New apple M1 chips - who's buying?
Discussion
ZesPak said:
Blown2CV said:
MBA i mean. I have a 2020 one pre the M1 and it has been universally panned. I am shocked that they pulled the same trick with the M1 MBA...
I hope the corona will put a halt to s
tty cameras and camera positions on laptops.It's insane how good the front camera on some smartphones is compared to how s
tty the ones on laptops are. The "macbook" when it came out was just horrendous, I didn't know the MBA was similarly bad.tty sensor and no depth tech. Totally unacceptable in 2020. Blown2CV said:
the camera is still utterly ste
I just find that weird, the same company that puts the cameras in the iPhone which are supposed to be right up there on photo and video quality puts a 720p potatovision webcam in their Macbooks. I've got a 2013 i5 13" MacBook Pro, it's got a 720p camera in it too, maybe that was ok 7 years ago. The £400 iPhone SE, the basic iPhone, has a 1080p front camera and a 4k main camera.te
Regarding the cameras - it's a weird one this, clearly Apple are well aware of the widespread criticism, but just don't seem to do anything.
Cannot believe the extra cost in improving these would add much to the store price.
The current answer is to plug in your iPhone camera in substitution (which I do using Camo) - but that's far from ideal....
...and if that WAS the solution, surely Apple would have provided the app/software to make that an easy job themselves?
Mystified Mac Muggle
Cannot believe the extra cost in improving these would add much to the store price.
The current answer is to plug in your iPhone camera in substitution (which I do using Camo) - but that's far from ideal....
...and if that WAS the solution, surely Apple would have provided the app/software to make that an easy job themselves?
Mystified Mac Muggle
thebraketester said:
It makes no sense. They could easily put in a semi decent 1080p camera into the lid.... no doubt they will put them in the MacBooks in 2028 and claim it to “revolutionise the webcam game”
Resolution of course is not the be-all end-all. A 720p camera is ok, as long as it's an OK camera. Which I remember the MacBook not to have when it was launched.It doesn't need to be 1080p at all. It just needs to be half decent.
ZesPak said:
thebraketester said:
It makes no sense. They could easily put in a semi decent 1080p camera into the lid.... no doubt they will put them in the MacBooks in 2028 and claim it to “revolutionise the webcam game”
Resolution of course is not the be-all end-all. A 720p camera is ok, as long as it's an OK camera. Which I remember the MacBook not to have when it was launched.It doesn't need to be 1080p at all. It just needs to be half decent.
Not touching them yet. No doubt that Apple have done a great job, but as I’m in music production I’m also heavily reliant on 3rd software and hardware providers. Until they’ve all updated their compatability, it’s not an option for me.
Hell, one nameless software provider consistently manages to make their product “compatible” literally days before Apple bring out the NEXT big OS platform.
I know it’s a chase but some of this software ain’t cheap!
I will upgrade, but as my “office” machine is a 2019 machine and my MBP is a 2017, I’ll wait for the time being and observe with great interest. ??
Hell, one nameless software provider consistently manages to make their product “compatible” literally days before Apple bring out the NEXT big OS platform.
I know it’s a chase but some of this software ain’t cheap!
I will upgrade, but as my “office” machine is a 2019 machine and my MBP is a 2017, I’ll wait for the time being and observe with great interest. ??
TheJimi said:
Watching the reviews, what has REALLY impressed me is how well X86 stuff runs via Rosetta 2. From what I've seen so far, it's seamless - very impressive.
its even more fun than that -- running Intel Windows apps on crossover to intel mac code, and then through rosetta. It just works. 
Well, my M1 air arrived, and I'm typing this reponse on it now. Very hard to put my finger on it, but goddam this thing is quick.
I know it's the honeymoon phase, but I can only describe the feeling of using this thing as like using a film in the movies - i.e. you press a button and something happens instantly. All the native apps are instantaneous.
Also, as you might well know, the devices tend to get a bit warm for the first hour or so as new services index, your iCloud syncs etc. Not so with this, check this out:
90 mins into powering it on for the first time, it all still basically feels cold to the touch. My work mac next to it, which is a 2019 MBP, currently sounds like a helicopter starting up as its running an MS Teams call, and is red hot.
I know it's the honeymoon phase, but I can only describe the feeling of using this thing as like using a film in the movies - i.e. you press a button and something happens instantly. All the native apps are instantaneous.
Also, as you might well know, the devices tend to get a bit warm for the first hour or so as new services index, your iCloud syncs etc. Not so with this, check this out:
90 mins into powering it on for the first time, it all still basically feels cold to the touch. My work mac next to it, which is a 2019 MBP, currently sounds like a helicopter starting up as its running an MS Teams call, and is red hot.
Used to be on MacOS then changed to a Dell XPS 4 years ago. Battery is pretty poor now. Thinking of returning to Mac or going Thinkpad...
I prefer the MacOS but Windows10 seems to be very stable and reliable in my machine.
A bit undecided but no doubt the Mac seems a very polished machine.
I prefer the MacOS but Windows10 seems to be very stable and reliable in my machine.
A bit undecided but no doubt the Mac seems a very polished machine.
Rene Ritchie, on the subject of the 780p cameras....
"I want to put this politely....but....it's still garbage in...and it's... like... nicely made up garbage out..."
https://youtu.be/LD2hMG76PkA?t=3449
"I want to put this politely....but....it's still garbage in...and it's... like... nicely made up garbage out..."
https://youtu.be/LD2hMG76PkA?t=3449
I haven’t stressed my base model MBA nearly this much, but this reviewer suggesting hard to justify anything but the base model for almost every body;
https://9to5mac.com/2020/11/18/opinion-is-the-base...
https://9to5mac.com/2020/11/18/opinion-is-the-base...
I have the 8/256 M1 MacBook Pro. Seriously impressed by this thing. Just such a perfect package.
Even though I've gone with the Pro, I agree with the comments that the Air is more than sufficient for most needs.
I went with the Pro for the overall marginal gains which made it a better package for something I'm likely to keep the for 4-5 years [slightly better screen, slightly better mic, slightly better speakers, slightly better battery life, Touch Bar] and I prefer the form factor of the Pro as oppose to the wedge shape of the Air. It does also have a fan, but realistically given what some of tests some YouTubers are running and the fans still are not kicking in, I doubt I will do anything sufficiently intensive to warrant testing the fans.
I'm just waiting with anticipation just what they are going to manage to do with their higher end models/chips if this is what they've managed with what is their entry level Air and Pro. Exciting times.
Even though I've gone with the Pro, I agree with the comments that the Air is more than sufficient for most needs.
I went with the Pro for the overall marginal gains which made it a better package for something I'm likely to keep the for 4-5 years [slightly better screen, slightly better mic, slightly better speakers, slightly better battery life, Touch Bar] and I prefer the form factor of the Pro as oppose to the wedge shape of the Air. It does also have a fan, but realistically given what some of tests some YouTubers are running and the fans still are not kicking in, I doubt I will do anything sufficiently intensive to warrant testing the fans.
I'm just waiting with anticipation just what they are going to manage to do with their higher end models/chips if this is what they've managed with what is their entry level Air and Pro. Exciting times.
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