New Apple Silicon Mac mini, MacBook Air, and MacBook pro are available to preorder

Posted:
in General Discussion edited November 2020
The new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini models equipped with Apple Silicon chips are now available to pre-order.

Credit: Apple
Credit: Apple


Apple unveiled its stable of Mac devices with proprietary chipsets at its Nov. 10 "One more thing" event. The first three Mac models to be refreshed with the M1 chipset are among the company's most popular, and all will feature significant power efficiency and performance gains from the Apple-designed silicon.

The new Mac mini starts at $699, the MacBook Air starts at $999, and the 13-inch MacBook Pro with an M1 chip starts at $1,299.

All three devices are also available at an educational discount, bringing their prices down to $679 for the Mac mini, $899 for the MacBook Air, and $1,199 for the 13-inch MacBook Pro.

Pre-orders are live, but there's no word on when exactly the new Mac models will start shipping out to consumers. According to Apple, they'll begin arriving "starting next week."

In addition to orders from Apple.com and the Apple Store app, the company also said that M1-equipped Mac models will be stocked at select Apple Store and Apple Authorized Resellers the week of Nov. 16, as well.
edred

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    I am left absolutely clueless about the relative performance of these computers. I guess a Macbook Air is exactly as fast as a Macbook Pro if they have the same CPU?
    Why did Apple think 16 GB of RAM was enough for the type of creative professionals they are apparently aimed at?
    I think I will wait until real users benchmark each system before pulling the trigger. I love the whole concept of Apple Silicon but Apple's insistence on closed non-upgradable, non-repairable systems without real benchmarked performance numbers leaves me dismayed.
  • Reply 2 of 8
    cornchipcornchip Posts: 1,945member
    I guess a Macbook Air is exactly as fast as a Macbook Pro if they have the same CPU?

    I guess not since one doesn’t have a fan and one does?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 8
    I guess a Macbook Air is exactly as fast as a Macbook Pro if they have the same CPU?
    My guess is that since the Air doesn’t have active cooling it’s M1 will be clocked at lower frequencies or be throttled more often to prevent overheating.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 8
    XedXed Posts: 2,519member
    cornchip said:
    I guess a Macbook Air is exactly as fast as a Macbook Pro if they have the same CPU?

    I guess not since one doesn’t have a fan and one does?
    These may not even be the same SoC with one being under-clocked due to thermal limitations. These could have other advancements that are simply not advertised by Apple in their marketing.  AnandTech and others will figure all this out once they get their hands on them.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 8
    I am left absolutely clueless about the relative performance of these computers. I guess a Macbook Air is exactly as fast as a Macbook Pro if they have the same CPU?
    Why did Apple think 16 GB of RAM was enough for the type of creative professionals they are apparently aimed at?
    I think I will wait until real users benchmark each system before pulling the trigger. I love the whole concept of Apple Silicon but Apple's insistence on closed non-upgradable, non-repairable systems without real benchmarked performance numbers leaves me dismayed.
    Fifty years ago there used to be "TV repair shops" on every street. but TVs are now commodities and people just don't care to repair them. They throw them out if they break. That's accepted for TVs, and I think it's now being accepted by most people for computers too. So "repairability" is no longer important to most people. Especially considering that most computers cost $4000 in the 1980s and now cost $1000. Taking inflation into account, computers cost only 8% of what they used to. Maybe you like to repair your TV when it breaks, (or smartphones or laptops) but that makes you anachronistic. Have you ever refused to buy a TV because its architecture was "closed," "non-upgradeable," or "non-repairable"?
    dewmewatto_cobraMacPro
  • Reply 6 of 8
    cornchipcornchip Posts: 1,945member
    Xed said:
    cornchip said:
    I guess a Macbook Air is exactly as fast as a Macbook Pro if they have the same CPU?

    I guess not since one doesn’t have a fan and one does?
    These may not even be the same SoC with one being under-clocked due to thermal limitations. These could have other advancements that are simply not advertised by Apple in their marketing.  AnandTech and others will figure all this out once they get their hands on them.
    Fair point, but I'd be a little surprised.

    But to your point, I'd also guess that the "M" series chips stand for "Mobile" and for the iMacs etc there will be a "D" series (not sure if taken already) "Desktop" chip family.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 8
    I am left absolutely clueless about the relative performance of these computers. I guess a Macbook Air is exactly as fast as a Macbook Pro if they have the same CPU?
    Why did Apple think 16 GB of RAM was enough for the type of creative professionals they are apparently aimed at?
    I think I will wait until real users benchmark each system before pulling the trigger. I love the whole concept of Apple Silicon but Apple's insistence on closed non-upgradable, non-repairable systems without real benchmarked performance numbers leaves me dismayed.
    You can replace the screen. No laptop is repairable anymore. I’m sure there will be another chip released next year that supports more RAM. This is meant for the low end of creative. It just happens to blow Intel processors out of the water. Imagine what the “Pro” chips will do.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 8
    cornchip said:
    But to your point, I'd also guess that the "M" series chips stand for "Mobile" and for the iMacs etc there will be a "D" series (not sure if taken already) "Desktop" chip family.
    Since the new Mini also has the new M1 chip I would presume it stands for 'Mac".

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