Here are the products Apple announced this morning at their “One More Thing” presentation this morning.
Apple M1 System on a Chip
Apple has followed through on its promise to release Mac computers with Apple built processors in them, and the first processor in that line is called the M1. The M1 is a system on a chip with an 8 core processor, 8 core graphics processor, and the system RAM built in. This processor is the same architecture as the processors found in iPhones and iPads, but instead is geared towards personal computers.
Apple has made bold claims about performance, but these all need to be taken with a grain of salt until independent reviewers have had a chance to test. Apple likes to provide graphs to say how much faster their products are, and this was no different. But, in Apple fashion, the company does not provide any kind of scale on these graphs. Apple uses a generic “up to 3x faster” without telling anyone what that actually means, or giving it any kind of scale. We wait.
MacOS Big Sur
Big Sur is the first version of Mac OS that will run on Apple Silicon, and thus needs to be out before there are computers available. As such, Big Sur releases on Thursday for all Macs, Intel and M1 alike.
MacBook Air
The first product announced with the new M1 system on a chip is a 13 inch MacBook Air. This laptop is physically identical to the previous MacBook Air that ran an Intel processor, except there is no fan. Otherwise, it is the exact same laptop, including the price. The new MacBook Air with the M1 starts at $1300.
I think this is a missed opportunity on a couple fronts. I wish Apple had taken the chance to redesign the MacBook Air, to differentiate it from the Intel computers. It has kept the same design here, which is fine, but it feels like a miss. Also keeping the price as high as it is also seems like a miss, though I have a theory on that after I’m done going through the products.
Mac Mini
Next up was the surprise of the announcement, a new Mac Mini. Apple has given the Mac Mini very little attention over the past several years, so to see it be the first desktop Mac with Apple silicon was initially surprising, but does make sense when I think about it. The Mac Mini did get a slight redesign, it is a little shorter, and has different I/O. The Mac Mini is one place where Apple did reduce the price a bit, with the base model starting at $900. Apple is still selling one model of the Mac Mini with an Intel processor as well.
MacBook Pro 13
Lastly, Apple’s first MacBook Pro with Apple silicon is the 13 inch MacBook Pro. This again is the exact same design as the MacBook Pro 13 with an Intel Processor, just with the M1. Another missed opportunity to update the look of the product. The MacBook Pro 13 starts at the same $1700 the previous version did, though this actually represents a price increase, as there was an older model of the MacBook Pro with an Intel Processor that was for sale that could be had for less than $1700. Apple has actually increased the base price here, which is very disappointing. There are still two models of MacBook Pro 13’s with Intel Processors for sale on Apple’s website, both more expensive than the MacBook Pro with the M1.
And… that was it. It was a shorter presentation, only 45 minutes, and those three computers were the only announcements.
Apple has said this transition will take a couple years, and I think the first Mac products do give us an idea of how that is going to go. Apple first moved its more “mainstream” computers to Apple silicon, leaving the more powerful, iMac, MacBook Pro 16, and Mac Pro on Intel for now. I think this is intentional. The iMac, MacBook Pro 16 are geared more towards professional workloads, and the products announced today are more “general computing” devices. It is likely that in 2021, the Apple M2 processor will be more powerful, and be able to run at a higher power level found in those more “professional” products that push the processors to their limits. Apple will likely tell everyone next year that they are very proud of how the M1 worked in lower power products, but people using an iMac and MacBook Pro 16 demand more, and that’s why the M2 was built, for those people!
The thing I was most disappointed with was pricing of these products, especially considering the MacBook Pro 13 got a sharp base price increase with no older model. But I think that returns in 2021. Apple will likely take the same approach to Apple Silicon Macs that they take with the iPhone. Today, the iPhone 12 has been released with the A14, but the iPhone 11 with the A13 and even the iPhone Xr with the A12 are still available for sale at a lower price. I bet we see the same thing next year. When Apple releases a MacBook Air with an M2 processor, I believe we’ll see the M1 MacBook Air remain on the market at a reduced price. Since this is the first year of this transition, there isn’t a lower power product to sell at a lower price. That’s a tough pill to swallow in 2020, but should hopefully be rectified in 2021.
I’m personally not jumping and clamouring for any of these products. With a brand new first generation product, there are many questions. How will these laptops run software not designed for Apple silicon. Apple has made battery life claims that need to be tested in the real world, same with performance.
These products have potential, but it is worth waiting to see if they live up to them.