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Apple made a BIG mistake - M1 MacBooks Review - YouTube
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[0]
- Apple has a problem.
[3]
See these?
[4]
The new M1 MacBook Pro and
MacBook Air are outstanding.
[8]
Their performance almost lives up
[10]
to Apple's extraordinary claims,
[12]
their look and feel is
reassuringly Apple-grade,
[16]
their battery life is,
simply put, exemplary,
[19]
and the transition from x86 to ARM,
[21]
so far at least, has
gone shockingly smoothly.
[25]
"Linus," you might say,
[26]
"those don't really sound like problems."
[28]
And they're not. For you.
[30]
You gotta pay attention.
[31]
I said Apple has a problem,
'cause it's gonna be really hard
[35]
to one-up what they've done here.
[38]
Unless you find a discount on
them or something with Honey.
[41]
Honey is the free-to-use browser extension
[43]
that helps you find some
of the best promo codes
[45]
on over 30,000 sites.
[47]
Get it today at joinhoney.com.
[49]
(upbeat pop music)
[58]
When Apple unveiled their
first ARM-equipped MacBooks,
[61]
we were surprised by the port
selection, to say the least.
[64]
Just two USB-C's might be
nothing new for the MacBook Air,
[68]
but there's no high-end
option available for the Pro,
[71]
which until now had options for four.
[73]
Now, this appears to be due
[75]
to the M1 SoC's limited I/O capabilities,
[78]
which also explains why you're limited
[80]
to a single external display
[82]
unless you turn to display link adapters.
[84]
That may not be a deal breaker
[86]
for these classes of machines,
[87]
but it's worth mentioning regardless.
[90]
What's interesting, though, is that,
[91]
while we did determine
in our Mac mini review
[94]
that you cannot expand that device
[96]
using an external graphics card,
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we followed up our testing
with a 10-gig network card,
[102]
and found that when we ran
that in our Razer Core X,
[106]
the Thunderbolt-like external
PCI Express functionality
[110]
was working just fine.
[112]
So it's definitely down to
just a GPU compatibility thing.
[117]
The Magic Keyboard style
switches remain far superior
[120]
to the fatally flawed butterfly
switches that were found
[122]
on all but the most recent
Intel MacBooks since 2016,
[126]
and both the Air and the Pro
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are an absolute delight to type on
[130]
and offer quick biometric authentication
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through the Touch ID
sensor in the power button.
[134]
The only difference in the
keyboard is the Touch Bar.
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Love it or hate it, you're not getting one
[140]
if you buy an M1 Air,
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and you are definitely getting one
[143]
if you pony up the extra $300 for the Pro.
[147]
And that difference in price
[148]
is a pretty tough pill to swallow
[150]
when you consider how close
these machines appear on paper
[154]
other than the Touch Bar.
[155]
But the keyword is, of course, close.
[158]
There are some differences.
[160]
Aside from its lack of active cooling,
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the baseline MacBook Air
only has seven GPU cores,
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with the upgraded
eight-core version like ours
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costing an extra 50 bucks
if you factor in the cost
[170]
of the bigger SSD that it also includes.
[172]
That kinda makes it a
"sure, why not" upgrade
[175]
if you've got any desire for
512 gigs or more storage.
[179]
But if not, you're just gonna
have to swallow it anyway
[182]
if you need the extra GPU power
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that you can otherwise
only get with the Pro.
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And this inflexibility in configurations
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is one of the prices that we pay
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for the tight integration
of Apple's M1 SoC.
[195]
Same goes for memory.
[196]
It starts at eight gigs,
and only goes up to 16 gigs
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for either of these
machines, presumably because
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adding more DRAM packages
to the current M1
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would increase cost or power consumption
[207]
by too much for this class of product.
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They do have a history
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of worrying about such things, after all.
[213]
And besides, if the performance we saw
[215]
in our M1 Mac mini review
is anything to go by,
[218]
that trade-off is one that
has paid great dividends.
[222]
But that's on the desktop.
[224]
What we haven't seen yet for ourselves
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is how it performs against
competing mobile products,
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like Intel's Tiger Lake
and AMD's Renoir APUs.
[233]
Dell and HP are gonna be
representing the PC competition.
[237]
And we also threw a 15-inch
HP OMEN gaming laptop in there
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in case the M1 gets too fast
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to compare to anything
in its weight class.
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Spoiler alert, by the way: it does.
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In Cinebench R23, the
only laptop in this lineup
[252]
capable of beating either MacBook
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is a much thicker gaming machine,
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and even it doesn't win
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the single-threaded performance crown.
[260]
Even more impressively,
after a 10-minute run,
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the MacBook Pro's performance
remained rock solid,
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while the HP OMEN,
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with its much beefier cooling
working noticeably harder,
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dropped over 100 points.
