Apple M1 version of MacBook Pro evaluation: not overestimated, but the performance is still outrageous
This evaluation of the M1 version of the MacBook is a video content, and everyone is welcome to watch it at Ai Faner at Station B.
The following is a transcript of the video with some adjustments.
"Are you sweeping me, or am I sweeping you?"
Unexpectedly, the iOS application is now running on a Mac, and the reason for all of this comes from this Apple self-developed chip-M1.
In the past week, we experienced Apple’s newly released 13-inch MacBook Pro. Its biggest feature is that it is equipped with Apple’s own M1 chip instead of using Intel processors.
This involves the issue of architecture conversion. We all know that there are two most common architectures in the PC market at present, one is the x86 architecture represented by Intel, and the other is the ARM architecture used by Apple's M1 chip.
Different architectures have different instruction sets, and different instruction sets correspond to different applications, and they are not common to each other.
How to make the Mac with the M1 chip run smoothly the software under the previous X86 architecture has become Apple's biggest challenge this time.
But we still did not expect that Apple used the ARM architecture on a computer for the first time, and it was so mature.
For example, the Office three-piece suit, WPS, Chrome, WeChat, QQ, NetEase Cloud Music, and Adobe’s PS, LR, AE, PR, etc., most of the applications in it can only run with the help of a compiler, but We have not encountered any incompatibility and cannot be installed.
The compiler mentioned here is like a "translation assistant", which can translate previous Intel instructions into code that the M1 chip can "understand" to achieve compatibility.
However, there are still some minor bugs in the translated version of the application. For example, when we ran PR on the M1 version of the Mac, we encountered screen tearing and distortion. We checked that it was not the source material, but the software itself.
Now large-scale productivity applications are also stepping up to adapt to Apple's new architecture. Including Microsoft's Office three-piece, Edge browser, Google's Chrome browser, and Adobe's Photoshop, all have put the adapted version of the software on the development schedule.
If you are concerned about whether the application you are using is compatible, you can also directly log in to this website doesitarm.com and search for it.
These adapted applications will change from the original Intel version to the "universal" version, which means that they can run on both Intel and Apple Core Macs, not only with fewer bugs, but also faster and more stable.
PhotoShop is a typical example. We used the translated version on the M1 version of MacBook Pro. At first, we scanned a few commonly used functions and found no problems until we used automatic cutout….
This accuracy is indeed a bit miserable. In fact, this error does not appear on the previous Intel version of MacBook. It is obviously a compatibility issue. Fortunately, Adobe has released a PS version that is compatible with the M1 chip. We tested it again and cut out the picture. The function is much more normal.
As for Apple’s own later application Final Cut Pro and the development tool Xcode, they have been adapted to the M1 chip for the first time. Let’s take a look at their 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro and the top 16-inch MacBook Pro for the 2019 model. The difference in usage.
The first is Final Cut Pro. Both machines can smoothly preview the 4K ProRes 422 HQ video format and H.264 encoded three-track video, but after entering the four-track, the M1 version of MacBook Pro has a stutter. Inch seems to be less stressful.
The greater difference is reflected in the H.265 encoding. Here we choose a dual-track high frame rate video material. Both machines will have a stuttering phenomenon, but as soon as you switch to the single-track high frame rate part, the M1 version of MacBook Pro will It will be smoother than the 16 inches next door.
We also rendered these three videos and output it. It can be seen that the advantage of the M1 version of the MacBook Pro is still in the H.265 part, and the speed is directly over 16 inches, but in the part of ProRes and H.264, the 16-inch MacBook Pro still has The speed advantage is about 10-20 seconds.
It seems that in daily use, if you are shooting more H.265 video materials, the M1 version of Macbook Pro will be your first choice.
Of course, this satisfaction is limited to editing some Vlog videos posted on social media, or simply splicing materials. As the saying goes, there are specialties in the art industry. If you switch to a multi-track video that requires a lot of post-processing, the M1 chip will still be a little weak.
But honestly, this result is already pretty good. You have to know that compared with the M1, it is a 16-inch top version that is twice as expensive as it is. However, the two have not opened a significant gap, but also have a winner.
This is actually like a wooden barrel effect. The M1 version of the wooden barrel has a particularly long board, which is the H.265 video material processing, which looks terrifying, while the 16-inch Macbook Pro has a stronger wooden barrel. , But now it just broke a hole and was cast aside by many people, feeling somewhat generalized.
