Why Apple Silicon Will Make Better Macs

When Tim Cook announced the Mac was transitioning from Intel to Apple Silicon, he said it was for one reason and one reason only — so they could make much better products. And Apple Silicon was the only way they could do it.

But, what does that even mean? What kinds of new and improved MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, iMac, and Mac Pro are we really going to get?

Let’s take a look!

SUBSCRIBE

MAC ON APPLE SILICON VIDEOS

SPECIAL THANKS

Patreon supporters who help make these videos possible:

Aziz Rahman, Robert Simplicio, Ruben Flores, Philippe Bueche, Jared White, Kyle Giglio, Scott Graham, Nick Florez, Michael Dreves, Sam Fingold, Front Page Tech, Sven Jasper, Clive, Josef, Steven Perry, John Wheeler, Connor Porter, Frederick Lakes Jr., Mark Lussier, Odi Kosmatos, Chad Valencia, Jeffrey David Marraccini, Daniel Pasco.

Get access to exclusive Discord, previews, and the opportunity to see your name in the credits:

INDEX

0:00 - Intro
0:28 - Chips vs. Features
4:02 - MacBook Air
7:44 - MacBook Pro
9:57 - Mac mini
11:33 - iMac
13:40 - Mac Pro
15:16 - Nvidia

LINKS

🎙 Podcast (audio) version:
📝 Blog (text) version:

REFERENCES

MORE

Thanks for watching, see you next video!

[ReneRitchie]

2. What do you want most? 12-inch MacBook with 5G, 12 hr battery, and multitouch? 16-inch MBP with way better thermals and miniLED? Mac mini the size of Apple TV with TB4/USB 4? Mac Pro with accelerator/expander cards? Something else?

[QuestionEverythingButWHY]

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
― Buckminster Fuller

[espertempo]

I see Apple rearranging their whole laptop lineup, merging MacBook air and MacBooks, since all MacBooks will be thin and light due to Apple silicon alleged lower energy consumption. They'll go back to Jobs' simpler product classification: MacBook and MacBook Pro.

[RichM]

If Apple didn't switch from Intel now, I wonder if the iPad Pro wouldn't have passed the MacBook Pro outright within a couple of years.

[aljawad]

Something has been nagging my brain since WWDC: the repeated mentions of Linux during the keynote. What if Apple was hinting at something major in the pipeline?
For years the company attempted to enter the server market, but while the MacOS is an exquisite consumer/workstation operating system, it has failed to make a sizable entry into the enterprise market, a market that is now dominated by various flavors of Linux. Now imagine once the migration to Apple Silicon (AS) is complete, and Apple has an AS competitor to Intel’s Xeon that runs more efficiently, why stop just with future workstations like the MacPro or iMac Pro? Why not reintroduce a server branch of the Macintosh that not only runs MacOS Server, but also some Linux variant - and as it will be a non-consumer product: make it run natively instead of within a virtual environment? It wouldn’t be the first time the company would market a product that runs a non-native software, remember the Apple Network Server (1996-7), which operated using IBMs AIX? Furthermore, why stop with just offering such a product to future clients, when Apple’s own servers could herald the company’s entry into the enterprise cloud computer market. Apple is the largest tech company around, yet currently it is missing from an enterprise market where the likes of Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google and others are already massive players. In fact current Apple services like iCloud, the various app stores, Apple pay, ... etc. already operate on non-native infrastructure (its estimated Apple leases Amazon AWS services for a 30 million dollar monthly fee), even though services amount to some 22% of the company’s revenue according to the last quarterly report (a figure that is second only to iPhone sales and is roughly three times that of iPad sales). Once Apple starts to use its own infrastructure for services, what will prevent the company from extending such services beyond the current consumer market into an even more lucrative enterprise market (with servers that run on much less energy than the competition)? Amazon has demonstrated what can be done with their AWS Graviton custom built processors (developed using ARM Neoverse 64-bit cores) for their own AWS services, which amount to ~ 14% of quarterly revenue. Others who are working on super processors based on ARM technology include Fujitsu, the maker of the A64FX, the processor that powers Fugaku, the worlds fastest supercomputer. Also, recently Ampere announced a 128-core server processor to complement the 80-core Altra Max they launched earlier this year. Apple potentially can develop a powerful competitor utilizing their own AS solutions to create scalable and megalithic systems that could be managed utilizing tools such as Macs, iPads and even iPhones. In short, the way I see it Apple didn’t invest billions of dollars to develop AS just to enhance the performance of laptops and desktops for the status quo, among the company’s longer term goals is to dominate the enterprise cloud computing market.

[rtn]

The more powerful and energy-efficient Macs are going to transcend the ecosystem and they just get started.

[TrentonsTech]

Apple will be able to better optimize their own silicon over intel.

[Star-Man]

I feel like Apple having more control over the Macs will be amazing. I feel like, due to the weird inconsistent schedule (due to intel failing to deliver), the Mac started to be pushed behind a bit when compared to other computers. Hopefully now the Mac can return to have it’s place on the stage for being more powerful and overall better.

