So, I ditched my 16” MacBook Pro for an M1 13” baseline model. Question is, did
I make I mistake? In this video I will share with you the potential
downsides from this move of mine, all the sacrifices that I have to deal with, solutions
for those downsides, my expectations and hopes. The big question for me is if I would be able
to stick with the 13" M1 MacBook Pro or switch back to the 16" Intel down the road? The purpose
of this video and the follow up episodes is to try and answer your questions and address
your concerns because, this is the first time when many people can actually afford to jump
on previously unobtainable professional-grade machines.
Hey guys, this is E, and if you are new to the channel, welcome. My name is Iskren, and
most people call me E and my very first impressions of unboxing and observing this laptop were
nothing new, since all the magic in this machine is under the hood, the shell, design and screen
are something that most of us are familiar with. One new thing here is the latest generation
keyboard, the return of the escape key and the properly positioned arrow keys. The machine
that I have is the entry level M1 with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. One very important
thing to note here is that this laptop has only 2 USB C thunderbolt ports, which as you
can expect will be an alarming problem when I try to integrate it as my one and only video
editing laptop. That lack of addition ports brings me to the
downsides that worry me the most. One of the concerns is being able to utilize the two
ports to hook a monitor, run power, use a media reader to dump all my video files from
the cameras, run audio and most importantly use an external SSD to work off of, on top
of which have access to my backup drives. Perhaps, this is a good time to mention that
those M1 machines can only run a single monitor meaning dual monitor setup is not an option
unless you use the laptop’s display as a secondary or perhaps use Sidecar to run a
second display on an iPad. The second biggest concern for me is that
that I could only get my hands on the 8GB of RAM model and not the 16, which for my
line of work and judging from all the reviews out there is a must, especially when dealing
with heavy 4K footage, effects, LUTs and so forth. Given my location and trying to stay
on a budged were the primary reasons to try and stick with this baseline option but the
good thing for you, the viewer, the potential buyer, the person on a budget means that you’ll
get to see how far we can push this little guy.
Concern number 3 is architecture and compatibility. Apple and developers are quick to optimize
for the new chip architecture but I am still worried weather or not essential for me apps
will run as advertised and as smoothly as expected. On the other hand, having the option
to run iOS apps and games sounds very tempting. Switching from my maxed out 16” Intel MacBook
Pro definitely gives me some anxiety. One reason for that is because I purchased that
beast a week before the M1 announcement and I still honestly have some buyer regrets.
So my situation is split - since I made the M1 investment too, I really want that tiny
laptop to fail my tests and disappoint me, but yet again I want it to excel as expected.
The direct and obvious downsides here are the fact that I am getting a much smaller
display with some silly large bezels. Also, I am loosing 50% of my ports, while sacrificing
on internal sound, because the 16” is truly one of the best sounding laptops out there.
In the meantime, I am getting a much more portable laptop with a battery life that should
blow my mind and cool performance and snappiness I have only seen on the iPads.
See, the 16” MacBook Pro is great to work on as a stand alone computer, not plugged
into a desk setup machine, but more often than not, I prefer having the laptop docked
for two reasons - battery and heat. Intel MacBooks tent to burn my legs when I video
edit and the most I could get under heavy load is perhaps around 3 hours. This reasons
alone, always makes me station the laptop on my desk setup. The M1 is expected to run
countless hours without any heat issues. Another sacrifice that I make is dongles and external
storage. I have to organize my workflow to a point where 256GB storage is enough for
everything that I do and then keep an external fast storage always available for when I need
to jump into video creation. Just a as a perspective, my usual talking head part, that you see now
is around 80GB. I have a suspicion howewever that this won’t be that much of a problem
because with the big laptop I have to always carry my charger and with the M1 I will be
compensating with a much smaller and lighter laptop and perhaps just a single portable
SSD...if and only if the battery life lives up to hype.
With that being said, in order to be able to fully replace my 16” MacBook Pro first
I need to do some organization. Thankfully, I have thought this through years ago and
I actually have a video about it - how I use iCloud to manage my entire life and I’ll
leave a link in the description in case you are interested in watching it. In a nutshell,
my digital life is basically on iCloud and on any new computer all I care about are the
apps that I need to install...with a bit of tweaks here and there, like electronic signatures.
So, I am now left with very little work, most of which are temp files around my downloads
folder. Second, I made an order for a very popular external SSD (2TB) which I am waiting
to arrive. I tried using my regular, not so fast SanDisk extreme 1TB and surprisingly
it works quite good...but fast SSD, like 1000Mbs is definitely a better solution. Finally,
I need to come up with a decent thunderbolt dock for my desk, one which can run all my
gear - monitor, speakers, act as a hub and a reader at the same time.
My hopes are that this M1 machine will truly surprise me and give me a glimpse as to what
we can expect from future professional laptops from Apple. I’ve always liked the 13”
versions of the company’s laptops but my line of work has always kept me from downsizing.
For the first time in years I might be able to stick with a much more portable machine
and not feel that I’ve made a huge compromise. As I stated in the begging, the biggest question
for me is if I would be able to stick with the 13" MacBook M1 or switch back to the 16"
down the line. For that purposes in the next month and more, I will be reporting my journey
to you and truly showcase what the M1 is capable of. I’ve already created a list of bugs
that I have stumbled upon in my short time with this laptop. Also, I am close to finishing
my desk setup that should be able to tackle all the downsides mentioned earlier. We will
be talking and showcasing great accessories for M1 owners, we will do live video edits,
gaming and so forth, so perhaps if you are new to the channel, now would be a good time
to subscribe and click on the bell icon for when those episodes come out. If you are watching
this at a later stage, the videos in question should already be compiled into a playlist
in the description below. So, tell me, are you planning on purchasing
an M1 machine? If yes, what would you be using it for and which M1 have you shortlisted?
As always, it’s been an absolute pleasure, This is E
Over and out