The new Apple Silicon macs with M1

[red2]

A number of articles on the new Apple Silicon Macs are now appearing on tech sites. My reading is that the chip provides impressive performance with substantially improved power efficiency (relevant to mobile systems) vs. existing competitors (Intel, AMD).

Here are links to a couple of recent ones:
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/11/hands-on-with-the-apple-m1-a-seriously-fast-x86-competitor/?comments=1&start=120

https://techcrunch.com/2020/11/17/yeah-apples-m1-macbook-pro-is-powerful-but-its-the-battery-life-that-will-blow-you-away/
(quote from this site: "
This is where Apple is in the game of power being played by the chip industry. And it’s about to be endgame for Intel."
In one of the benchmarks from the techcrunch site (Xcode unzip), the M1 Mac mini outperformed all other systems tested in the group, including (by 2x) the 2019 Mac Pro.

The future of this system looks interesting.

[StephaneB]

Performance is very enticing. I saw a video where a wedding photographer was going through dozens of pictures with Lightroom at the speed of Photo Mechanics. And it was an 8GB machine.

However, until there is a port of i1Profiler or DisplayCal that works on M1, Apple Silicon is useless for photo editing.

[digitaldog]

Performance is very enticing. I saw a video where a wedding photographer was going through dozens of pictures with Lightroom at the speed of Photo Mechanics.

Interesting considering LR isn't running native on that chip yet.

[mcbroomf]

However, until there is a port of i1Profiler or DisplayCal that works on M1, Apple Silicon is useless for photo editing.

What is preventing them running through Rosetta?

[digitaldog]

What is preventing them running through Rosetta?

AFAIK, nothing.

[dmiller62]

SpyderX (and also Spyder5) will work properly on M1 systems under Intel emulation, using the latest Big Sur-compatible releases of Spyder software from November 2020.

SpyderCheckr and SpyderPRINT, the latest releases from November 2020, likewise work properly on M1 systems under Intel emulation.

Performance is excellent - a couple of extra bounces on the first launch, and instant launches after that. Calibration works as usual and it's a snap. User interfaces run fast and seamless. Intel "emulation" is actually Rosetta2 translating the entirety of the applications and their components, internal plugin code, etc. from Intel to Apple Silicon/ARM and it's the fully translated executables that run after that. (This is why for the vast majority of typical consumer applications, running Intel versions for now, before they're eventually rebuilt to include Apple Silicon code in a Universal build, will run just as quickly, and sometimes even more quickly, than they do on older, and often more expensive Intel Apple Macs.)

There's a small bug in Big Sur itself on M1 hardware only (it's fine on Big Sur/Intel) in which Big Sur isn't returning default names for the attached displays. Spyder display calibration software works around this by defaulting to a hard-coded "UNKNOWN-X". This can simply be over-typed by the user and named anything they want ("Macbook Pro LCD", "Color LCD", etc) and then that name is remembered by the software after that. But this doesn't get in the way of calibration or anything else that happens afterward.

The biggest potential issue with these initial M1 systems in general is lack of support for more than 2 displays per system. For laptops: it's just the built in display and one external; clamshell mode doesn't allow it to run 2 externals, as can be done with an M1 Mac Mini. The "workaround" that's been going around is to use DisplayMate adapters to generate additional software-based extensions to external displays over USB. (I'd used an older DisplayMate to do this years ago). However, I don't recall of these can be color managed and calibrated; if not, they'd be accessory displays only, but not something to use for actual photo editing. Apple's SideCar feature can also be used to run an iPad as an extra display (but again - likely not color managed).

David Miller
Manager/Lead Developer, Consumer Graphics Software
Datacolor

[digitaldog]

Not that anyone asked....  Software that matters in terms of the new chip, if you have that hardware, when you open Adobe CC app, it will detect this hardware and provide a way to download a public beta of a fully native version of Photoshop. A product that could use excellent performance you'll likely be using. NOT all features will work at this time but most will. Again, you only see this option on a Mac with the actual new chipset on the Adobe Creative Cloud app for download.

