The new Macs with M1 chip are not as perfect as Apple describes them: just read the technical specifications to find at least three flaws.
After so much anticipation, completely justified given the revolution implemented by Apple, and after so much initial enthusiasm arising from the numbers poured by the Cupertino company during the presentation of the new Macs with M1 chip and no Intel CPU, now it's time to read well the technical specifications of the new generation of MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac Mini. And, if you do, you will discover on the fly at least three major flaws.
The first flaw concerns memory and will be felt almost exclusively by graphics and video professionals. The second defect concerns the camera and will be felt by everyone. The third flaw concerns the connection and will be felt mostly by those who buy the MacBook Air 5G. In tutti e tre i casi è molto difficile giustificare le scelte tecniche di Apple e, anzi, viene da pensare che si tratti di scelte di marketing. A questi difetti se ne aggiunge un quarto, che verrà avvertito solo dagli utenti veramente “Pro" e probabilmente verrà risolto sul futuro MacBook Pro M1 da 16 pollici: l’impossibilità di usare una GPU esterna per la grafica.
I nuovi Mac con chip M1 hanno poca memoria RAM
Tutti i prezzi di partenza dei nuovi Mac con SoC M1 prevedono una configurazione con 8 GB di RAM, espandibile a 16 GB con un sovrapprezzo di 230 euro. Se questi due tagli possono essere sufficienti per gli utenti di MacBook Air e Mac Mini, di sicuro non lo sono per gli utenti di MacBook Pro: 8 GB sono pochissimi per lavorare con le app professionali, 16 GB potrebbero diventarlo se si lavora su file di grandi dimensioni (come i video 4K).
Il grosso dubbio, però, deriva dall’architettura “Unified Memory" del chip M1. Architecture of which we only know that it is "unified" so that both the CPU and GPU built into the M1 can quickly access memory. From the images shown by Apple, then, it would seem that the memory chips are directly integrated into the SoC. If that were the case, a MacBook sold with 8 GB could not be upgraded to 16 GB at a later date.
But there are those who have already pointed out that this cannot really be the case, because the M1 SoC is built with a 5 nm manufacturing process and no RAM chip today is produced at 5 nm. So the RAM must be external and the one shown by Apple must be an inaccurate slide. Only when the first Macs with M1 chips arrive in the labs and are disassembled, however, will we be able to know the truth about the RAM.
The new Macs with M1 chips have a 720p camera
The second, incomprehensible flaw of the next-generation Macs is the camera: Apple continues, in 2020, to sell its products with a 720p resolution FaceTime camera while competitors use much higher resolution sensors.
In this case Apple has no justification: it is really a commercial choice and the new MacBook Air and Pro have no technical limitation that prevents the integration of a higher quality photo-camera. Which, given the selling price, the user would expect.
The new Macs with M1 chips don't have 5G
The two new MacBooks with M1 have Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 while the new Mac Mini also has an Ethernet port for wired connection. None of the three have, even as an option, a cellular connection. Let alone a 5G connection.
Negligible flaw on the Mac Mini, but certainly not on the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro 13 which, given their size and weight, are born precisely to be used on the move. These are two machines for working outside the home and out of the office and that, given this technical limitation, will not be able to connect to the Internet if a Wi-Fi network is not available.
In 2020, once again, the user would have expected more also because Apple has recently presented the new iPhone 12 describing them as the best smartphones to connect in 5G available in the world. The doubt, at this point, is that Apple plans to force users to buy an iPhone 12 to use as a 5G hot spot for the new Macs with M1.