Apple had its final event of 2020 and I have to say, it has been something that I have been waiting for, a very long time. I know this must be something that many people might not agree upon and would argue that iPhone, iPad and possibly even the watch events take precedence. However, for me, personally, this event is a game-changer, let me explain why…
Let’s break this article into byte size segments that are easy to follow. I will be explaining about a few questions that my friends have asked me and I think most of you have similar queries running in your mind….
- Why Apple Silicon ? Why now?
- Why is Apple going with the name ‘M1’?
- Why does Apple think that 16GB unified RAM is enough?
- Why is the Pro version stuck with just 2 thunderbolt ports?
- Why is the M1 good? Negatives?
- Why should I buy it?
Why Apple Silicon ? Why now?
So here’s the thing. Apple has been known to create disruption in everything it does. But you see, since the advent of iPhone nothing has seemed so radical and disruptive that an entire industry might possibly be changed forever. After the iPhone, apple never seemed to radically change anything or introduce anything that was a game-changer. But I think… this could be it…
But what is so special about M1? This chip is is essentially a System on Chip (SoC). It has 4 High Performance CPU Cores for multi-threaded workloads, 4 High Efficiency CPU Cores for larger workloads, 8 GPU Cores, DRAM, Neural Engine and Cache integrated into a single chip.
So why is this all relevant? Because it seems to address all the issues that existed with Intel especially with regard to power consumption and also efficiency. Apple ideology was always to make the system work better by software and hardware integration. That is why it never needed more RAM for tasks, instead it relied on increasing the efficiency of the software to match the hardware. And yea…..Apple tried. It tried its best to make its home baked apps like FCP, Pages etc to blend better with the hardware along with every major operating system release. But, however hard it tried, the end result was a system built by Intel and did not gel quite well with Apple’s need to scale. Intel has been trying hard to deliver a 5 nanometer chip and has not been successful in delivering a market ready chip yet. But the M1 is 5nm ready which means, it has the almost 16 billion transistors.
Here’s where M1 comes in. It basically gives Apple the clean slate it needed to optimise its softwares to a level which was previously unheard of. Don’t believe me? Check this out? It has been a few days since the release and the geekbench scores are already in the wild… Check this out.. (some pics of Geekbench scores). What you have to remember is that the scores are from the basic MacBook Air and it is being pitted against industry behemoths. I guess this explains the ‘Latest PC laptop chip’, wording that Apple used in its keynote. Let’s move on.
Why is Apple going with the name ‘M1’?
A few of my friends pointed to ‘M’ as an abbreviation for the Mac, but I beg to differ. I think it is something else. Well my theory is that, the iPad runs on the A chips, the watch runs on S chips and the AirPods run on W chips. So, I am not sure about the naming convention here. Maybe we will get to know the real reason, when Apple reveals it down the line.
Why does Apple think 16GB unified RAM is enough?
We have to understand Apple’s point of view before we can completely understand what this is about. Imagine a truck manufacturer increasing the capacity of the fuel tank just to increase the distance that the truck can cover. But at the same time, imagine if another company, being able to optimise the engine in such a way that with a smaller fuel tank, the distance covered is equal, if not greater to that of the one mentioned above.
That is exactly what we are seeing here. My personal opinion is that, in the future, it won’t matter how much RAM you have. The lines will blur as to what those numbers are, because eventually all that matters is how much can the computer perform.
Nobody now talks about the battery capacity of Tesla cars now, only the miles it can cover. Just a thought…
Why is the Pro stuck with just 2 thunderbolt ports?
I think it is possible that the M1 chip may not have enough PCIe lanes. I am not sure about the architecture inside. This is just my assumption to justify as to why Apple leaned toward this limitation.
Why is the M1 good? Negatives?
I am an die-hard Apple fanboy. I have no shame in accepting it. However I am not one to be blindsided by Apple’s elegant advertising, which it truly has a knack for.
But let’s think for a moment, when I look at the M1, I am reminded of the PowerPC days. Remember? Apple was forced to switch to Intel, just to stay afloat. Two things have changed since then,
- Apple has a huge developer base who would develop apps even if it introduces a new platform
- Apple Silicon comes from Apple’s own stables, unlike PowerPC.
Should I buy it?
Well, its is a choice that you have to make at the end of the day, but the future does look bright, good or bad, I think the nerd in me is excited about the prospect of something new and interesting. I will keep you guys posted down the lane as to how things pan out and possible news about Apple’s new silicon.
Realistically, the GPU is not that powerful to the latest AMD based MacBook Pro, so why should you buy it?
A fairly good question if you ask me. But see, here’s my take on it. This is just the M1 and you are getting it in a low end MacBook Air at the moment.
So yea, for those who have tasks which are power hungry and graphic intensive, the GPU is not that powerful. Although, just so you know, linustechtips has tried Windows 10 ARM in a virtual machine in an M1, which has proven to be more powerful than the Windows 10 ARM running natively on a Surface Pro (which incidentally is $200 more than the M1 Air).
Lastly, you have to look at why the common folk buy a MacBook? The demographic that buys it look for battery life and here you have 20 & 18hours of video playback for the Pro and Air respectively. That is just insane. We had half of it when it was intel.
My take is that for all those graphic hungry people, hold your horses, maybe an M1X is around the corner which will remove the thermal throttling of those chips or maybe an M2. But in any case, this is just the first step in an entirely new dimension and I quite like the path apple is making, moving forward.
And with that folks, its goodbye from theroly14. Hope you liked my article.
