[CoconutPilot]

For a counter argument, I don't think M1 is going to disrupt anything. Its a great performer for sure, but its locked to a proprietary and closed ecosystem controlled by a single entity.

Its a new direction for Apple in their laptop architecture, and a solid first step, but the raw performance is not up to the fastest from AMD and Intel, and it lacks the ability to upgrade any of its components. I get it, its a laptop, but if you want to talk about performance lets put it out there: its a fast laptop.

People already in the Apple ecosystem will love M1, but it lacks a compelling reason to switch to Apple. Apple already made the best laptops, the M1 keeps that crown. People that were satisfied buying Windows laptops and Chromebooks will continue to do so because the criteria they used when making a buying decision involved other factors than "I want the best".

I expect SoC designs to fracture the CPU market in the coming years and kill AMD and Intel, but unless M1 opens up to other designers and companies its a tangent in the great CPU race.

[wait_a_minute]

For the price point, I don't know of any other laptop that can compete with my M1 MBP 13 on battery & performance & temps and sleekness of form factor. M1 got me all of these things in one package, and it is just the FIRST attempt by Apple at making their own laptop chips.

When the next one comes out, probably when they release their refreshed 16" machine, it'll continue to convert people who are looking for great performance/battery/temps without having to compromise between then. The M1 MBP 13 is my first Apple daily driver for these reasons.

[ChrisLTD]

For the price point is key, because many Windows and ChromeOS machines are sold at lower prices than Apple's cheapest machine.

[addajones]

It will disrupt. Intel and AMD chips aren’t on their first initial CPU release. Apple is with the M1. The future of CPU offerings from Apple looks very bright. An exciting time for computing, I’m looking forward to it.

[alwillis]

It will disrupt. Intel and AMD chips aren’t on their first initial CPU release. Apple is with the M1.

Apple has been designing their own ARM-based SoC for more than 10 years now. They've been outperforming the ARM processors in Android phones and tablets the entire time.

They were first to ship 64-bit ARM processors in phones and tablets.

This ain't their first processor rodeo.

[neogodless]

This is a strange argument, because the M1 is not Apple's first release. I believe that was the A5[0]

To be sure, the chart comparing Apple CPU performance over time in comparison to Intel is damning for Intel (and a reminder that this argument makes no sense.)

That doesn't mean it won't disrupt, but for it to disrupt, any last reason someone previously would not consider an Apple computer has to be removed.

* Absolute performance for high-end multiple CPU core workstations doing massive parallel processing

* AAA demanding games being played at 4K with ray-tracing and 60+ fps

* Freedom to repair and upgrade your own computer

* Absolutely no doubt that your software of choice will work as expected without troublesome workarounds

To be sure, lots of users don't care about anything on the list above, or for their rendering, gaming and software needs, they get what they need from an Apple computer. But the M1 does not change that.

Until about 3 years ago, Intel had the fastest laptop and desktop CPUs, and they were available regardless of your preferred OS. So few were choosing Windows or Linux merely because of hardware superiority. Now AMD is a better bet than Intel for Windows, and Apple Silicon is a better bet than Intel for MacOS.

And some people may have been on the fence before but are perfectly suited to switching to MacOS, and will happily do so to take advantage of the power and battery life of the M1.

But how big is that slice of pie?

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_A5

[hu3]

M1 is not a first. It's a scaled up evolution of their mobile CPU offering that started all the way back in 2013. Their Bionic line present on iPads was already quoted as being faster than some laptops.

And in 2016 they were already making ARM CPUs with Big and Little cores on the same package just like the M1. [1]

[1] https://i.imgur.com/ymTjo7Y.png

[xiphias2]

Don’t forget that M1X is coming in half year. It will be the only competition for Zen 3. I’m planning on waiting for that.

[alwillis]

For a counter argument, I don't think M1 is going to disrupt anything. Its a great performer for sure, but its locked to a proprietary and closed ecosystem controlled by a single entity.

You could have said (and many did) the same thing about the iPhone in 2007 and it clearly disrupted the phone industry. It was only available on AT&T for its first few years but people had no problem switching carriers. The major incumbents of the time—Microsoft, Nokia, Palm, RIM, Motorola—are no longer in the smartphone business or are out of business as we knew them.

The M1 MacBook Pro outperforms virtually all other laptops in its price class, can drive multiple (up to 6) HDI displays, can run x86, ARM-native Mac apps and iOS/iPadOS apps. You can edit 8k video as if you were on a much more expensive device and the battery can last 20 hours. For many casual users (email, web, basic productivity apps), there are fewer reasons for them to not make the jump.

Its a new direction for Apple in their laptop architecture, and a solid first step, but the raw performance is not up to the fastest from AMD and Intel…

It's faster than all but the absolute latest from AMD and Intel, cost less and draws much less power. Those processors can only be gotten in high-end laptops while the M1 is in entry level products. None of them has the performance per watt and the battery life of the M1 Macs.

The mistake many HN folks make: with Apple, it's the complete product, not just one thing. Sure, the M1 is faster than 98% of laptops that shipped the previous 9 months (according to Apple's fine print) which is amazing for a first attempt. But when you consider the battery life, fit and finish of the design and the nice little extras (studio quality mics on the MacBook Pro), there's really nothing else that's objectively better.

People already in the Apple ecosystem will love M1, but it lacks a compelling reason to switch to Apple.

I've already seen many posts here on HN that people who either never owned a Mac or abandoned the Mac years ago have bought M1 laptops. Apple usually reports each quarter that about 50% of Mac buyers are new to the Mac; I don't expect that to change. And Apple had a record Mac quarter before the M1 shipped [1].

but unless M1 opens up to other designers and companies its a tangent in the great CPU race.

It's not a tangent; it's a shot across the bow of not only Intel and AMD, but the entire PC industry. Neither Intel or AMD can match Apple's performance per watt and Dell, Acer, HP, etc. can't match Apple's design prowess and bundled software, services and support.

Because Apple's designs the entire widget to work together, they can deliver a better experience and there are people who are willing to pay for that, especially when the starting place is it's really really fast.

[wait_a_minute]

My M1 is my first Apple daily driver and I'm going to be selling it so I can upgrade to the 16" whenever they have an M1 variant for that. Great post!