Apple silicon transition questions

Does anyone have any insights into the following questions?

I know Rosetta 2 will help with the transition, but will all my current apps work on apple silicon as they do on my current mac? For example, keyboard maestro, alfred, and omnifocus?

Is the MacBook pro 13" cpu faster than the air? It’s the same chip, so wouldn’t’ the performance be similar? or is it throttled on the air?

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Since it’s got a fan, the Pro should be able to muster better sustained performance than the Air.

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Rosetta should allow all software to run normally under Apple Silicon, with the notable exceptions of

  • Low level drivers which will need to be updated
  • Everything that does not run under Big Sur (kernel extensions for instance) since Apple Silicon starts with Big Sur.
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That’s definitely Apple’s intention. I would say that if they don’t, it qualifies as a bug.

Practically speaking though, I would assume that things that just involves the core of the computer that Apple controls (processor, memory, display, things built in to the OS) should run on Rosetta 2, but that anything requiring external hardware, specific drivers for picky devices, etc. is a toss-up.

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Yes, I have the same question. I just bought the MacBook Pro 13" but am considering the downgrade(?) to the MacBook Air. The only differences I can see are bigger battery, fan, better microphones and non-wedge shape. Other than that, they seem very similar.

All for $250 difference in price (comparing 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD).

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Don’t forget the Touchbar!

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but there’s no option without a Touch Bar

Thanks all for the info.

I have a maxed out 16" from 2019, the 13" inch is tempting and I read that the m1 matches the i9 processing power? The main downgrade would be screen size and space (I have 4tb).

No Touchbar on the Air

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We won’t know for sure until benchmarks and reviews start appearing.

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also the configurator lists "Up to 8-core GPU" on the Air, vs “8-core GPU” for the MacBook Pro

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Hmm, I wonder what that means.

Only 2 ports on the MacBook Pro 13". so sad

The base model MacBook Air has a 7 core GPU, while the better model has 8 GPU cores.

Worth noting that the Intel-powered 13” MacBook Pro and Mac mini remain available for folks who need more Thunderbolt ports.

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With the 8 core GPU MBA the computers seem very similar besides the shape and touch bar. Same # of ports. I hear brighter screen on MBP.

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Don’t forget the fan!

I just posted about this… seems you saw the same thing. Thanks to all for your reply’s … that means that a fan cost $200.

Also, the macmini is basically a MacBook Pro.

But is the same chip con the MacBook Air. M1 8Core. That is the one that starts on $999, I am really confused right now with this line up.

The base model MacBook Air has an M1 chip with 8 CPU cores and 7 GPU cores. The better specced MacBook Air (and the MacBook Pro and Mac mini) has an M1 chip with 8 CPU cores and 8 GPU cores.

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That is what I found strange. Same chip different configuration, controlled via software maybe? Checking the MacBook Pro with macmini now. Thanks for the clarification.

More likely binning. They make a bunch of M1 chips with 8 GPU cores. Any chip with one bad GPU core gets sold as a 7 GPU core chip and put in a base model MacBook Air. Apple did the same thing with the A12X in the 2018 iPad Pro. Physically, the A12X has 8 GPU cores, but by speccing them as a 7 GPU core chip it increases yields by allowing them to use chips that have one dud GPU. It may seem strange, but it’s pretty standard practice in the chip making business.

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Thanks. For the explanation.