[274]
Unlike its bigger cousin,
the MacBook Air did throttle,
[277]
but it still managed to stay well clear
[279]
of anything else in its weight class.
[282]
Handbrake again shows our M1 Macs
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outperforming their x86 counterparts
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by nearly double in software encoding.
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Seriously, guys, it's not even close.
[292]
The 2020 Intel MacBook Air
took three times as long.
[296]
And as for hardware encoding, again,
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we see the M1 encoding blocks
doing their job and then some,
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beating out both Intel and AMD's
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encoder engines by 50 to 100%,
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and, this was surprising, even
beating out NVENC in H265.
[312]
For giggles, we ran GeekBench,
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since that's what all the
cool kids are running,
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and if it's to be believed,
the only CPU with any hope
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of matching the M1's
multi-threaded performance
[322]
is a Ryzen 7 eight-core.
[325]
It is a good thing we put
the OMEN in there. (chuckles)
[327]
The GPU, meanwhile, soundly destroys
[330]
both the AMD and Intel competition,
[332]
although it should be noted
[333]
that this isn't a useful real world test,
[336]
unlike the rigorous real-world testing
[338]
we do on our products at lttstore.com.
[341]
This CPU pillow contains 40% alpaca wool
[343]
for maximum comfort.
[344]
And we have a big one.
[346]
Moving on to non-native
tests using Rosetta,
[348]
Adobe Creative Cloud
presented a challenge.
[352]
Not only did After Effects fail to run
[354]
on either of our Intel Macs,
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it and Premiere Pro also
failed to run on our HP Envy
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due to its mere eight gigs of memory,
[362]
and we suspect that Photoshop performance
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probably suffered as well.
[366]
Still, though, we were
able to at least observe
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that even running in Rosetta,
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remember, this is non-native code,
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the M1 MacBooks both managed
to smoke the competition,
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and the same holds true for Blender,
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where the M1 MacBook Air manages
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to triple the speed of its predecessor
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and run eight to nine minutes faster
[384]
than its x86 competitors.
[386]
The only potential response
to M1, at least in class,
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is in LuxMark, where the
XPS 13's Xe graphics core
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puts up better numbers across the board,
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while the others languished
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at about half of the
performance, or even less.
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On that subject, I mean, we
can't talk about graphics cores
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without talking about gaming,
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so of course we ran the Tomb Raiders
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to see what we could get,
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and found that our MacBooks managed
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double or better the frame rates
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recorded by either the AMD or
Intel UHD integrated graphics
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in our competing products.
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The one exception aside from
the dedicated gaming laptop
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is the Xe-equipped XPS 13,
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which put up an admirable
fight, at least by comparison,
[430]
but still couldn't really close the gap.
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Thanks to a recent update
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to another great Mac
system monitor, TG Pro,
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we can glean a little more information
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about M1's throttling behavior
[440]
compared to our Mac mini review.
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By default, our MacBook
Pro at full synthetic load
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breaches 90 degrees and does throttle,
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with the fan ramping
up to about 3,500 RPM,
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or roughly half-speed.
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Now, that's still very quiet,
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and there are two important notes here.
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One: as we've seen, that
throttling clearly didn't have
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a measurable impact on performance.
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And two: these core
sensors that we're reading
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are buried inside the multi-layered SoC.
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So unlike previous generations,
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these readings act more
like hotspot sensors,
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which from our experience can report
[477]
10 to 15 degrees higher
than the rest of the chip.
[480]
So with that in mind, then,
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we don't foresee any serious
reliability problems.
[484]
But manually setting the
fan to maximum using TG Pro
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can improve core thermals to
between 80 and 85 degrees,
[492]
which should keep max performance locked
[495]
and provide peace of mind to enthusiasts
[497]
who just like low temperatures,
even if it's at the expense
[501]
of having a laptop fan that
they can actually hear.
[503]
It's really refreshing to see Apple take
[505]
a more conservative approach to thermals,
[508]
maybe because now it's their own silicon
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that they're messing with.
[511]
The MacBook Air
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takes a different approach
altogether, though,
[514]
again allowing the cores to reach
[515]
as high as the mid-90 degrees or so,
[518]
but then after it reaches
an average temperature
[521]
of roughly 70 degrees,
[522]
it throttles to maintain
that, at least for a while.
[526]
Then, it dials everything back
[528]
and targets a CPU
temperature of 60 degrees.
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This is why the Air gets
such great burst performance,
[535]
while also maintaining
comfortable surface temperature.
[538]
Of course, it comes at the
cost of sustained performance.
