Introducing the next generation of Mac • Hacker News Board

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#651

Post by vbezhenar » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 12:36 AM UTC

skohan wrote: post #542

vbezhenar wrote: post #401

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They claim 2 TFlops for their GPU. RTX 3090 features 143 TFlops.

What would be a comparable card at 2 TFlops?

Actually I'm not sure that my number is correct, so I better won't spread misinformation. It's not clear what those Apple flops really mean and there are multiple characteristics for modern GPUs which are measured in flops with different values: half precision, single precision, double precision, tensor compute, sparse tensor compute.

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#652

Post by davidf18 » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 12:36 AM UTC

tiffanyh wrote: post #445

I don't understand the pricing of the MacBook Air vs the 13" Pro. The Air ($1249) vs 13" Pro ($1299), you get: - same CPU - same GPU - same Neural chip - same RAM (8gb) - More storage for the Air (512gb vs 256gb with 13" Pro) - You get Touch Bar with 13" Pro So if you don't care about the Touch Bar, you actually get with the Air: - better specs - smaller device footprint - and $50 cheaper. Am I missing something?

There is no fan in the Air but there is in the Pro which allows the Pro to run the CPU at higher speeds because the fan cools the CPU.

Even though the 16" MacBook Pro has the CPU as its 15" predecessor, it runs much faster because the cooling system flow is better and there is a bigger heat sink on the 16" model.

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

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Post by NegativeLatency » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 12:39 AM UTC

tiffanyh wrote: post #445

I don't understand the pricing of the MacBook Air vs the 13" Pro. The Air ($1249) vs 13" Pro ($1299), you get: - same CPU - same GPU - same Neural chip - same RAM (8gb) - More storage for the Air (512gb vs 256gb with 13" Pro) - You get Touch Bar with 13" Pro So if you don't care about the Touch Bar, you actually get with the Air: - better specs - smaller device footprint - and $50 cheaper. Am I missing something?

The pro has ports on both sides

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

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Post by dnh44 » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 12:39 AM UTC

gnicholas wrote: post #516

regulation_d wrote: post #46

Did I miss something, or are they, once again, not upgrading the camera? The low light performance of the current version is real bad. Since we're all using these cameras way more, I really thought there would a hardware bump. You can only squeeze so much detail out of an under-exposed, noisy image with software.

I agree that the cameras are subpar. I wonder if Apple figures that most Mac users already have an iPhone, and that if they want to use a better camera for videoconferencing, they can always just plug in their iPhone and use it as the camera. Has anyone done this? I've considered using my iPad Pro's camera this way but have never cared enough to actually do it.

I got a tripod and use my iPhone’s rear facing camera and I’m really happy with the setup.

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

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Post by tomaskafka » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 12:39 AM UTC

tiffanyh wrote: post #445

I don't understand the pricing of the MacBook Air vs the 13" Pro. The Air ($1249) vs 13" Pro ($1299), you get: - same CPU - same GPU - same Neural chip - same RAM (8gb) - More storage for the Air (512gb vs 256gb with 13" Pro) - You get Touch Bar with 13" Pro So if you don't care about the Touch Bar, you actually get with the Air: - better specs - smaller device footprint - and $50 cheaper. Am I missing something?

Thermals and sustained performance. I expect 10 W passive CPU in MBA body to throttle quickly - I now have 2017 12" MB, and for about 60(winter)/15(summer) seconds of sustained load it's the most awesome little machine in the world, and then becomes a slog.

It has 7W CPU in slightly smaller body than new Air, so I expect Air's performance review to be 'the story about throttling'.

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#656

Post by ryukafalz » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 12:41 AM UTC

I'll be honest, I was really hoping they'd pull a DeX-like thing out of their pocket at the end of that presentation. "Oh, those iPhones you all have? Especially the new ones with MagSafe chargers? Yeah, plug it into/set it on this lapdock/stationary dock and it's running macOS."

Yeah, I know they'd never do it. It's not their style. But they're in the best position to do that well out of any of the major phone manufacturers.

In the meantime I'll be waiting for some of these Linux phones to mature a little...

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

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Post by brailsafe » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 12:42 AM UTC

jrochkind1 wrote: post #644

brailsafe wrote: post #630

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought so too, but it seems like the highest end 13" does have 4

oh yeah? do you mean the 16"? Oh yeah looks like it. That's too big for me. Odd, 13" with two ports or 16" with 4.

You know what, my mistake actually, but the tone seems unnecessarily derisive. I was looking at the 13" and scrolled all the way down to see 4 thunderbolt ports, but that's on the "2.0GHz Intel Core i5 Quad-Core Processor with Intel Iris Plus Graphics", so not the M1 processor. I guess that shouldn't be too surprising that they're still selling it, but I'll return to being peeved about the regression to 2 ports.

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#658

Post by person_of_color » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 12:44 AM UTC

tiffanyh wrote: post #445

I don't understand the pricing of the MacBook Air vs the 13" Pro. The Air ($1249) vs 13" Pro ($1299), you get: - same CPU - same GPU - same Neural chip - same RAM (8gb) - More storage for the Air (512gb vs 256gb with 13" Pro) - You get Touch Bar with 13" Pro So if you don't care about the Touch Bar, you actually get with the Air: - better specs - smaller device footprint - and $50 cheaper. Am I missing something?

Is there a market for aftermarket coolers on MBA?

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#659

Post by cpsempek » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 12:44 AM UTC

dkarl wrote: post #362

vmarsy wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They kept the touch bar but it seems that they added (back) a physical Esc key, isn't that the most criticized missing key? Which other key do you miss now that Esc is back?

Having bought a Macbook Pro with an Esc key earlier this year, lack of an Esc key was 90% of my issue with the touch bar. My biggest issue now is when I accidentally activate it. I didn't have an issue accidentally hitting the function keys on my 2013, so why not bring those back? Or invent something new. Forward or back, I don't care, just admit the touch bar was a dud and get it off my keyboard. EDIT: My mother als…

I remapped escape to caps lock to overcome this, it might work for others who don't use caps lock.

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#660

Post by p0rkbelly » Wed, Nov 11, 2020, 12:44 AM UTC

callamdelaney wrote: post #150

I'll be sticking with my 2015 Macbook Pro Retina 13". Great machine, not too thin, heavy enough, no stupid touch screen, usb ports, great keyboard. Everything apple has done since hasn't compared.

I've been waiting to upgrade my 2015 for 5 years now! It's funny, when I bought it I only went with 8GB ram because I figured I would replace it in 2 years-ish. It has served me well, but, it's struggling with only 8GB these days. Now I'm ready for 32GB, because I'm planning on keeping the next one for another 5 years. Let's hope the 14" MackBook Pro in 2021 (with mini-LED secreen) rumors have legs to it. Hoping this is only the interim state of the 13" Pro and is due to really needing a different ARM cpu that is not available yet.