Do keep in mind though that the NDK (which takes like 90% of the build time) is still built for x86. So the 4x difference is mighty impressive when you consider that you're comparing an old x86 CPU running its native code to ARM emulating x86, even if doing so via translation.
I'm excited to see how this changes x86 systems, mobile and desktop.
I've transitioned to a 16GB M1 MBA too and it's a dream. CPU temps < 60C on dev loads on a hot day (I work outside). 16GB RAM means low swap usage (I used 8GB M1 MBA before this and it was still snappy except on the very limits). Still can drive a 4k monitor or mirrored Sidecar (with BetterDummy) without a peep. Building my work project takes the same time as the i7 16" MBP without the fan noise.
Similarly, Intel's 1185g7 laptop CPU also goes toe to toe with the 9600k, with comparable performance to the M1 (albeit with worse efficiency). But the efficiency isn't a bother personally as the 1185g7 laptop still lasts all day for my usage. I do have an M1 MBP and have used them side by side, and I'm not really sold yet. Admittedly part of the problem is the locked down hardware and lack of support for Linux - but in the mean time I'm always reaching for the Intel laptop and do not miss the MBP.
I think the difference is down to the single core performance edge that the m1 has. In theory multi core benchmarks should dictate the performance you get, but in practice it seems a lot of things, even development tools, depend a lot on single core performance.
It's not entry-level. It's the fastest 6-core part from a product line that included 2, 4, 6 and 8-core desktop parts. Every model in that product line that was better than the 9600k could only be described as high-end.
the 16 inch model is the same physical size as the 15-inch models and they removed a lot of bezel. the screen has the same camera/sensor notch as an iphone does, which allows them to extend the screen farther.
full screen videos are letterboxed 99% of the time so the notch blends into. I don't play full screen games so can't tell if thats an issue. and it is in the OS top bar the other rest of the time.
I had googled the size comparison before I purchased the M1 Max model and it helped move the needle for me, but I don't remember the source and we were likely comparing different models
I keep saying, the best Apple advertisement are all other computers (and Windows/Android operating systems). It's like they're not even trying!
I have been really happy with my ThinkPad carbon x1, but I am getting a little envious now.
We hear almost nothing but complaints about them from long-time Mac users who are used to historically quieter devices. Under any load, like a few minutes of Zoom or Teams while connected to an external display, the fans are persistently and disconcertingly audible. It's become almost a meme in video conferences over the past two years when someone unmutes to speak and the fan noise overwhelms the noise suppression that you know they have a Mac.
Display artifacts and connection issues to USB-C displays aren't uncommon on the 2017-2019s either, but it still sounds like a torture test when running two 4k TB3 displays or a single 5k on one. The M1s are the first Macs I've recommend to friends and family in almost a decade.
(I use one for work, it is terrible. And I used to have one for personal use, which I traded for a M1 Air)
My personal Ryzen 5800H powered Lenovo doesn't overheat and I haven't heard the fan I over a month despite doing all kinds of lightweight development and browsing on it.
Meanwhile, my fairly expensive work issued 6 core Intel Xeon Lenovo from 2019 sounds like it's about to take off throughout most of the day.
I think the only time Apple fans actually accepted that an Apple product was actually bad was the trashcan Mac Pro, and that was only because they went half a decade without upgrading it and they replaced a beloved design with one that was branded as a trash can.
There is a much larger percentage of people for whom the world is not black and white, there is no picking of a ‘team’, and they will use whatever works for them or make do with what they have, moving between brands and models over time.
Please don’t push the ‘Apple fans’ narrative here. There are lots of us who are just trying to get stuff done and have civilised discussion, not engage in polarised mid slinging.
Maybe if you only mean the 2015 models, sure. But models between 2015 and the M1s were trounced by everyone, even Apple fans, for their keyboard issues and throttling the i9.
I had a 2017 i7, and it was the worst Mac I ever owned.
I work on an Apple laptop; all of my colleagues work on Apple laptops.
Maybe what you say is true in the spaces you find yourself in, but in all the spaces I chat about these things (Android developer community) none of your claims are true. The general feeling about the last generation of Intel MBPs was initially one of relief that they didn't f** up the keyboard, and then slow dawning disappointment as we realized that the thermal design of the machine was abysmal.
Up until this most recent M1Pro/Max iteration, things were getting so bad that many professionals I know were at least considering a move off of the Mac platform that most of us have been on for a decade or more. Many of us need to compile iOS code occasionally, of course, which means we're kind of stuck.
The M1Max has completely changed all that. One of the senior engineers I know actually put together some benchmarking numbers of compile times, assembled a spreadsheet of every engineer with a pending hardware upgrade, and added up the numbers for a budget ask to buy every single engineer at their company a top of the line 64GB M1Max. The final bill added up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and just putting it together took a lot of time for this person.
It was approved!
So yeah, there's some real turkey on the bone here. It's not all fanboy hype.
Here is a different sort of data point. I have two Windows programs I need to run on my M1 Pro MB 16. One is an Intel binary and one has been recompiled to ARM. I am running them both under Win11 ARM on a Parallels virtual machine. I am getting better and more responsive performance than I ever did on dedicated Intel hardware. No noticeable fan noise or heat. It is really just a different beast than I have ever used before. Of course, native Mac apps are also much quicker.
Here is another data point from my own machines. 2019 i9 MB Pro Geekbench single core score is 1024. x86 Geekbench single core on M1 MB Pro 16" (x86 emulation) is 1347. Native ARM Geekbench on Win 10 virtual machine running on M1 Pro is 1560. Native single core Geekbench on M1 Pro is 1734. Multi core is 12400.
Look, Intel performance gains over the past decade have been incremental at best. It makes sense to be skeptical that Apple could change the rules like this. I suggest folks just get one of these machines and run their own benchmarks. Apple will give you a full refund, no questions asked for 14 days from the date you receive it. Don't just throw stones, try it yourself.
That G15 was better at some things than my M1 Pro is now but not by enough that I’d want it over the M1 Pro, even considering the price difference.
everything you say about the build quality is definitely true, but I couldn't find anything better that a) had a 3080/3070 and b) was actually in stock.