[541]
Now, since we can't just
ramp up the fans on the Air
[543]
to see if that changes things,
[545]
maybe we'll need to take another crack
[547]
at fixing Apple's thermal design.
[549]
Get subscribed, by the way,
so you don't miss that one.
[552]
The webcam on both new
MacBooks is, shockingly,
[555]
the same old 720p affair that
they've been using since 2011.
[560]
But, in fairness, at least
it's got a new trick.
[563]
Now that MacBooks run the same hardware
[565]
as Apple's mobile devices, but on 'roids,
[568]
they can use the same
image processing tricks
[570]
that were previously
iPhone or iPad exclusive.
[573]
So in practice, the image
is still pretty soft.
[576]
I mean, 720p is 720p.
[578]
But it's significantly less noisy,
[580]
with dramatically more
natural-looking lighting.
[583]
No more blue computer face.
[585]
The experience using iOS apps
[586]
is also significantly
better on the MacBooks
[589]
compared to the Mac mini,
[590]
particularly where gestures are needed.
[592]
Though it's still not perfect.
[595]
You might intuitively think
[596]
that you'll start touching and swiping
[598]
from where the cursor is
visually located on the screen.
[602]
Instead, though, the Touch Pad surface
[604]
is mapped to the window area.
[607]
Now, this isn't necessarily
the wrong approach,
[611]
but it'll definitely rub
some people the wrong way.
[614]
Having an actual touchscreen
[616]
would really make the
experience come together
[618]
in a way that makes sense.
[620]
Unless, of course, more apps come through
[622]
with updates for mouse compatibility.
[623]
Really, though?
[624]
Please, Apple. Add a
touchscreen to the MacBook.
[627]
Just make my dreams come true.
[629]
Speaking of dreams, in order to test
[631]
Apple's pie-in-the-sky
battery life claims,
[633]
we set each of our 13-inch laptops
[635]
to roughly match the
Dell XPS 13's brightness
[638]
at two steps up from minimum,
[639]
turned on the optimized
video streaming feature
[642]
in Energy Preferences on our Macs,
[644]
fired up a 100-hour timer on YouTube,
[646]
and set them all off at
once using some coordination
[649]
and a handy-dandy power
delivery unit to cut the power.
[652]
The Intel MacBook Pro was the first to go,
[654]
keeling over at just over
a respectable 11 hours,
[657]
followed by the Dell XPS 13
just after the 12-hour mark.
[661]
Then fell the Intel MacBook Air,
[663]
and the HP Envy x360 not long after.
[666]
Surprisingly, the M1-equipped
MacBook Air in second place
[669]
only lasted a little longer than those,
[672]
at just under 13 hours.
[673]
Still great, but well shy of
the promised 15 to 18 hours.
[678]
As for the M1 MacBook Pro,
it just kind of kept going.
[683]
And going.
[684]
And going!
[685]
Until finally it broke the 20-hour mark,
[689]
and decided that was
enough flex for one day.
[693]
Almost literally one day.
[695]
I mean, we ran this test over a weekend
[697]
because we knew that
this result was possible,
[699]
but we didn't really think
[701]
it would manage it in the real world.
[703]
Like, guys, this cannot be overstated.
[706]
We are looking at iPad-like endurance
[709]
on a laptop running a full-fat
desktop operating system.
[713]
You could, in theory, use this thing
[715]
for days at a time without juicing up
[717]
depending on what you do with it.
[719]
That's what ended up throwing a wrench
[721]
into my original premise for this video,
[723]
because up until now,
[725]
the M1 MacBook Pro had very
little to show for itself
[728]
over the MacBook Air for most people.
[731]
But suddenly, the
difference is so much bigger
[733]
than just, well,
[734]
do you want a Touch Bar
and a brighter screen?
[736]
The M1 MacBook Pro, despite
being heavier and a bit thicker,
[740]
might end up being the better
commuter laptop for many
[743]
through sheer force of
its endurance alone.
[746]
But if you're worried about longevity,
[747]
it may ironically be
the lesser of the two.
[751]
The fact that the MacBook Air
[752]
doesn't have any fan whatsoever
[754]
means that there's no dust being sucked in
[756]
and no air intake to clog.
[759]
This means that, barring
thermal compound degradation,
[763]
the thermal profile of this device
[765]
is going to remain pretty much identical
[767]
throughout its entire life.
[769]
The one internal moving
part on any modern laptop
[772]
that is most likely to fail
[774]
not only isn't necessary
to spin up in here,
[776]
it doesn't even exist to fail.
[779]
There aren't even any heat
pipes or vapor chambers,
[781]
just a plain Jane flat heat
plate for thermal mass.
[787]
(bomb detonates)
[789]
In spite of these accomplishments,
[790]
it ironically feels,
though, like these Macs
[793]
are more transitional than revolutionary.
