Apple Silicon (ARM64 based), aka "ASi"

[User.45]

Nice! The new MBA is pretty fantastic, upgraded display (same color gamut as the Pro, just slightly lower nits ... er, I think ... ), INSANE battery life, very notable performance increase, I mean, the GPU performance is now pretty spectacular (rivalling lower end discrete GPUs). And wow, no fans, completely silent operation, that will be amazing.

We'll see.... I'd say after I did the cooling pad mod on my 2020MBA, it is already the best MAC I've ever had. I suspect that all the performance boost will be hindered by the compatibility nightmares to come.

 

[ronntaylor]

Nice! The new MBA is pretty fantastic, upgraded display (same color gamut as the Pro, just slightly lower nits ... er, I think ... ), INSANE battery life, very notable performance increase, I mean, the GPU performance is now pretty spectacular (rivalling lower end discrete GPUs). And wow, no fans, completely silent operation, that will be amazing.

Hubby bit the bullet and traded in his 2019 MBA for the same machine as my order from earlier today. He's not worried about MS issues as he's on sabbatical till Fall 2021. He's hopeful that by then any kinks will be worked out.

 

[DT]

Hubby bit the bullet and traded in his 2019 MBA for the same machine as my order from earlier today. He's not worried about MS issues as he's on sabbatical till Fall 2021. He's hopeful that by then any kinks will be worked out.

Wow, you guys went all in, excellent. Honestly, for general computing, and very probably MS Office, you'll be fine. I mean, heck, you can use Office.com and author all your docs through a browser (even if there wasn't an ASi port available when you get your new machines). I'm all in for the little G, MBA/16GB/8-core GPU, just going to wait a little closer to XMas.

 

[User.45]

 

[DT]

Lol, it's starting:
View attachment 1334

That's not even ASi issues, that's just the OS! I mean, technically they're just saying, "We're confirming operation", but I'd be cautious with any software that communicates to custom, external hardware (like audio mixers, etc.), that's a whole different story.

I mean, I ran a version of Parallels that "wasn't compatible" with my at-the-time version of MacOS, and it ran fine

 

[User.45]

That's not even ASi issues, that's just the OS! I mean, technically they're just saying, "We're confirming operation", but I'd be cautious with any software that communicates to custom, external hardware (like audio mixers, etc.), that's a whole different story.

I mean, I ran a version of Parallels that "wasn't compatible" with my at-the-time version of MacOS, and it ran fine

This is a pro sound card. It didn't work with Catalina for months and the underlying hardware didn't even change. I'm just suggesting that this will be very rocky. But yeah, this is pro stuff, not consumer things. ASi will make stupendous ultrabooks for emails and browsing. It's me who's squeezing more out of his Air it was originally designed for.

 

[DT]

I'm actually still on 10.14.6 (Mojave) on my Mini, I usually jump into the next OS at the .2 release or so, but I didn't want to deal with some updates I know I had to make (with some work related tools), so I held off on Catalina, and then just sort of kept holding off ... and now we're at a whole new OS.

Maybe after I get this current project to an initial test state, I'll make sure I have a few week or so to deal with a major update (that could lead to catastrophic failure ... )

 

[User.45]

I'm actually still on 10.14.6 (Mojave) on my Mini, I usually jump into the next OS at the .2 release or so, but I didn't want to deal with some updates I know I had to make (with some work related tools), so I held off on Catalina, and then just sort of kept holding off ... and now we're at a whole new OS.

Maybe after I get this current project to an initial test state, I'll make sure I have a few week or so to deal with a major update (that could lead to catastrophic failure ... )

Hahaha. That's why you're so excited about ASi. Catalina is hands down Apple's Vista.

 

[ronntaylor]

I'm actually still on 10.14.6 (Mojave) on my Mini, I usually jump into the next OS at the .2 release or so, but I didn't want to deal with some updates I know I had to make (with some work related tools), so I held off on Catalina, and then just sort of kept holding off ... and now we're at a whole new OS.

Maybe after I get this current project to an initial test state, I'll make sure I have a few week or so to deal with a major update (that could lead to catastrophic failure ... )

My machine is 10.12.6 (Sierra), so I'm way behind. I don't expect, nor fear any issues. I'm pretty much "retired" as a stay at home spouse well before the pandemic. So I don't have any heavy uses for my MBA. That'll change a bit at the beginning of the year. One of the main reasons for the upgrade... that and because this MBA I'm currently typing on is one sick ol' dog. I truly hope it can make it till the new machine arrives.