Three More Things
The first Apple Silicon Mac models are here! Here’s a summary of today’s announcements.
- Three models with the “M1” SoC were announced: an Air, 13-inch Pro (dual-port), and Mini.
- Relevant to the Pro and Mini: Only the lower-end models got updates, so all the new stuff maxes out at 16 GB RAM. Higher-end Intel models are still for sale.
- All the new stuff comes with Wi-Fi 6, 4 performance and 4 efficiency CPU cores, 7-8 GPU cores, and two Thunderbolt 3 / USB4 ports.
- For MacBooks, the camera hardware is the same but their quality is improved by a new image signal processor.
- You can order all the new stuff now, and it’ll ship starting next week.
- macOS 11 will release in two days, on Thursday, November 12th.
MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
- Quoted max battery life: +6 hours
- Now fanless, bringing it closer to the 12-inch MacBook offering.
- Now has a display that supports the P3 color gamut, so the only remaining drawback from the Pro seems to be that it’s still 100 nits dimmer.
- Fun fact: The low-end model comes in a 7-core GPU option. (via Benjamin Mayo)
MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020)
- Quoted max battery life: +10 hours
- The 13-inch Pro now has a “studio-quality” microphone system, not unlike the 16-inch (still Intel for now).
- The updates are available only for the lower-end dual-port models. The four-port range is still for sale, including quad-port i7s.
- Fun fact: it’s a tenth-pound lighter.
Mac mini (M1, 2020)
- There’s no 10 Gigabit Ethernet option.
- Lost two of the four Thunderbolt ports.
- These options come only in silver.
- Fun fact: it’s a third-pound lighter.
So excited to see benchmarks in the coming weeks.