, but definitely would not wand to stare at it all day. These days you can just connect a second (portable) display via USB-C so that helps a little. Though I don't recommend doing that on battery alone.
EugeneOZ 5y ago
No, especially with the terminal.

Oddskar 5y ago

The body text of this is very hard to read on Windows (Firefox & Edge) since the text appears to be bolded. I would change to font-weight 300 or something like this.

Abimelex 5y ago
indeed. All is wrapped into one huge <strong> tag which causes browsers to apply the bold font style.

itg 5y ago

I'm curious what specs are software developers planning on getting. From what I've seen, the m1 mba/mbp was good enough for a lot of use cases so I dont see the point of get some specced out mpb. I am currently leaning towards the base model 14" but with 1tb of space.

eyelidlessness 5y ago
Minimum config that allows 64 GB RAM which unfortunately means the M1 Max, 2 TB SSD. Prices out just under 4k for the 14”, over 4k for the 16”. Not sure I care about the screen size, I’m almost always at my desk with a 43” display. But either way it’s gonna be a few months before I can budget it.
upbeat_general 5y ago
Getting the 10/16 CPU/GPU with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. The only real uncertainty for me was the GPU, whether to get 14/16 but the difference in cost was small and I figured it might be nice for some physics sims + tensorflow work.

schaefer 5y ago

If it was above board to download and run MacOS in VMWare as a guest under my linux host (slowdowns because of arc differences forgiven), I'd be way more willing dip a toe into the ecosystem and see how I like it...

lode 5y ago
Aside from going into an Apple store, probably the cheapest way to try out the M1 Macs is to rent one from Scaleway (€0,10/hour + tax, minimum 24h - https://www.scaleway.com/en/hello-m1/ https://www.scaleway.com/en/hello-m1/ ).
tasogare 5y ago
If you were really curious you would use MacOS bare metal as shipped out of the box, with Linux running in a VM instead of wishing for premises you know won't happen.
- schaefer 5y ago
  Yes, I really am curious. And NO, your assumptions about what I would do if I really was curious aren't correct. I had a mac book pro around 2011 (OS X snow leopard). half a dozen happy years with it until it was stolen. But these days since Apple is forbidding running MaxOS under virtualization, that's a deal breaker for me.
  - tasogare 5y ago
    Apple have not forbidding running MacOS under virtualization for years...

rz2k 5y ago

I assumed that 10gbit ethernet was only quietly released as an option for the M1 Mac Mini some time after the initial announcement, because Apple didn't want to commit to components where supply constraints could limit their ability to scale up production in the case of high demand. Likewise, I wonder if there will be options for HDMI 2.1 (for 4K@120Hz), SD slot with UHS-III, and wifi 6E in the next few months for the new MacBook Pros.

deergomoo 5y ago
I expect the lack of HDMI 2.1 is bandwidth related. Full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 is 48Gbps but Thunderbolt 4 is "only" 40. I'm not sure if they still do, but at one point each pair of Thunderbolt ports shared a bus, so you could have something on the left running at 40Gbps and something on the right running at 40Gbps, but not two things on one side. If that's still the case, the SD card slot and the HDMI port are probably sharing bandwidth with the one Thunderbolt port on that side of the machine.
- rz2k 5y ago
  That's an interesting point. What interface do they use for the integrated display? It looks like there are multiple sets of chips involved in the physical ports for Thunderbolt or USB depending on what is connected.

nitins_jakta 5y ago

Apple still won't take some accessibility issues seriously, which is unfortunate given they are a leader in this space. They don't test their devices on people with binocular vision dysfunction, although I've asked them to. There is a whole community of people on LEDStrain.org who suffer from severe eyestrain, vertigo, headaches and migraines to the point where these devices are unusable for a minority of people. One possible cause is temporal dithering which can be seen as the dancing pixels on a slow e-ink display: https://youtu.be/0y-I3hqQgCQ https://youtu.be/0y-I3hqQgCQ. Windows also uses this technique, but Apple's causes more strain for some reason. It would be great if apple could look into this. Some of us are desperate and will gladly pay for help. I am at risk of losing my IT job cause of these companies. I have a binocular vision dysfunction but treatment is not working well. Any ideas from the community as the technical root cause? Edit: not sure why I am being downvoted. Please have some empathy!

HiroProtagonist 5y ago
I think it is unfair to generally state 'Apple still refuses to take accessibility issues seriously' because the one issue you care about most isn't addressed to your satisfaction. I think you'll find that generally speaking, Apple cares a lot about accessibility.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- nitins_jakta 5y ago
  I agree, apple has done great with things like VoiceOver. There is other stuff they can do, like a toggle to disable temporal dithering. Or actually test their devices with people with binocular vision dysfunction.
slezyr 5y ago
> Some are unable to work in IT or as programmers because of it. This point is very forced. Just don't buy the most expensive laptop on the market. I have never had any apple devices, and yet I'm a software developer.

