Federal Express delivered the M1 I ordered in early November. Apple said I would have it between the third and tenth of December. The box looked like it could easily withstand a roadside IED. In typical Apple fashion, it opened by pulling a simple tab. Pulling the tab around the carton gave me this….
Absolute simplicity. A reasonably small but heavy package containing the 16-inch Macbook Pro. Not maxed out but comfortably designed around the new Apple M1 Pro chip, 16 GB of memory, and 1 TB storage. For me, a tool designed to meet my computing requirements over the next ten years. Of course, my 15” Macbook Pro bought in late 2013 was also supposed to last ten years. It did not make the goal I had set. I did a mild [rant] which someone in the Apple hierarchy saw in one of my more fanciful dreams.
Early impressions after ten days of use.
Staring at the Beast.
This machine is not like other laptops. It looks big, and it is not pretty. If you are looking for a powerful entry-level laptop, check out the MacBook air. It’s lite, compact, cute, and with the M1 chip powerful enough for most users. It is also much cheaper than its big brother.
The green-covered machine is my older MacBook 15”. Excluding the case, both computers look remarkably similar. Given the advances in technology, I would have assumed the newer, more powerful machine would have been lighter and looked sleeker. It’s not. It is big, fat, bulky, and hard to hold.
This is the Macbook Pro 16” turned over. You are looking at the back. There appears to be a gap between the top and bottom of the computer. You would correctly surmise that is part of the fan venting system. While it looks ungainly, it is exceptionally well crafted and well designed. It is a big, heavy machine, equal to most desktop machines on the market. If you want a fast, powerful computer that is up to almost any task you can imagine, this machine is for you.
What the Beast has Taught me.
I do not have the equipment or the patience to do a proper technical analysis of what this computer can do. I determine its value based only on what it does well for me. I use this machine primarily for writing and research.
As I write this article, I have the following applications running:
Ulysses
Safari
Obsidian
iAwriter
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Ulysses is the primary writing tool, with the remaining applications open. I bring in Spark for email. Research is done with Safari and notes going to Obsidian.
The speed of unseen power
Ulysses is the application that gets immediate attention. If I need a program not in the mix, I use spotlight search to get it. I have had up to 12 applications opened simultaneously, and the overall response has been amazingly fast. Mark Ellis has defined its speed as “Snappy”. For speed, I think it’s like the “snap” a whip makes as it cracks the sound barrier. Yes, it is that impressive. I believe the specs provided by Apple tend toward the conservative end of the spectrum. I freely admit that much of my work would not be categorized as CPU or memory-intensive. Doing a lot of research and writing, this machine is a dragon slayer. It feels like it is always waiting on me to do the next thing, which is a good feeling.
The Keyboard
I have always been unhappy with the keyboards on the MacBook. I have used the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air, and the keyboard has always been annoying. I ranked them equivalent to some of the cheapest PC laptops on the market. Even my Macbook Pro 15 has a mushy keyboard. I got used to it, and compared to all the benefits we take for granted in Apple computers, it became a trivial gripe.
The keyboard on the M1 Mac feels like a keyboard. Push a key, and it has a solid feel to it. If your finger slips and you hit two keys, you can feel both keys. It’s absolutely amazing. I love it. I thank Apple for it. It is a tremendous luxury.
The ultimate benefit
Whether for trade or fancy, most of us who beat a keyboard share one common complaint. It is shared across all manufacturers. Put in three or four hours of solid work, and you feel the nagging urge that draws your eye to the battery indicator. I resent having to charge my computer every day. I could understand if the computer needed a boost after eight hours of use. But after three or four hours,it becomes a monotonous continuous chore. The charging cable beckons as soon as the battery drops below forty percent. I hate it. More than the mushy keyboard, I hate being chained to a charger.
GREAT GOD, WE’RE DONE WITH THAT CRAP!
The first day I used this machine, I was on it almost constantly for five hours, the power consumption was less than twenty percent. The first time I used the charger was the third night when I still had 40% power remaining.
I am not tied to my charger every day. I have been charging it every three or four days. I have a feeling which I have yet to test, that I might even get to 4 1/2 or five days if I were willing to drop it down to possibly ten percent power remaining. Why haven’t I tried it? I’m uncomfortable doing it. If I get over that fear, I will try it and report on what I have found.
Should You do it?
If you want a beautiful sleek Apple, take a really hard look at the M1 Macbook Air. It’s smaller. It’s pretty. It does a lot. It may well be all you need. It will cost you less than USD 2,000 (very basic model), and it is an excellent machine.
If you are comfortable driving an Abrams tank. If you think a powerhouse has its own beauty regardless, and what you want is a computer that keeps pushing and constantly asks for more, and, most importantly, if you are willing to pay the price, buy it. You will not be disappointed.
Great content! Keep up the good work!