A Quick Review of the Apple MacBook Pro M1

The new Apple MacBook Pro M1 based laptop is AWESOME!  There, that is your quick TLDR review. 

Oh, you want to know more.  Why is it awesome?  Just keep reading!

What is the new Apple MacBook Pro All About? 

Apple released a new version of their 13” MacBook Pro line, which uses a new chip called “M1”.  This departs from their previous line of Intel-based computers.  It looks the same on the outside, but everything inside is very different.  I have had several Apple MacBook Pro or Air laptops and a Mac Pro 2013 desktop, and I am conversant about them. I am also part of the Apple Universal App Quick Start Program and received a Mac Mini last summer with an early variant of this chip, so I had a few months of experience with the new operating system called Big Sur and the new chip.  But this review focuses on the currently available to anyone Apple MacBook Pro M1 system. The configuration I received is the 13” Pro model with the M1 CPU, 16Gb of memory, and 1 Tb of disk space. 

What I like about the Apple MacBook Pro M1

• Longer battery life – One of the reasons I got the MacBook Pro instead of the MacBook Air was the battery life.  I have not carried a laptop charger in years and have no intention of starting now, especially since I can bum some free USB-C charging time. The MacBook Pro gets 16 hours or more in tests I reviewed.  I have used it for three days without charging.  I have no idea what these guys are saying, but when I experience the battery life, I sound like this.
• Faster performance – It is faster than pretty much anything Intel-based.  Compared to a top-of-the-line Intel 2019 16” MacBook Pro, it is faster.  Compared to a 2020 I7 based Windows laptop, it is faster.  It is faster in tasks that need a lot of computing power, like video processing or encryption.  It is also faster in disk access, so retrieving records from an extensive database is quicker. 
• Quieter – I have a 2020 Hewlett Packard Windows laptop kicking around here I do not use often, and the fan would kick on and sound like I was working on the back of a flatbed truck.  The MacBook Air M1 does not even have a fan, but the Pro model does, so I was concerned it may be noisy, but in two weeks, I have not heard it. Some people like the sound, so they make three-hour videos of computer fan sounds; that’s not me. 
• Better Ergonomics – Old and improved keyboard – I say “old” because for a few years, Apple got cute and used a different mechanism under the keys (the “butterfly design”) so the devices could be .000001 millimeter thinner and make Jonny Ive smile.  But they did not work very well: a speck of dust caused a key to stop working, or work so well a single press generated ten keystrokes.  Thankfully, saner heads prevailed, and we are back at the older scissors design.  
• Price – What does this goodness cost – less than previous Intel-based MacBooks, and on par in price with similarly positioned laptops from HP or Dell, but they are not anywhere near as performant. 
• The possibility of running IOS / iPadOS apps – Because it is the same chip as the iPad and iPhone, many apps that run on these other devices can be installed on a Mac with an M1 chip.  I like the Hello Weather app on my IPad, so I downloaded it from the App Store on the MacBook; it runs great!  But not all apps are approved by the developer to be installed this way.  The future may be exciting! 

To summarize, better battery, less power use, faster performance, quieter, superb ergonomics, and a reasonable price. Reminds me again of these soccer guys. 

Concerns with Apple M1 Based MacBook Pro

There is never a perfect device.  At least not after 10 minutes of my use of it 😉 So here are some theoretical concerns – they have not affected me yet, but in theory could. 

• Compatibility in two ways:
  • MacOS Application written for the Intel platform – This has not been too much of an issue; only one utility application has not worked.  Apple has implemented a technology called Rosetta 2 that recompiles the application on the first run.  The process has been seamless and no issues, but some may have it. Additionally, developers have been quickly redistributing new versions intended to run in the M1, including Microsoft.
  • Windows, Linux, etc. – This is more the traditional way we may have run applications from other operating systems.  The other operating system is installed on Boot Camp and booted into Windows, or using something like Parallels and having Windows / Linux in a virtual machine that allowed us to run things like a Windows ERP client in a Mac side by side with native MacOS apps. Running Windows is not supported now, and Linux is in an early stage of compatibility.  The alternative is to remotely connect to a machine and access the software in a window on the Mac M1. I use Jump Desktop for this. 
• Memory limitation? While Intel-based Macs in the same class can have up to 32 Gb of memory, the M1 based devices are limited to 16Gb so far.  But memory management is excellent and has not been an issue.  Apple seemed to target the low-end Macs for this round, so perhaps they have a plan for more capacity in the pipeline.
• Ports / Thunderbolt Limitations – The current M1 based Macs (MacBook Pro, Air, and Mac Mini) all only have two ports, but Intel-based Macs can have four.  These are the USB-C ports you use to charge the MacBook or connect peripherals like a wired keyboard, external drive, etc. We do not know if this is a deliberate decision or a hardware limitation. 
• The Touch Bar – I hate it. I cannot touch type, and my hunting and pecking cause many pecks to hit the touch bar, resulting in erroneous pastes, premature sends, and other productivity-killing actions. Rumors have it that Apple does not like it because they may be killing it. 
• The weight – Yes, it’s light.  Only three pounds.  But I have been using an 11” IPad Pro as my primary portable PC for a while, so carrying the extra weight is noticeable.  It’s a first-world problem, but then again, real road warriors used to carry this:

The only issue I encountered is sound.  I listen to Apple Music and used airplay to send it to an Apple HomePod.  But when I switched back to the Mac, there was no sound, and I could not get it to play anywhere. I checked every setting, but after not finding a fix, I rebooted the MacBook, then it worked until I did the same sequence again (memo to self: stop that).  But in the last few days, it is working fine, so perhaps Apple pushed a fix. 

If you would like to dig in and understand why the MacBook Pro M1 is so fast and efficient – we have you covered with a more technical view.

If you do not care WHY the Apple MacBook Pro M1 is better, browse other articles for Connected Executives – people who need their technology to enable them.  If you do care, this other post may be interesting. 

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