It could suck compared to x86 CPUs and your average Mac user wouldn’t notice or care as long as it isn't slow. Mac users aren’t techies, gamers, or power users. Their computers are appliances to them. They look at them the same way you or I look at a toaster or dishwasher. I bet most of them won't even have any awareness of Apple switching from Intel to their own CPUs. The tech specs on the Macbooks they buy are meaningless gibberish to them.
I use a Macbook Pro for a work project. I can tell you that "high optimized" for shitty hardware is a goddamned lie. It probably feels that way to the peasant class Apple user... they are coming off of some shitty i3 with 4GB RAM. But I've been running 64GB on Windows so long I don't think about resource allocation. Using the Mac the same way I can make this "highly optimized" trashbook cry. The fans start screeching and applications lag. There is NO amount of optimization that is going to beat raw power. I feel like with the M1 move they are dropping any pretense of power usage and going for casual noobs.
I was going to reply with 'eventually they are going to have to make an iMac Pro or a Mac Pro and then we will really see what this M1 can do and how much RAM they can throw at it' but then I realised the same should apply to the MacBook Pro. I really can't see a good reason to spend the extra $300 for the touchbar unless that fan lets the clock ramp up massively higher than the air.
Oddly enough. I like OSX. I like it better than Windows. In a perfect world I would install it on my own high-end hardware. I guess you can with a Hackintosh. But they are moving to their own chips now so I'm guessing those will be dead soon.
I do worry that OS 11 is going to become a very locked down OS now. What are the odds of Apple going full app store only on it once they have full control? That is, if they can get away with it, we will have to see what the anti competition lawsuits end up like before they make this move probably.
Do you mean try to lock down apps to a Mac stype App Store and not be able to install from a website? I 100% believe they will attempt to do this and will likely succeed. I think they want to move iPhone/iPad casuals into MacNoob Pros. They will also have some $50k monstrosity for enterprise clients. But nothing to fit regular people who want an actual powerhouse work computer (useful device in the $2-4k range). We shall see. Fear of this kind of behavior is why I never fully commit to going all-in on Apple stuff.
First reviews are coming in and people seem happy enough but $200 extra for the 16GB M1, 8GB isn't enough anymore and that price is nothing short of daylight robbery.
@supersonic I think that's actually the main reason they are moving to their own chips. I think eventually they want the Macbooks completely locked down with you only able to install stuff from their app store, just like on the iphone and ipad. Apple is obsessed with having total control over everything. Staying on Intel means you can install other OSs, which limits their ability to control things. @Grim No one should still be selling anything with just 8GB of RAM in 2020. 16GB is the bare minimum. 32GB or more is ideal, and is probably what these should come equipped with given the cost and that the RAM is soldered. Pretty ridiculous that you have to pay $200 extra to get one of these that isn't gimped.
I changed my mind on this. I feel like Apple's "it just works" philosophy on the iPhone doesn't translate as nicely on computers. I've only had a MacBook Pro for 1.5 years now. In that time it got 2 dramatic OS upgrades. Each upgrade changed the "look and feel" and some minor bugs popped up (which is OK). I'm actually more annoyed about dramatic changes to the look and feel of it. Comparatively, Windows never really changes the UI for around a decade these days. Now that I'm older, I think I prefer it this way. I don't want to spend the time tinkering with stuff anymore.