What just happened?
Ok, I had some time to collect my thoughts after the Apple Event
and the amazing M1 Pro and M1 Max, MacBook Pro’s.
And I’ve changed my stance on a couple of things.
And if like me, you’re still not sure about which spec to go for, this video could help you decide.
Do you spend more money on extra storage, more CPU, more GPU… more RAM…
Do you go for the Max?
(Go big or go home!)
You might be a software developer, a photographer, a creator…
And the specs that are good enough for you today may not be good enough in a year or two.
So many different options right?
I am Alex and I do down to earth tech reviews.
With all of these options and the huge associated amount of dollars that go with it,
it is quite easy to get overwhelmed and eventually carried away by all the hype
and buying more than what you need.
And Apple are getting better and better at making us feel like…
Silver or Space Grey?
When making a decision.
Rory, that was for you mate!
But I think YOU can beat the
system. It you haven’t already pressed the button on that M1 Max. If you did I am not jealous…
We are naturally inclined to think, the most expensive is better.
And technically that is right, especially when it comes to processing power.
But. We are all doing different things so when I am buying something new,
I always like to break it down into two categories
CURRENT NEEDS - One. It needs to serve my needs right now.
FUTURE PROOFING - And Two.
I don’t like upgrading every year, so it needs to have an element of future proofing.
So we will talk about that and I hope that helps you in making
your choice before you shell out all that cash.
But it doesn’t take away from the fact that I am pissed with Apple.
As usual and as I mentioned in my video just before the event,
they are out to get your cash - I mean which company isn’t right?
But what I mean is, Apple more than ever seem focused on profit more than
customer experience. In the last few years anyway.
I am not saying they are not listening to customers, not at all.
But throughout their range of new products, there ARE
features that they could have brought a lot sooner and EVEN with the M1 Pro MacBook Pro,
they are giving us ports for example as if it was something they just invented.
Apple, you removed them in the first place. What the …
Ww didn’t want them removed, we wanted the darned ports!!
Must remain calm. Don’t swear.
Storage options Ok storage options.
Let’s talk about that for a bit.
And the damn 512GB storage option. That’s not good to man or beast!
Ok, sure there are plenty of use cases out there for whom 512GB will be fine
but in 2021, 1TB should be the standard, I feel.
I was gonna say bear minimum but I think I’ve overdone that joke now.
Anyway, if you’re just writing and browsing the internet, maybe some light Apple Arcade gaming…
Or even if you are a photographer for example,
and you are fairly organised with your file management.
Sure 512GB is plenty and I actively make the case for lower storage
when you add external SSD options or a NAS.
Well, if you’re in that space, the M1 or the MacBook Air might be a much better choice for you.
But I had to sleep on that a little bit. I think Apple has just changed the game completely.
The internal SSD is now ridiculously fast.
Whereas before the read/write speeds on something like this was
fairly similar to the internal, the internal SSD is now way faster at 7.4 GB/S. Insane!
So my default, sort of generic recommendation
STILL applies to go LOW on storage and use that cash to upgrade on RAM and processing power…
But… I am slightly conflicted now because for the first time in many many years,
we are gonna be losing out on storage performance by doing that.
You know, there’s no way external SSDs can match that 7.4 GB/s, it is a pretty considerable bump.
So the best way to balance that, if you are going for a 512GB or 1TB option,
is to use the internal storage for the things that really MATTER and come up
with a regular archiving solution to an external, much cheaper drive.
But if you plan on doing things like editing 5K, 6K or 8K footage, in other words you are a true
Pro users, then you’re gonna need that internal storage to be as big as you can afford really.
For the majority of us,
we can go low, but I wish 1TB was the starting point on a M1 Pro MacBook Pro.
Chips and RAM Ok, so after you’ve
selected your storage, you now have the M1 Pro vs M1 Max choices and the different RAM options.
For me its very simple… Let’s not forget the M1 was already amazing for a lot of these workloads.
But if you are doing intensive 3D rendering or video editing, and
even if you are only doing 4K today but you think you might venture into
5, 6 or 8K video editing in the next couple of years… then the M1 MAX is the best choice for you.
I will talk about 14 inch vs 16 inch in a bit.
And that M1 Max is what I am ordering but I’ve had to sleep on it
and think long and hard about my expectations.
I should be expecting 5 years of usage for something that is about to cost me
upwards of three and half, four thousand dollars…
But the way technology is evolving I am almost certain that in 2 to
3 years time we will have a good case to move on and upgrade again.
My buddy Kevin here on YouTube did a great video on the different purchasing options
and covers this in a lot of detail, so I recommend you go check him out too,
and he makes a great point about how disposable these machines are becoming.
RAM
One comment in my previous video caught my eye as well about RAM which supports
my thinking of investing more in memory and processing power rather than on storage.
If you’re like me, undecided on what components to
upgrade, Tom here makes a great point about a memory paging / swapping.
I don’t know if that’s how Apple manages memory, I am assuming it is,
but the theory here is when there’s not enough RAW memory,
how you might get a hit on the internal SSD which in turn would shorten it’s lifecycle.
I think we would need to be talking a few hundred GBs of swap for this to eventually
do anything to the SSD but still, it supports my point.
In English, invest in as much memory as possible, because the memory management on the lower sizes
may actually impact the internal SSD in the long run.
Before we talk about the next chapter,
just a quick reminder to like this video if you are getting any value from
it and if you are enjoying my stuff, it would mean the world if you subscribed to my channel.
Thank you!
Design Right, let’s talk about the
other options and the design. I am not gonna regurgitate what you already know,
this video was to give you a few pointers on the reasoning for investing in this amazing machine.
And I am actually super excited for it, but one of the choices that..
BEFORE the event, I was thinking… this is a pretty clear cut choice but… Now,
looking at that display quality…. I’ve had to rethink it and I have changed my stance on it.
I was actually just talking to my buddies Patrick and Kevin on our pre-event stream about this.
Before the event I was thinking, I will use this in clamshell mode
anyway so what is the point of 16 inch?
(And no Patrick, that's not what she said)
With that ProMotion display it will feel like sacrilege to keep this in clamshell mode right?
I am probably going to use it a lot more as a dual display, even with an Ultrawide monitor,
I will just have to find a way of making use of that beautiful screen!
So I’ve gone from being almost certain leaning towards the 14” to considering the 16 inch, for
that extra real estate. And when you consider the price difference, this one is actually worth it.
IF you plan to use your display in that way.
I am going to leave you there for today, I hope this video helped you,
if not check this one out as well.
Don’t waste your money sounds very clickbaity I know…
but I actually deliver on some tidbits that I hope will help you.
And I will see you and your smiling faces on the next one!
Bye!