I'm usually the opposite, I update on the first revision of each new technology. I have to say, the Apple Silicon has been one of the instances where Apple nailed it right from the start.
I agree that the M1 was masterful for a first generation product. My primary reasons for hanging back were for the Mac ecosystem to catch up, along with the fact that I simply don't need to upgrade yet. Whenever I do, I want the leap in performance and features to blow away my quaint base model 2018 Mac mini. On top of that, I'm hoping that Apple builds upon the lessons learned in the first couple of generations of the M-series, plus implements new features like ray tracing and Armv9. Those may not be "must have" features, but I don't mind waiting for them, along with expected generational architectural improvements.
Hah! I still have my PowerBook Duo. Still boots up, and runs the scientific calculator I designed and sold years ago.
It's remarkable to look at the position that the Mac finds itself in today. The justification for the switch to Intel was because of the challenges in squeezing a G5 desktop chip inside of a laptop form factor. Now, we're waiting to see how Apple is going to work a laptop SoC into high-end desktops.
The M2 Pro Mac mini (starting at $1099 for 16GB RAM & 512GB SSD) will take the place of the 2018 Intel Mac mini...
Most likely, my next Mac will either be another Mac mini with a Pro variant, or an entry-level Mac Studio featuring a Max chip, likely with the upgraded graphics option. I'm currently on my fourth Mac mini, so I wouldn't be surprised if I end up with a fifth. The Mac Studio is just a scaled up Mac mini, anyway, so I'm likely going to have another small, square box from our favorite fruit company sitting on my computer desk, at some point in the future.
Mac Studio; not even a year old, and it would mean Apple would need to announce the M2 Ultra SoC as well; that will be reserved for the M2 Ultra Mac Pro in March...
And keeping the Mac Studio to the M1 Max/Ultra SoCs at this time would make those wanting the M2 Ultra SoC buy the new ASi Mac Pro, more profits for Apple...
I've heard shaky rumors that the Mac Studio may be a "one and done" stopgap before the Apple Silicon Mac Pro shipped. I don't buy that. I could see Apple skipping the M2 generation for the Mac Studio, and then limiting it to the Max in the future, if they decide that they won't ever introduce an "Extreme" variant, thus making the Ultra the high-end version, eternally destined to find its way into the Mac Pro. The desktop product matrix will be interesting in the coming years.
The only add-in cards I see for Apple silicon would be Apple GPGPUs; MPX (without the TB foldback thingie) modules for the ASi Mac Pro, and eGPU models for everything else...
I tend to agree that if Apple does some sort of GPU addition to Apple Silicon Macs, then it will be entirely their own design. I think there's a continued mindset that the Mac Pro is basically supposed to be an Apple Silicon version of a PC, which would of course feature third-party graphics upgrades. I think that's the opposite of where Apple has been headed. While not specifically about GPUs, Mark Gurman points out that
Apple seeks to control its destiny, which involves owning the technologies behind as much of their software and hardware stack as possible. It's the vertical integration strategy that Steve Jobs could have only dreamed of for the Mac. Maybe there will be one last gasp for AMD GPUs this generation, but I don't see any evidence of it.
As Gurman notes, in 2009, Tim Cook said, "We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products that we make". If Apple is
replacing Intel's retimer for Thunderbolt and USB with their own design, then I don't see how they could possibly forgo doing the same for GPUs.
M3 Ultra/Extreme SoCs on the (assorted) 3nm process will give us the real ASi Mac Pro...
Even though I am unlikely to ever be in the market for an Apple Silicon Mac Pro, much of the reason that I am waiting for M3+ is because I think Apple will have worked out any remaining issues with Apple Silicon, at that point, particularly for desktop products; not just the Mac Pro, but Mac mini, iMac, and Mac Studio, as well. If we're going to see Apple juice up their SoC designs for desktops, then it will come after the M2 generation.
For the Mac Pro discussion, Apple did already make Afterburner MPX add-in cards for the Intel Mac Pro so it is within reason that they could have custom accelerator cards for an Apple Silicon Mac Pro as well, but I do doubt it will be able to take standard PCIe cards, especially GPUs, from other vendors.
I think one uncomfortable aspect that people forget about AMD GPUs is that much of the work for x86 Mac Pro drivers were subsidized by the less glamorous AMD graphics that were found in the iMac and MacBook Pros of the Intel era. A 6300M isn't showy, but it ships in far higher volume than a W6600X MPX module. While it's certainly not impossible for Apple to include third-party graphics drivers for Apple Silicon, I think there are philosophical, technological, and business reasons for why they will be confining third-party GPUs to the the dustbin of the Intel era.
I'm holding out hope as well that a M2 Extreme may not happen, but a dual socket 2x M2 Ultra could happen. Though that might also get a bit too wonky with NUMA being a bit orthogonal to the goals of unified memory
I don't remember the details, I could be misremembering, but I believe Johny Srouji specifically cited the inefficiencies of multi-socket systems when introducing the M1 Ultra and speaking about the benefits of the UltraFusion interconnect.
Aye I agree I like to keep my computers for awhile. Too stressful otherwise is right.
On occasion, I get the bright idea in my head that I might decide to build a PC, specifically for gaming. Even though 90% of the games that I play are isometric turn-based RPGs, which are plentiful on the Mac (to the point where I don't have enough time to play them all), it might be nice to have access to some of those PC titles. Then, I look into what is involved, and the amount of babysitting that a gaming PC requires.
A non-tech friend of mine is thinking of getting a gaming PC for his teenage son. I told him that, to optimize a computer game for your Mac, you need to complete these steps:
1. Is macOS installed?
2. Is the game installed on your Mac?
If the answer to both of those questions is "yes", then your Mac is ready to game. (This is, perhaps, an over-simplification, but I think most folks here get the idea.) For a PC, I just watched
a 45 minute video on how to optimize Windows 11 for gaming. That's just for the software, never mind all of the tribulations of purchasing over-priced, over-heating, over-sized PC hardware, having to worry about compatibility issues on all fronts, and definitely being the opposite of "it just works", with BIOS tweaks, overclocking, undervolting, RAM timings, and driver issues, to name just a few. (That's not even getting into the questionable marketing shenanigans and shady pricing practices that the PC companies are currently engaging in. I never thought that the Mac would become the "value option".)
Sure, I have the knowhow and resources to build a killer gaming PC, but whether I want to do so for a handful of Windows-only games is another matter entirely. I haven't built a PC in many moons, not since I switched to the Mac in 2005, and I really don't have the energy, inclination, nor interest in maintaining two computers, especially when I can play most of the computer games that I like on the Mac, anyway. It's a fanciful notion, and I enjoy the mental exercise, but I'll likely stick to my plan of eventually upgrading to an M3+ Mac. It's always good to have a "plan B", just in case Apple somehow fumbles and Apple Silicon somehow becomes unacceptable for desktops, but I see no reason to be concerned about that eventuality.
On the other hand, you are also correct that this drawn out transition has also been mildly stressful the other way - stuck in limbo. Let’s see what tomorrow brings!
Most agreeable! We should know the details reasonably soon, and hopefully the more advanced M2 variants will provide a sneak peak for coming generations! A few days ago I said that it was "time for Tim Cook and Johny Srouji to show us what they've got". Little did I know that they would be doing so quite soon.