BoyRobot777 5y ago

Is everything still glued together without being able to repair yourself? /s

dang 5y ago

Ongoing related threads: MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch review (2021): Apple’s mighty Macs - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28987380 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28987380 - Oct 2021 (81 comments) Apple's M1 Pro, M1 Max SoCs Investigated - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28987276 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28987276 - Oct 2021 (78 comments) Previously: New 16-inch MBP with M1 Max to feature High Power Mode for intensive workloads - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28950733 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28950733 - Oct 2021 (105 comments) Apple M1 Max Geekbench Score - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28933663 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28933663 - Oct 2021 (870 comments) MacBook Pro 14-inch and MacBook Pro 16-inch - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28908383 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28908383 - Oct 2021 (2056 comments) Apple’s new M1 Pro and M1 Max processors - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28908031 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28908031 - Oct 2021 (981 comments)

mathrall 5y ago

M1 is one of the best things that happened to the MacBook. This is one of the best Macs to buy right now.

adwi 5y ago

> the minimalist design mid-2010s Apple, which achieved design simplicity by forcing complexity and frustration on users This is a really insightful, succinct take on how they strayed from the path.

racl101 5y ago

Other than that stupid notch it looks pretty good.

_xnmw 5y ago

The most striking benchmark for me as a developer is the disk read/write speed. Wonder why Apple didn't highlight that. Nearly 2x as fast as last year's M1 Air or Intel macs - that sounds amazing to me. As a simple web dev, I thought I would never use any of the extra power available in an M1 Pro/Max, as I never do anything GPU-intensive. However, disk speed is a noticeable factor in day-to-day workloads, even when I'm running an IDE like IntelliJ and indexing a large repo. Interesting because Apple chose to focus on the 200 vs. 400 "memory bandwidth" figure in their marketing to differentiate between the M1 Pro and Max, but as this review suggests, the 400 GB/s rate cannot be reached even in theoretical workloads, so it might as well be meaningless. Disk speed seems more important. Can anyone comment? 1) https://www.anandtech.com/show/17024/apple-m1-max-performance-review/2 https://www.anandtech.com/show/17024/apple-m1-max-performanc...

lowbloodsugar 5y ago
I can walk out right now and get as fast an SSD and slot it into my Dell. Next year, I'll be able to put in a faster one, and the following year one that is yet faster. I am surprised that the soldered in SSD speed is merely on par. And of course, for roughly 2x the price. So maybe that's why they aren't shouting about it.
fomine3 5y ago
> However, disk speed is a noticeable factor in day-to-day workloads, even when I'm running an IDE like IntelliJ and indexing a large repo. You may want to check IOPS benchmark rather than throughput.
- _xnmw 5y ago
  Thank you, that's the term I was looking for (IOPS benchmark). Do you know how I can test the IOPS speed on a Mac? Looking for a online benchmark, can't find one.
  - fomine3 5y ago
    https://www.atto.com/disk-benchmark-macOS/ https://www.atto.com/disk-benchmark-macOS/ https://www.katsurashareware.com/amorphousdiskmark/ https://www.katsurashareware.com/amorphousdiskmark/

Meekro 5y ago

I wonder how the fan noise is going to be. My old (late 2013) MBP is dead silent unless I'm running something heavy like a video game.

glogla 5y ago

I'd love to buy it for the better screen, but since it is my personal laptop and I don't need the performance, I don't know if I can justify the cost :/

Abimelex 5y ago

> the Touch Bar. It was introduced in 2016 and… never really went anywhere. A more aggressive set of software updates from Apple might have turned it into something, but that never happened. > Now it’s gone, replaced instead by a very traditional row of function keys. Well to be honest I liked the Touch Bar and I used it quite often. On the other hand I never used the "Function Keys".

gomox 5y ago
How did you change volume or brightness?
- marcellus23 5y ago
  You can set the touch bar to always show the "control strip" instead of keeping it minimized on the right side of the touch bar.
  - acid__ 5y ago
    This is a game changer, thank you! For anyone else looking to configure this:  > "System Preferences" > "Keyboard" > "Touch Bar shows" => "Expanded Control Strip"
  - gomox 5y ago
    I was replying to the comment of a person that "never used the function keys" (in non-touchbar macs).

JAlexoid 5y ago

I watched the abridged intro video an I swear I thought it was a parody... Everything introduced seemed like a joke.

Lamad123 5y ago

A fucking a notch!!!