FREE EDITION: The M1 is dead @ AskWoody

ISSUE 21.11.F • 2024-03-11 • Text Alerts! • Gift Certificates

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In this issue

APPLE NEWS: The M1 is dead

Additional articles in the PLUS issue

WINDOWS 11: How to get photo and videos from your phone to your PC

MICROSOFT 365: Five reasons not to use the new Outlook

FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT: A freeware mash-up — How is your hardware holding-up?

PATCH WATCH: When is a system beyond repair?

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APPLE

The M1 is dead

Will Fastie

By Will Fastie • Comment about this article

With no fanfare, Apple announced two new MacBooks.

The reason for the lack of fanfare is that Apple had little to say. I expected this move, and I’m not even an Apple expert.

But there is a key takeaway — there are no longer any Macs with the M1 SoC.

I’ll get to the lineup in a second, but first I want to share a lovely photo.

MacBook Airs
Source: Apple, Inc.

Two MacBook Air models were introduced, one with a 15-inch display and the other with a 13-inch display. Previously, there were three MacBook Air models:

MacBook Air 13-in. (M2)
MacBook Air 13-in. (M1)
MacBook Air 15-in. (M2)

That 13-inch, M1-based MacBook Air was the last remaining Macintosh with the M1 chip. The lineup now looks like this:

MacBook Air 13-in. (M2)
MacBook Air 13-in. (M3)
MacBook Air 15-in. (M3)

And the full lineup of Macs now looks like this:

MacBook Air 13-in. (M2)
MacBook Air 13-in. (M3)
MacBook Air 15-in. (M3)
MacBook Pro 14-in. (M3)
MacBook Pro 14-in. (M3 Pro or M3 Max)
MacBook Pro 16-in. (M3 Pro or M3 Max)
iMac (M3, two ports)
iMac (M3, four ports)
Mac mini (M2 or M2 Pro)
Mac Studio (M2 Max or M2 Ultra)
Mac Pro (M2 Ultra)

No M1 models left. The M1 had a relatively long run, about three and a half years, dating back to November 2020.

Having done its technical song and dance this past November, Apple’s press release and the new MacBook Air product page focus largely on marketing. This time, Apple is talking about what you can do with these devices, as opposed to what they are.

What they are is relatively straightforward.

CPU: 8-core
GPU: 10-core for the 15-in. model; 8- or 10-core for the 13-in. models
RAM: up to 24GB
SSD: up to 2TB

A quick look at the Mac lineup above allows us to speculate about what we can expect in the next round of Macintosh announcements. Besides the entry-level MacBook Air, the remaining Macs with an M2 SOC are the Mac Mini, the Mac Studio, and the Mac Pro. Here are my predictions:

MacBook Air 13-in (M2) — will hold its place in the lineup as the entry-level MacBook and will not get an M3 until the M4 shows up.
Mac mini (M2 or M2 Pro) — will be upgraded to M3 and M3 Pro in about six months.
Mac Studio (M2 Max or M2 Ultra) — will be upgraded to M3 Max and M3 Ultra in about nine months. This is very speculative and assumes that Max and Ultra become available for M3.
Mac Pro (M2 Ultra) — I consider the Mac Pro a slow mover due to its high price, so I don’t think it will be upgraded, if at all, until M4.

I’m still keeping a sharp eye on these developments because I remain impressed by what Apple has done with silicon. But I get some pleasure out of following Apple’s PCs because there is a lot of clarity in the lineup.

I wish I could say the same about most Windows PC manufacturers. Maybe that’s why I build my own.

Join the conversation! Your questions, comments, and feedback
about this article are always welcome in our forums!

Will Fastie is editor in chief of the AskWoody Plus Newsletter.

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Here are the other stories in this week’s Plus Newsletter

WINDOWS 11

Lance Whitney

How to get photo and videos from your phone to your PC

By Lance Whitney

Your mobile phone may be home to thousands of photos and videos. Now’s the time to back up and sync them to your Windows computer.

I have some 12,250 photos and videos stored on my iPhone. And if something dire happened to my phone, all those photos and videos could be lost. That’s why I copy and sync them all between my phone and my Windows PC. If you’re in the same boat, there is a host of ways you can transfer and back up your precious photographic memories to your computer.

MICROSOFT 365

Peter Deegan

Five reasons not to use the new Outlook

By Peter Deegan

Outlook (new) for Windows is being over-promoted.

When Microsoft pushes this hard, you might think you must change now. I’ll give you five reasons to stay with your current Outlook, at least for now. And I’ll offer some tips for keeping your current email app, despite a pushy Microsoft.

FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

Deanna McElveen

A freeware mash-up — How is your hardware holding-up?

By Deanna McElveen

A good “mash-up” (mix of two songs put together) is always a fun thing to hear.

One of my favorites is “Stayin’ Alive In The Wall” (Pink Floyd + Bee Gees mash-up by Wax Audio). But did you know that a mash-up of two freeware programs can really complement each other to get things accomplished?

Today we are going to mash together two great pieces of free software to find out how our computer hardware is doing.

PATCH WATCH

Susan Bradley

When is a system beyond repair?

By Susan Bradley

I’m giving up. I hate giving up.

It annoys me, but I’m giving up on repairing operating systems. Why? Because we’ve reached the point where an operating system can become so damaged that not only can we not fully identify the cause, but also the system cannot be repaired with the tools provided for that purpose.

There’s a reason I’m in this state of mind.

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Publisher: Susan Bradley (publisher@askwoody.com)
Editor: Will Fastie (editor@askwoody.com)

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