[797]
Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining.
[799]
The transition from PowerPC
to Intel was a lot worse.
[804]
I mean, compared to the
iBook that came before it,
[806]
the first Intel MacBook brought
[808]
a new chassis design with a new keyboard,
[810]
an integrated eyesight webcam,
[812]
and it introduced the MagSafe connector,
[814]
just to name a few of the highlights.
[817]
But it suffered from
first-generation syndrome big time,
[821]
thanks to the very first revision
[823]
using a 32-bit Core Duo CPU.
[826]
That was one of only a
single generation of Macs
[829]
to ever use 32-bit x86.
[832]
By contrast, these M1 MacBooks
[834]
don't seem to have a problem
with their internals at all,
[837]
but I expect that Apple
will soon introduce
[838]
new chassis designs with
14-inch displays that,
[842]
like the 16-inch MacBook
Pro, will reduce bezel sizes
[845]
without significantly altering
the footprint that we praised
[848]
in our review of the
final Intel MacBook Air.
[850]
I'd also hope to see
[851]
that 1080p FaceTime HD
camera from the iMac
[854]
make an appearance at the same time.
[856]
For now, the M1-equipped MacBooks
[858]
have more to differentiate them
[859]
than I had originally suspected.
[861]
This level of battery life
[862]
in a machine as compact
as the MacBook Pro 13
[865]
is absolutely a game changer,
[868]
and that's not even
considering its performance.
[871]
Meanwhile, the MacBook Air has performance
[873]
that rivals the Pro, just
without the endurance,
[876]
both in terms of battery
life and thermal design,
[880]
especially when you
factor in the lower price.
[882]
So you're really not sacrificing much
[885]
by choosing one over the other,
[886]
and it boils down to your use case.
[889]
At $999, the MacBook Air
is a bit more expensive
[892]
than the HP Envy x360,
[894]
but for those who are
willing to pay the Apple tax,
[897]
well, you're only sorta paying one,
[899]
'cause you're getting
a much faster computer
[901]
with a higher resolution screen,
[902]
a more spacious palm rest,
and a better trackpad.
[906]
Plus, arguably superior
expansion thanks to USB4,
[910]
although the HP does have
an internal M. 2 slot,
[912]
so you can kinda pick your poison there.
[914]
I could see many people, then,
[915]
choosing the MacBook Air
for a daily driver laptop
[918]
for school or for everyday carry,
[920]
although if you do, I
would caution against
[922]
ordering one with eight gigs of memory
[924]
if you wanna use it longer
than a couple of years.
[926]
Remember, you cannot upgrade it.
[929]
The MacBook Pro at $1,299
[930]
at first seems to compare less favorably
[933]
compared to the Dell XPS 13
2-in-1 that goes for $200 less.
[936]
But you gotta remember,
[938]
that's for the base
model XPS with a core i3.
[941]
The core i7 option runs
$100 more than the MacBook,
[945]
and that's on promo.
[946]
And while Intel's Xe graphics
[948]
are in the ballpark of
what Apple's delivering,
[950]
the Tiger Lake core i7
simply cannot compete
[953]
against the M1 in any meaningful way.
[955]
I mean, nevermind the core i3.
[958]
Now, the XPS 13 does enjoy
[960]
convertible form factor and a touchscreen,
[963]
but its expansion is
no better than Apple's,
[966]
unless you count the microSD reader.
[969]
And, like the Air versus the Envy,
[971]
Apple's display is higher resolution.
[973]
And as we've seen, that
fact, for a change,
[976]
doesn't negatively impact battery life.
[978]
It's nearly eight hours
longer in this case.
[981]
I mean, some laptops in this class
[982]
don't even last for eight hours,
[985]
let alone eight hours
longer than the competition.
[987]
I guess what I'm saying is,
[989]
even if you were to go out of your way
[990]
to point out the flaws,
[992]
it's hard not to recommend
either of the M1 MacBooks.
[995]
They really are just that good.
[998]
Just like my segues.
[1001]
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thanks to their mobile app that allows you
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snap pictures of your receipts
so you don't lose them,
[1015]
and, this is new, you can
automatically track your mileage
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on the iOS app as you drive,
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so you can be more organized
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and ready to maximize your
deductions at tax time.
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With FreshBooks, you'll
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your first three months of FreshBooks
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when you sign up for a paid
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[1039]
We're gonna have that linked below.
[1041]
So thanks for watching, guys.
[1042]
If you enjoyed this video,
[1043]
go check out our review of the M1 Mac mini
[1045]
for a look at how M1
behaves on the desktop.
[1048]
It really is a different enough experience
[1051]
that it's worth watching two videos,
[1053]
which is why we made two different videos.
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