For a counter argument, I don't think M1 is going to disrupt anything. Its a great performer for sure, but its locked to a proprietary and closed ecosystem controlled by a single entity.
You could have said (and many did) the same thing about the iPhone in 2007 and it clearly disrupted the phone industry. It was only available on AT&T for its first few years but people had no problem switching carriers. The major incumbents of the time—Microsoft, Nokia, Palm, RIM, Motorola—are no longer in the smartphone business or are out of business as we knew them.
The M1 MacBook Pro outperforms virtually all other laptops in its price class, can drive multiple (up to 6) HDI displays, can run x86, ARM-native Mac apps and iOS/iPadOS apps. You can edit 8k video as if you were on a much more expensive device and the battery can last 20 hours. For many casual users (email, web, basic productivity apps), there are fewer reasons for them to not make the jump.
Its a new direction for Apple in their laptop architecture, and a solid first step, but the raw performance is not up to the fastest from AMD and Intel…
It's faster than all but the absolute latest from AMD and Intel, cost less and draws much less power. Those processors can only be gotten in high-end laptops while the M1 is in entry level products. None of them has the performance per watt and the battery life of the M1 Macs.
The mistake many HN folks make: with Apple, it's the complete product, not just one thing. Sure, the M1 is faster than 98% of laptops that shipped the previous 9 months (according to Apple's fine print) which is amazing for a first attempt. But when you consider the battery life, fit and finish of the design and the nice little extras (studio quality mics on the MacBook Pro), there's really nothing else that's objectively better.
People already in the Apple ecosystem will love M1, but it lacks a compelling reason to switch to Apple.
I've already seen many posts here on HN that people who either never owned a Mac or abandoned the Mac years ago have bought M1 laptops. Apple usually reports each quarter that about 50% of Mac buyers are new to the Mac; I don't expect that to change. And Apple had a record Mac quarter before the M1 shipped [1].
but unless M1 opens up to other designers and companies its a tangent in the great CPU race.
It's not a tangent; it's a shot across the bow of not only Intel and AMD, but the entire PC industry. Neither Intel or AMD can match Apple's performance per watt and Dell, Acer, HP, etc. can't match Apple's design prowess and bundled software, services and support.
Because Apple's designs the entire widget to work together, they can deliver a better experience and there are people who are willing to pay for that, especially when the starting place is it's really really fast.
You could have said (and many did) the same thing about the iPhone in 2007 and it clearly disrupted the phone industry. It was only available on AT&T for its first few years but people had no problem switching carriers. The major incumbents of the time—Microsoft, Nokia, Palm, RIM, Motorola—are no longer in the smartphone business or are out of business as we knew them.
The M1 MacBook Pro outperforms virtually all other laptops in its price class, can drive multiple (up to 6) HDI displays, can run x86, ARM-native Mac apps and iOS/iPadOS apps. You can edit 8k video as if you were on a much more expensive device and the battery can last 20 hours. For many casual users (email, web, basic productivity apps), there are fewer reasons for them to not make the jump.
Its a new direction for Apple in their laptop architecture, and a solid first step, but the raw performance is not up to the fastest from AMD and Intel…
It's faster than all but the absolute latest from AMD and Intel, cost less and draws much less power. Those processors can only be gotten in high-end laptops while the M1 is in entry level products. None of them has the performance per watt and the battery life of the M1 Macs.
The mistake many HN folks make: with Apple, it's the complete product, not just one thing. Sure, the M1 is faster than 98% of laptops that shipped the previous 9 months (according to Apple's fine print) which is amazing for a first attempt. But when you consider the battery life, fit and finish of the design and the nice little extras (studio quality mics on the MacBook Pro), there's really nothing else that's objectively better.
People already in the Apple ecosystem will love M1, but it lacks a compelling reason to switch to Apple.
I've already seen many posts here on HN that people who either never owned a Mac or abandoned the Mac years ago have bought M1 laptops. Apple usually reports each quarter that about 50% of Mac buyers are new to the Mac; I don't expect that to change. And Apple had a record Mac quarter before the M1 shipped [1].
but unless M1 opens up to other designers and companies its a tangent in the great CPU race.
It's not a tangent; it's a shot across the bow of not only Intel and AMD, but the entire PC industry. Neither Intel or AMD can match Apple's performance per watt and Dell, Acer, HP, etc. can't match Apple's design prowess and bundled software, services and support.
Because Apple's designs the entire widget to work together, they can deliver a better experience and there are people who are willing to pay for that, especially when the starting place is it's really really fast.