Thoughts on Macs these days..

[Lazy8s]

I want a new tech toy and the Mac Mini seems the best bang for the buck. It would be the M1 version (16Gb Ram and 256Gb storage) using my OLED as desktop for photo editing + keeping all sensitive documents/sites on it.

I really want a new iMac, but Apple really nickel and dimes you to death on the base model (no built in r1-45) and only 2 ports. Reviews all say it’s a stellar machine, but buyer beware due to how lacking it is in what should be standard desktop features.

I was an all Mac user a few years ago, but the i5 I cheaped out with didn’t give me the good experience that the M1 should provide.

Thoughts? You Mac users happy with todays offerings?

Thanks guys

 

[Munkus]

I use a Macbook Pro M1 Pro laptop as my daily work driver. It's a pretty sweet machine. I believe they are coming out with M1 Pro & Max versions of the Mini later this year, so I would wait for that rather than getting the regular M1 now.

As with all Macs, Apple skimps on the number of ports, but I believe the Mini has a decent set. What sucks is the Mini doesn't come with a mouse or keyboard, so you'll pay extra for those (pro-tip: don't buy the overpriced Apple keyboard or mouse. Get Logi instead).

I'm glad Apple ditched the Intel chips. The new M1 & M1 Pro/Max are massive improvements.

 

[dodger]

Well WWDC2022 was just over. M2 Macbook Air and Pros. Pretty sure price drops are coming for the older machines. I'm still waiting for requirements of iOS16, might need a new iphone this year.

 

[Shadowless]

Hardware wise, as long as you don't use any software that has been noted to run better on Intel hardware, and you're not gaming, you're fine.

I personally just cant get into MacOS. I have a Mac Mini that I use for certain things, but I don't particularly enjoy MacOS if I have to do something other then open an already installed application.

 

[Lazy8s]

I use a Macbook Pro M1 Pro laptop as my daily work driver. It's a pretty sweet machine. I believe they are coming out with M1 Pro & Max versions of the Mini later this year, so I would wait for that rather than getting the regular M1 now.

As with all Macs, Apple skimps on the number of ports, but I believe the Mini has a decent set. What sucks is the Mini doesn't come with a mouse or keyboard, so you'll pay extra for those (pro-tip: don't buy the overpriced Apple keyboard or mouse. Get Logi instead).

I'm glad Apple ditched the Intel chips. The new M1 & M1 Pro/Max are massive improvements.

Yep, you covered a couple of things > I’m waiting for the full break down of what’s coming, so I’ll probably grab a pro, or a 1st gen if it’s priced right. And a friend of mine who is Insanely Mac confirmed the logi k&m I have waiting will work just fine. The port situation is good on the mini too. I do wish they didn’t skimp so hard on the iMac, but it is what it is.

Well WWDC2022 was just over. M2 Macbook Air and Pros. Pretty sure price drops are coming for the older machines. I'm still waiting for requirements of iOS16, might need a new iphone this year.

Yep the older machine prices are what I want to see as well. Apple isn’t known for dropping prices much, but as I’ll also be trading in $2-3 hundred in older gear, it’ll really take the sting out of it. And again, this is simply a personal play toy for everything but gaming, so I can keep the costs down a bit by not going higher specced than I need.

Hardware wise, as long as you don't use any software that has been noted to run better on Intel hardware, and you're not gaming, you're fine.

I personally just cant get into MacOS. I have a Mac Mini that I use for certain things, but I don't particularly enjoy MacOS if I have to do something other then open an already installed application.

That’s a good point, one that my buddy warned me about as far as available compatibility, but the photo and business related stuff I use are covered already and hopefully by the end of next year a lot more will be compatible.

Appreciate the feedback guys, thanks

 

[dodger]

Well looks like I might be getting a new iPhone, my iPhone 7 got dropped. It'll be a good 6 years by the time the new iPhones arrive.

My iMac will be off support a year when Ventura comes out. If they don't come up with another 27" or larger soon-ish, I guess will either go down to a mini or go to a studio and go monitor shopping. Time marches on.

 

[Lazy8s]

Well looks like I might be getting a new iPhone, my iPhone 7 got dropped. It'll be a good 6 years by the time the new iPhones arrive.