[rohityadav-gfch]

In a perfect world
12” MacBook (rename to air with apple silicon primarily for portability but decent horsepower)
14” MacBook Pro (replacing 13” MacBooks)
16” MacBook Pro (primarily targeted at professionals)
Reduce bezels on all
Not touchscreen fan but it would be appreciated
Sadly all in perfect world

[man-bagdammit]

Apple Silicon will propel Macs far further then crappy Intel processors ever could! Im so excited.

[QuestionEverythingButWHY]

“Every society honors its live conformists and its dead troublemakers.”
— Mignon McLaughlin

[SanchezS]

It’ll also end T2 kernel panics on AS Macs since they won’t need BridgeOS’s x86 to ARM “translate” functionality.

Not that it’ll matter anyway since most of those panics were triggered when hot-swapping TB3 accessories.

[fleitasfam]

Beyond the design and architecture, it's about the mentality to make the best chipsets that will work harmoniously with their software. I'm an Android user, but recently I started using Mac for work and I realized that their philosophy for making computers is what sets them apart.

[andrewboden]

My predicted product shipping order: 2020 - ASi MacBook Air. 2021 - Intel iMac, ASi MacBook Pro, ASi Mac Mini. Late 2021/2022 - ASi iMac. Late 2022 - ASi Mac Pro. All ASi Macs will have ARMv8.6, PCIe gen 3, TB3 as baseline elements. iMacs, Mac Mini’s and external displays will not have touch screens. Multitouch interaction with iOS apps on these Macs will be done via Magic Trackpads.

Apple will run out the current intel iMac design with a final processor update.

The first ASi product will replace the MacBook Air and be released in time for Christmas 2020. I hope for one TB3 port on each side, plus a headphone jack just for funsie’s. There will be exactly one SoC and RAM configuration, a few storage sizes, and perhaps a cellular option for users willing to pay Qualcomm’s margin?? This could essentially be the Mac equivalent of an iPad Pro split into a touchscreen part and a bottom part, with a warmed over A14X and enough battery weight to keep it stable. iPad Pro design cues for the enclosure. I expect the ASI Mac SoC’s to be more differentiated from the A-series and not just be an A14X, but the capability is already there.

Second will be the replacement MacBook Pro. TouchBar will go, replaced by touchscreen support. I hope for two TB4 ports on each side, a FaceID webcam system in the lid, and a cellular option. iPad Pro design cues for the enclosure. Performance will be phenomenal, and amazing battery life when lightly used. Configurable RAM and storage, and a few SoC options at difference price and performance points.

The Mac Mini is a stylishly simple, functional design. I see no real need to change it apart from swapping in a new board and SoC, but it’s also a low priority. They could slot this one in anywhere on the schedule. SoC options could share any from MacBook Pro and iMac. A few ram and storage options, no cellular option. Hardware-wise there seems little differentiation between a spec-bumped AppleTV with a few extra ports, and a low-end ASi Mac Mini. Will they consolidate the hardware of these two minor lines and just offer tvOS or macOS depending on the product packaging? Or even allow user-selective boot? Could something like tvOS become available on Mac Mini as an AppleTV app - the spiritual successor to Front Row?

After the laptops will come iMac. The iMac and iMac Pro will share identical chassis and internal layout, and probably the Pro will cease as a distinct model. iMac will be configurable with some of the same SoC options as Mac Pro, plus at least a few cheaper options. Several RAM and storage tiers. iMac will be redesigned with Pro Display / iPad Pro industrial design styling. A matching ProMotion HDR external display will be released, at a price well below $5, 000.

Mac Pro will be updated last, while they build out support for Afterburner, discrete GPUs and a Xeon-beating high core count ARMv9 SoC. The Mac Pro is such a new and distinctive design, I imagine they will retain it as-is but swap in a new board and chips. I think the board might support multiple SoC’s to allow the board to scale with price up to massively parallel computation while still leveraging a SoC design that can also be useful for iMac. They could amortise the design cost with a push into server and data center markets?!?

[jayanthkumar]

Rene Ritchie is by far the best. He's not a sell-out, and cannot be slandered as a 'fan-boi' as he's probably one of Apple's most pointed critics that Apple listens to. He also helps so many of us make better financial choices when picking or choosing our next product purchase. I'm surprised you're not much more popular, Rene. You deserve 90 million subs.

[transitpix]

I see a few options in Apple product/SoC roadmap.

*Apple is staging iCloud as a vertical in the near future.*
1. That opens up software subscription + iCloud storage revenue.
2. Apple cuts iMovie from their line up, Final Cut mobile plays the lead.
3. Final Cut mobile gets a major discount or even offered as free software
4. We could see multiple Apple Silicon featured in future Macs.

[justincampbell]

I would love a cellular Mac, using iCloud for storage you can go with lower storage options on the machine knowing you’ll never need to find WiFi to get your files would be cool.

[keco]

You should use sidecar and tape your iPad onto your Mac screen and experiment with how a multitouch Mac might feel

[mikeandersonwa]

If the MacBook Pro ARM had cellular I would be so incredibly happy. I've always thought Laptops should have LTE support, since they're meant for traveling.

[hey_samuel]

I can’t wait for the day when the decision between an iPad Pro and a MacBook Pro is touchscreen or keyboard.