Now is a great time to be a Mac user. The MacBook Air, Mac Mini, and MacBook Pro all have a great new processor that’s pretty damn zippy with native ARM apps for the same price as their entry-level Intel predecessors. I do all my work and play on PC, but Apple’s M1 processor makes me wonder if I really need a Windows PC for my next laptop. This is the first time in all my computer years – since my dad sat in front of me in front of a keyboard as a toddler – I’ve ever considered buying a Mac.
There are a few things about macOS that I have to get used to again, and compatibility with native apps still has some ways to go before I would officially decide to part ways with Windows, but at least I don’t have to buy into it entire Apple ecosystem, as many of the apps I use on my PC, such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Office, and Adobe Creative Suite, are also on Mac. I can even game on a Mac now and enjoy it thanks to cloud gaming platforms such as GeForce Now and Stadia. It feels like the first time in a long time that Apple has begun to compete with PC manufacturers when it comes to the price and specifications of their latest Macs.
The new base model 13-inch MacBook Pro has a starting price of $ 1,300 and comes with 8 GB DRAM, a 256 GB SSD, and a 500 nits 13.3-inch ISP display. The M1 itself is an 8-core CPU, with four cores for performance and the other four for power efficiency. There is also an 8-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine – all on the same chip as the CPU. The price goes up from there depending on whether you want to add more RAM or buy a larger SSD, but even increasing memory and storage capacity on the M1 MacBook Pro is a slightly better deal than getting its $ Intel cousins. 1,800 or $ 2,000.
A 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro with 16 GB of memory and a 512 GB SSD storage, which is a few steps higher than the base model, will cost you $ 100 less than Apple’s identical version with a 10th-generation Intel Core i5 processor. Do you want 16 GB and a 1 TB SSD? The M1 model will cost you $ 1,900, while the Intel model will cost you $ 2,000. The M1 also outperforms the 10th Gen Intel Core i5.
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We have the M1 in one deeper dive here, and found that Apple’s new processor packs a lot more raw and practical performance than Intel’s 11th Gen Core i5-1135G7. And where it fell behind, it fell behind because the software ran through Rosetta 2 – Apple’s program that translates Intel programs to run on the M1 – rather than natively. Needless to say, the new M1 Macs are a step up from the Intel versions. But it is easy to compare apples to apples. (Pun intended.) Where the latest MacBook Pro falls short is not only current software compatibility, but also price and number of ports compared to what is typically offered on many Windows laptops.
Take the MSI Creator 15, for example. It is a content focused laptop similar to the MacBook Pro that can also be used as a gaming laptop. The one we reviewed recently came with a 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10875H, an RTX 2060 GPU, 16 GB (8 GB x 2) DDR4-2666 MHz DRAM, 1 TB NVMe SSD, and a 15.6-inch 1080p 60 Hz touch screen. for $ 1,900. Not only do you get better specs for the price compared to Apple’s 13-inch Intel MacBook Pro, but it’s also the same price as the M1 MacBook Pro with 16GB of memory and a 1TB SSD.
That discreet RTX 2060 GPU also blows the pants off Apple’s integrated GPU. Just looking at the gaming performance, the RTX 2060 can hit 70 frames per second at 1080p on the highest graphics setting in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. To get close to the same frame rate with Apple’s M1, you need to play the game at 720p resolution, and even then the graphics still need to be low. That GPU in the Creator 15 makes it more attractive for the price than the MacBook Pro – if gaming is important to you.
MSI’s Creator 15 also comes with many more ports: Ethernet, SD, HDMI, one USB-A and two USB-C. One of those USB-C ports is also a Thunderbolt 3 with PD charging. The MacBook Pro only has two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports. Sure, they support charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.1 Gen 2. But the Creator 15 has enough ports so you don’t have to buy a USB hub like the MacBook Pro. It’s quite annoying having to use a USB-C to USB adapter every time I want to plug in a flash drive or use an external mouse. In any case, USB hubs are cheap these days, unless they are Satechi’s exclusive Apple USB-C Multiport Pro Adapter. Instead of paying about $ 20, you have to pay $ 65.
Very few PC laptops have displays as good as the MacBook Pro, and the ones that usually cost between $ 2,500 and $ 3,000 – more if you opt for the completely cheated version of HP’s ZBook Create G7. But most people don’t choose between a Mac and a PC for creative work. It’s usually a nicer display that adds a lot more to the cost of a creative PC laptop – more than what a MacBook Pro costs, even an upgraded one. Sure, the Windows machine might have a bit faster hardware and a better GPU, but if a program can run as fast or faster natively on the M1, none of that matters.
Apple has also had its thermal design down pat for years. Where Intel’s 10th-gen mobile CPUs sometimes reach temperatures of 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit) and make the chassis uncomfortably hot, Apple’s M1 MacBook Pro feels like it’s not even turned on when it hums for hours on end. It’s so nice not to hear fans buzz like a plane getting ready to take off when I just want to convert a video file.
The battery life is also the best I’ve ever seen in a laptop. The MacBook Pro lasted about 30 minutes longer than the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7, 6 pm to 17.5 pm. That is much longer than Apple’s latest generation Intel MacBook Pro which debuted earlier this year, which lasted only 8.5 hours. You never have to worry about finding a retail outlet near your seat at Economics 101 or at your local coffee shop.
In the past, the MacBook Pro seemed way too expensive for the specs. But from a performance-per-dollar standpoint, Apple’s M1 would absolutely justify the price of new Macs – if they weren’t crippled by the current lack of software compatibility. Developers who have released beta versions of their programs, such as Adobe with its Premiere Pro, just haven’t transitioned all of their features from Intel to ARM yet. That will happen slowly but surely, and Rosetta 2 bridges the gap, but if the software you rely on for your creative workflow cannot yet take advantage of the power of the M1, then the question of whether to upgrade becomes more complicated.
For Mac enthusiasts or PC enthusiasts, saving money on a new M1 MacBook Pro is a tough choice. The software gets there, but how long will it take? There’s also the question of how Apple’s proprietary processors will improve over time. As a seasoned PC user, it might take another generation to be fully sold on the MacBook Pro’s package, but even if it convinced me now, I’d still pay more for a Mac than what a PC from the same price could get me.
But if you’ve been a MacBook Pro user for years and have been waiting for an upgrade, getting the M1 is a breeze – especially if you don’t have to wait for certain programs to run natively on Apple Silicon.
README
- Amazing battery life
- Competitively priced compared to Apple’s Intel-based MacBooks, but not quite as much compared to some PC laptops
- Runs cool, runs quiet
- Slightly unpredictable how certain apps will work through Rosetta 2