So Apple released their new Macs with Apple Silicon now, and while I was really looking forward to this transition, there are things that just irk me and make me hold off from purchasing.
What was released?
Apple put out three new computers, that all feature on new System-on-a-Chip (SoC), named M1. It’s a 13″ MacBook Air, a 13″ MacBook Pro and a Mac Mini.
Unlike with their previous transition from PowerPC to Intel (2005 f.), Apple aren’t changing their branding here. The main difference between the MacBook Air and the Pro are that the Pro has a bigger battery for supposedly crazy long battery life, a fan, and the TouchBar. They all, including the Mac Mini, have two USB 4/Thunderbolt ports (the Mac Mini thankfully adds two USB-A ports, Gigabit Ethernet and HDMI 2.0).
Apple harps that these new models are sooo much faster, and early benchmarks seem to confirm that. Now, that’s great – and the massive increase in battery life (Apple says these machines are going to last up to 18 hours (MacBook Air)/ 20 hours (MacBook Pro)) is also awesome.
So what’s your problem?
Repairability and upgradability
Earlier this year Apple went big on boasting what they are doing for the environment. They also previously were big on showing off their recycling efforts. Now what’s better, than recycling? Right, reducing!
Modern Apple Hardware (including, but not limited to MacBooks) seeks to make user/self repair and repair by 3rd parties impossible. Now while there are good reasons for this (protecting the brand by ensuring a good experience), it still is likely leading to more e-waste than neccessary and thus bad.
Bad Default specs
Random Access Memory
It’s 2020. While 8GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD as defaults may be justifiable for people that are looking for a MacBook Air, it’s just a total joke that they even offer that as default for their “Pro” branded offering. ((The MacBook line generally has had serious branding issues for since the introduction of the “not really Pro” 13″ MacBook Pro.)) It’s almost like no one at Apple ever uses the RAM-eating shit-fest the modern web is, or if, they only use it in their own Safari browser (that is, the parts of the web that work in Safari). ((The blame is on the web developers here that don’t do a proper job and build incompatible websites, not on Apple.))
Now, a lot of RAM use may go to Electron-based apps, that may be replaceable by more RAM-friendly iOS apps now (assuming the app developers allow runnning their iOS apps on the Mac), which might drop RAM load. Still, 16 GB as a default with 32 GB as an upgrade option would have been the right way to go, ensuring long usable lifetimes for these new computers.
SSD / File Storage
When you boast that your new hardware is great at multimedia work, please, for the love of god, supply reasonable storage options. While a 2 TB maximum is ok (not really for the ‘Pro’, admittedly), it’s just crazy expensive at 800 USD (896 EURO) upgrades. And you have to choose your size when you buy it, you can’t upgrade afterwards. ((It’s been like this since 2016, I know. But it’s still terrible.))
Now, they have some reasoning for that. But why not go the Microsoft route, and allow upgrading by having an empty m.2-slot or even something proprietary, that’s user accessible for later upgrades? Why not at least allow an option for slower storage (e.g. by adding a microSDXC-card slot), for all the people who want to keep their family photos on device?
Pricing
Last but not least, pricing. I don’t want to make this about their bad european pricing ((If you were to use the current exchange rate, add german sales tax of currently 16 % you would end up at 980,81 EUR for the 999 USD Macbook Air, not the 1100,50 EUR they ask for.))
I love the Mac ((I am very much a Linux user, too, but I won’t get into the additional problem with only being able to VM my Linux needs here in order to keep this piece more concise.)), and I would love for it to be more affordable.
Apple is able to deliver great products at affordable price points, as evidenced by their entry level iPad. I want Apple to adopt a strategy that allows them to gain market share, because I do strongly believe that they offer something great with the Mac, that enables people to do more with there Computers without these being as “dumbed down” as the mobile platforms.
Switching to their own Apple Silicon is considered to likely increase Apples profit margin by quite a bit, yet they kept pricing mostly the same. This, as I believe, is going to harm them in the future, if they want to cut on their margin to offer products for the Everyman or education (in a push for market share or against Chromebooks) and not just their usual high-income bracket – shareholders would likely have questions and not approve.
Conclusion
I won’t buy a laptop for almost 2000 EUR unless I am certain to be able to use it for at least 4 years as my main machine. I am not sure that a 16GB RAM MacBook Air or Pro can deliver that, so I will just sit tight and wait for their next announcement.
Also, I have little hope that they are going deliver a cheaper, entry level MacBook (at least for education), and clear up their “Pro” branding problem. Long term they should refocus more on customers, deliver hardware that makes their environmental claims more credible, respect the right-to-repair more and bring their mission of preserving user privacy to everyone.
Unfortunately, Apple seem to be too obsessed with their bottom line to care enough about anything else.