Next is Xcode encoding. This time we invited the engineer of our company to use Xcode to compile the client source code on the M1 version of MacBook Pro. The compilation time was 55.27s, and the archive packaging time was 210.97s.
In comparison, the top-equipped 16-inch MacBook Pro of the 2019 model takes 66.26s to compile and 285.24s to archive packaging, so the speed advantage of M1 is quite obvious.
The engineer also told us that the previous compilation, packaging and other work can be performed normally on the new version of Xcode, but some compilation configurations may need to be adjusted during the first use.
But because our MacBook Pro is the lowest equipped, during our test of Xcode, 8GB of memory still exposed the lack of space.
Finally, for game comparison, we directly used Shadow of the Tomb Raider for testing. Both machines chose the default medium quality level. The 16-inch mbp depends on the AMD independent display, or it will be more comfortable, the average under the benchmark test As a result, the frame rate is about 15 frames higher than the M1 version. Students who want to use M1 to play 3A games should dispel this idea as soon as possible.
There is another application that is exclusive to the M1 chip.
In the app store of the M1 MacBook, we can directly search for iPhone and iPad apps, and this page will only appear on the M1 chip version of the Mac.
Running the iOS application directly on the Mac is also the result that Apple hopes to achieve this time, because only when the iPhone, iPad and Mac all use the same chip architecture, can the bottom layer be connected in a true sense and run the same software.
With the mobile application, the Mac usage scenarios are much richer, which means you can go online and work at the same time, and then open Douyin and Taobao, and touch two fish.
But using the iPhone app directly on the Mac is quite strenuous. The window is too small to zoom in. Only some iPad apps support adjusting the window.
Besides, the iOS app itself is designed for multi-touch, but the Mac has only one cursor.
In fact, Apple also provides a "touch-replacement" function for these iOS apps, which is equivalent to treating the Mac trackpad as a touch screen, and then mapping the location of your finger to the app, but this operation is very different. Intuitive, it feels like you are playing with a puppet, it's better to just click the mouse.
The last point is practicality. Video apps like Station B and iQiyi are obviously better to watch in full screen in the browser than on the mobile phone. However, use the iPad version of WeChat on the Mac to play with mini programs, browse Moments, and grab Red envelopes are still very happy.
With the debut of the M1 chip, this time the new MacBook Pro also solved two "historical legacy" problems: heat dissipation and battery life.
The thermometer allows us to see this amazing side. When the 16-inch MacBook Pro is processing Final Cut Pro video, it is like two small fire dragons sprayed from the rear of the fuselage, but on the M1 version of MacBook Pro, the whole machine The body is warm, the temperature that can be placed directly on the thigh, and you can't hear the sound of the fan turning.
Many times, I wondered if there was no cooling fan in the machine.
In the same productivity scenario, the M1 chip can be completed with lower power consumption, and the gap in battery life will naturally be gradually widened. After processing the three videos, the 16-inch MacBook Pro lost almost half of its power, while the M1 version of the MacBook Pro only lost less than 20%.
If you go out to use, simple code, open a browser, you can completely without a charger, support from morning to night day use.
Let's take a look at the speed of opening the cover and the screen. It lights up instantly and wakes up instantly, exactly like a mobile phone.
In 2015, Apple introduced a 12-inch MacBook with only 920g, which was lighter than the 12.9-inch iPad Pro that was fully equipped at the time. It also surprised many people that Apple could make a laptop so exquisite.
But this is also a compromise product. Because the internal space is too small, it can only use Intel’s Core M-series processors, and cannot be equipped with a cooling fan, which leads to stretches in performance.
In the end, the 12-inch MacBook series only experienced two upgrades and withdrew from the stage of history. But many of its thin and light attempts, such as butterfly keyboards, USB-C ports, and stepped batteries, are actually used in the later MacBook Air and Pro.
Today, Apple has taken out its own chip, with lower power consumption, stronger performance, completed a counterattack on Intel X86 architecture, and the 12-inch Macbook that was born at an untimely time may also Ushered in a rebirth.
Is this year's M1 MacBook Pro worth buying? As far as the result is concerned, Apple has indeed given full sincerity. Most Mac users will not even notice the impact of the structural changes on the user experience. At the same time, they can also enjoy the improvement of battery life and heat dissipation. This is actually our most Happy to see the results.
Of course, students who only switched to Mac computers this year don’t need to think that they have joined the National Army in 1949, because for Apple, the M1 chip just opened the prelude to the Mac revolution. Wait a year or two, new appearance, new form , New ecology, and more mature software adaptation lineup, will let Mac have a brighter future.
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