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Introducing the next generation of Mac

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Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#531

Post by threeseed »

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?

Likely to be 10w TDP on MacBook Air versus 35w on MacBook Pro.

So lower clock speeds on the CPU/GPU and more use of the low-power cores.

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#532

Post by weystrom »

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.

Have the same machine, it's starting to chug. Modern web is too heavy for the old dualcore i5, unfortunately.

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#533

Post by spockz »

supernova87a wrote: post #408

I wonder, is the 8GB vs. 16GB "unified memory" the kind of thing where all of the hardware actually has 16GB, but they disable half of it to sell the lower price version? Like Tesla's Model S 40 kwh?

The unified memory used to mean that the ram is shared with the graphics card so you have not all available for your use. Also called shared memory.

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#534

Post by dubin »

AdamN wrote: post #405
TechBro8615 wrote: post #354

Straw poll: I need a new development machine, price is not an object but it has to be a Mac. Should I buy this new M1 or go with the Intel 16 inch MBP? My gut says there’s going to be a year or two of cross-compilation nightmares. I do a lot of Docker-based development. Wondering what everyone else thinks?

Get the Apple Silicon. If it doesn't meet your expectations, return it and get the Intel one. Returns are trivial with Apple if within 2 weeks (might be longer now with covid).

Oh really? That’s good to know. Thanks!

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#535

Post by api »

shakow wrote: post #489
justin66 wrote: post #457

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps this pricing was brought about by the same head injury that caused someone in management to believe 8GB is an adequate base spec for RAM in 2020.

It is definitely an adequate base spec. What would the random MacBook user fill 16GB of RAM with?

Electron apps.

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#536

Post by harg »

EgoIncarnate wrote: post #501
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?

On the Air only 7 GPU cores (vs 8 on Pro). Also no active cooling, so likely lower max CPU performance under thermally limited conditions.

The higher spec air has 8 gpu cores as well

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#537

Post by claudeganon »

jll29 wrote: post #441
yoz-y wrote: post #409

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only bad thing about the current 16" is the Touch Bar. There is a lot to like about the rest though.

My company gave me the current 16" late last year, and it's been a piece of junk: suddenly starts to roar without a reason (while plugged in to power supply) so people on a phone conference complain I should switch off the hoover. Often freezes with not much open other than a few Chrome tabs, O365 and Sublime (not actually DOING much with any of them at the time). The keyboard is poor, the touchbar is useless but doe…

I was having issues with my 16” until I disabled Turbo Boost. I dunno if it’s specific to the i9 model, but it was running hot and processes were spinning out of control. Since disabling, it runs a lot cooler and I have pretty much zero issues.

http://tbswitcher.rugarciap.com/

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#538

Post by crazygringo »

afandian wrote: post #424
crazygringo wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious, are higher-quality cameras even available that fit into the thin lid? (At a reasonable price?) I was always under the impression that the built-in camera is so much worse than your phone's front-facing camera simply because the phone is thick and has room, while the MacBook lid is much thinner.

That's a kind-of-backwards argument though isn't it? The lid needs to be thick enough to contain the necessary components, not the other way round.

Obviously Apple sees thinness as a major feature.

The reality is, for most people 720p is more than enough, since most videoconferencing is at a heavily compressed 480p anyways, and it's not like most people really want it super obvious that they missed a spot shaving or have a small zit anyways. And sure the quality arguably falls to below 480p in very low light conditions, but that's not an issue in any normal well-lit office, coffee shop, or kitchen or living room.

I would assume Apple is making the right call here that a higher-resolution camera isn't worth additional thickness.

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#539

Post by ralph87 »

Osiris wrote: post #480
css wrote: post #455

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Air only has passive cooling; Pro has a fan.

So the Pro should be able to maintain higher clock speeds for longer, is the assumption?

The emphasis here being on the word "should". I wouldn't buy just yet until some third party has published a sustained load/heat test. Apple have sucked at this for quite some years now, it's folly to touch a MacBook for anything remotely compute-intensive

Re: Introducing the next generation of Mac

#540

Post by bcherry »

danielfoster wrote: post #490
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?

Are there any differences in screens? I have no idea but would guess that the Pro has a better screen with more accurate colors.

tech specs say 500nits on the pro and 400nits on the air, so its possible they are different screens but also possible they just have different backlights
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