wizard69

As I noted elsewhere iWork, Numbers especially, doesn't need a new set of cloths.    Numbers at least needs a more complete feature set, I've not had a lot of luck importing spread sheets.    I'm better off on Linux with the software supplied there.

skippingrock said:

What specific things will the Apple Silicon Mac’s not be able to do that the preceding Mac’s could?
Obviously we won’t be able to BootCamp and run 32-bit applications with an older system, but what else will not be possible?
Will we still be able to boot off an external device? I assume with the integration of system memory that memory upgrades on desktop Macs will be a thing of the past too. So much for getting around Apple’s overpriced memory premiums, or will this be still possible somehow? What might this mean for PCI based expansion cards? Will these still work when in a thunderbolt enclosure or directly installed in a Mac Pro? 

It’s an exciting new step but I will like to know how these things will be restricted too. Faster is good, but is it still extendable like our current and past Macs or are these more commoditized devices that will run Mac software but not the same types of Hardware?

First off no matter what anybody else says, this is Apples low end chip.   It is basically the cell phone solution beefed up a bit.   It should be obvious that it is low end by the machines Apple debuted today and the limitations of those platforms.   Now low end does not mean low performance in this case.    In any event to address some of your concerns:

1. The lack of support for 32 bit apps is a good thing here as it means apple only had to implement one instruction set keeping the ALU's lean.   32 bit apps are history now and any developer listening to Apple would have known that this was coming at least 3 years ago.
2. In one video I did hear something to the effect that external booting would be possible.
3. there is no reasonable possibility of a RAM upgrade.   So buy the big machine.   Frankly I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the POP approach is giving Apple a speed advantage here.
4. This SoC is not designed for systems supporting PCI expansion.   As for future machines that is a different issue and frankly we can't project what Apple will be using for an external bus.   Considering the nature of high performance GPU's support for some sort of plug in card will be required.   However Apple implements this though is a secret that has yet to slip out.   They could team up with AMD and use Infinity Fabric for an interface to a second socket for all we know.
5. The machines released today do not support eGPU's at all.
6. I'm not sure what you mean by the last question.   The machines released today are Apple lowest end machines.   They will not support anything more that the previous generation and in some cases less.   

Remember these are the lowest end machines Apple currently sells.   Apple has repeatedly said that there are more machines coming using other chips as they develop a family of chips to cover all the performance classes of their machines.   Nobody has any idea at all what these other chips will be like!!!

As for future chips we can speculate but I've found that there are far to many people that don't understand the word speculate.

JWSC said:

StrangeDays said:

On the note of the new Macs, Ternus said it didn't make much sense to "just go and change the design just for the sake of changing a design." Hence why the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini models appear roughly identical to their Intel counterparts.

People often say they wish they had changed the shape of the tool because they're bored and want change for change's sake, but Apple has said so many times they don't do that. Here they say it again.

All true.  But another reason not to change the form factor at this time is to make users feel comfortable about the transition.  The underlying message is that “this is the same MacBook you know and love” even though it’s a very different machine on the inside.

The CCA parts reduction will provide the industrial design team opportunities to rethink the form factor, and I’m sure they are doing so.  We’ll likely see significant physical design changes before the two year transition period is complete.

Since M1 is obviously the low end processor here I'm really interested to see what the high processor will look like.  There are so many directions Apple could go here that it just boggles the mind.

StrangeDays said:

On the note of the new Macs, Ternus said it didn't make much sense to "just go and change the design just for the sake of changing a design." Hence why the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini models appear roughly identical to their Intel counterparts.

People often say they wish they had changed the shape of the tool because they're bored and want change for change's sake, but Apple has said so many times they don't do that. Here they say it again.

I have an old PC chassis siting on my desk that has had motherboard / processor upgrades several time now.   As long as the guts remain current the out side doesn't  bother me.    In this regard I don't care about the chassis on Apples laptops but I do care about the guts.   It is too bad that they didn't address some of the simple things like the camera on these machines.   On the flip side we did get a screen update so there isn't a lot to complain about.   

In the case of these new M1 based machines I think the problem is that people don't understand how huge M1 is to the Mac, Apple and the industry as a whole.   The results will speak for themselves, I'm just trying to hold off until benchmarks come in as the new Air is a very interesting machine.

anome said:

neilm said:

Very surprised the M1 MBP can only support a single external monitor. Probably half our current MBP users have a dual monitor setup, usually a pair of 4K, in addition to the built in display. This limitation takes the M1 off my list.

Clearly it’s not an inherent limitation of the M1 GPU, since the M1 mini can drive dual monitors.

I expect, although I have no information either way, that when we finally see an Apple Silicon 16" MBP, it will have support for two external monitors. Whether that will be through having an additional GPU, or an improved SoC GPU remains to be seen (I think they're pushing for all Apple Silicon inside the box, but there might be a transition period). This is for the reason you specify - two external monitors is a common configuration, even for just boring administrative work.

I also hope it will come with more than 2 TB ports. I'm all in on TB3 and USB-C connectors, but only two of them isn't enough. The mini does have two additional USB-A ports and HDMI, but it's still a bit annoying to only have the two TB ports.

People need to realize that these are entry level machines with entry level SoC's that just happen to perform really well.   Beyond performance I really doubt that the higher performing MBP, iMac and MacPro chips will look anything like this.   the M1 is clearly derived from the A series.   For the higher performance machines they will need a more robust feature set.