My iMac will be off support a year when Ventura comes out. If they don't come up with another 27" or larger soon-ish, I guess will either go down to a mini or go to a studio and go monitor shopping. Time marches on.

I wish I could justify the price for an iMac specced how I want it, but right now it’s for a particular hobby (photography) some school, and business related stuffs.

I would love to go all out…multiple reviews are saying the M1 iMacs are just beautiful to use and to look at. They’re just too much money for me.

Edit: Looks like Apple just dropped the price of the mid tier iMac by $150…..now I’m tempted again…

 

[shrike126]

Near as I can tell, the new Mac M-series chipsets are amazing. If you’ve looked through the software you’re interested in using, and have no actual gaming centric use cases in mind, yeah I’m another vote for some sort of M1 using Mac.

 

[Lazy8s]

Near as I can tell, the new Mac M-series chipsets are amazing. If you’ve looked through the software you’re interested in using, and have no actual gaming centric use cases in mind, yeah I’m another vote for some sort of M1 using Mac.

Luminar is fully supported and I might give Final Cut Pro a run> undecided on that, but no gaming. This will be my “I’m an adult” machine

 

[dodger]

https://www.anandtech.com/show/17431/apple-announces-m2-soc-apple-silicon-updated-for-2022

From a high level, there has been a limited number of changes with the M2 – or at least as much as Apple wants to disclose at this time – with the focus being on a few critical areas, versus the bonanza that was the initial M1 SoC. While all of this is preliminary ahead of either further disclosures from Apple or getting hands-on time with the hardware itself, the M2 looks a lot like a derivate of the A15 SoC, similar to how the M1 was derived from A14. As a result, at first glance the M1 to M2 upgrade looks quite similar to the A14 to A15 upgrade.

If this holds then whatever performance increase in the iPhone you see in September will show up in Macs the next year sometime. Really cements the phone as 1st class citizen while the Macs are second class at Apple.

 

[Trunks0]

They are perfectly capable machines. Just remember that they are pretty much non-upgradable and Apple gets to decide when it's obsolete e-waste *shrug*.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/17431/apple-announces-m2-soc-apple-silicon-updated-for-2022

From a high level, there has been a limited number of changes with the M2 – or at least as much as Apple wants to disclose at this time – with the focus being on a few critical areas, versus the bonanza that was the initial M1 SoC. While all of this is preliminary ahead of either further disclosures from Apple or getting hands-on time with the hardware itself, the M2 looks a lot like a derivate of the A15 SoC, similar to how the M1 was derived from A14. As a result, at first glance the M1 to M2 upgrade looks quite similar to the A14 to A15 upgrade.

If this holds then whatever performance increase in the iPhone you see in September will show up in Macs the next year sometime. Really cements the phone as 1st class citizen while the Macs are second class at Apple.

That's not surprising. It's not as big a profit centre for them. The amount of money they pull in from Appstore purchases on iPhone and iPad absolutely dwarfs the desktop/laptop segment. To the degree that, from what I can remember, MacOS hasn't had a dedicated team now for many many years.

 

[Munkus]

Luminar is fully supported and I might give Final Cut Pro a run> undecided on that, but no gaming. This will be my “I’m an adult” machine

Make sure the apps you want to use have "Apple Silicon" versions, rather than just Intel versions that run on MacOS. Native M1 apps usually load quicker and are more stable than Intel apps that have to run on top of Rosetta 2. Don't get me wrong, Rosetta 2 is a great converter app, but there is some overhead associated with it compared to native Silicon.

 

[Lazy8s]

Make sure the apps you want to use have "Apple Silicon" versions, rather than just Intel versions that run on MacOS. Native M1 apps usually load quicker and are more stable than Intel apps that have to run on top of Rosetta 2. Don't get me wrong, Rosetta 2 is a great converter app, but there is some overhead associated with it compared to native Silicon.

Good to know! This is the first I heard of that. Thanks Brutha

 

[Lazy8s]

I got the M1 Mac Mini (8Gb because 16Gb means a long wait) and it's a nice unit. It's going to take some getting used to Mac OS again, it's been a few years, but so far that 'familiar' feel is coming back...I just need to get my bookmarks, photo software etc moved over and see if I'm still happy with it before the return window closes.