[plugsnpixels]

Andrew, I am currently testing an M1 MBP. Thanks for the heads-up about the Adobe beta option! On its way down.

[mcbroomf]

Abobe released a new version of PS for M1 today

https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2021/03/10/adobe-photoshop-ships-on-macs-with-apple-silicon-gains-speedier-selections-filters-and-performance-boosts.html#gs.v8om1j

"Starting today, Photoshop runs natively on Macs powered by the M1 chip and takes advantage of the performance improvements built into this new architecture. Our internal tests show a wide range of features running an average of 1.5X the speed of similarly configured previous generation systems." ...

[rtlonghitano]

Any word on X-Rite i1 Display Pro on a Apple M1? Taking delivery of a M1 Mac Mini tomorrow. What I've been reading there's a problem with the software not detecting the monitor.  Is this still an issue? 

[mecrox]

Any word on X-Rite i1 Display Pro on a Apple M1? Taking delivery of a M1 Mac Mini tomorrow. What I've been reading there's a problem with the software not detecting the monitor.  Is this still an issue?

Yes, so far as I know. X-rite have committed to a resolution in Q1 of 2021 but no news as yet. However, I’ve read that an alternative, displaycal, can be got to work after a fashion by using a new beta of the argyll software it’s built on. Details in displaycal’s forums.

[rtlonghitano]

Yes, so far as I know. X-rite have committed to a resolution in Q1 of 2021 but no news as yet. However, I’ve read that an alternative, displaycal, can be got to work after a fashion by using a new beta of the argyll software it’s built on. Details in displaycal’s forums.

Thanks! I'll check it out.

[mecrox]

X-Rite say they have now updated their i1Profiler calibration software to work with the new M1 Macs. See here, or visit their site for a nearer server:

https://support.xritephoto.eu/software-downloads/

[mcbroomf]

More Apple "M" chip goodness to come
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/05/apple-planning-macbook-pro-with-16-core-gpu-mac-pro-with-128-gpu-cores/

"Apple plans to introduce significantly updated versions of the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac mini, iMac, and Mac Pro, according to a new report in Bloomberg citing people familiar with Apple's plans. The report shares much more detail about these machines than we've previously been privy to.

Each of the new computers will include a substantially faster successor to the M1 chip. Bloomberg's sources say the MacBook Pro, which is expected to come in 14-inch and 16-inch variants, could launch as soon as this summer. That suggests Apple may announce the computers at its annual developer conference in early June.

A totally redesigned MacBook Air will follow, as will an updated version of the low-end Mac mini, which still uses Intel processors. A new 30-inch iMac will replace the current 27-inch Intel model.

Finally, an Apple Silicon version of the Mac Pro desktop is planned for 2022.

The new machines appear tailor-made to address criticisms of recent Intel Macs and the initial volley of Apple Silicon machines. To wit, the maximum amount of RAM supported by these new chips will be 64GB (up from 16GB in the M1), more than two Thunderbolt ports will be supported, and the new laptops will feature HDMI and SD card slots. That last addition addresses a complaint many users have had about the MacBook Pro for some time now.

..."

[armand]

More Apple "M" chip goodness to come
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/05/apple-planning-macbook-pro-with-16-core-gpu-mac-pro-with-128-gpu-cores/

"Apple plans to introduce significantly updated versions of the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac mini, iMac, and Mac Pro, according to a new report in Bloomberg citing people familiar with Apple's plans. The report shares much more detail about these machines than we've previously been privy to.

Each of the new computers will include a substantially faster successor to the M1 chip. Bloomberg's sources say the MacBook Pro, which is expected to come in 14-inch and 16-inch variants, could launch as soon as this summer. That suggests Apple may announce the computers at its annual developer conference in early June.

A totally redesigned MacBook Air will follow, as will an updated version of the low-end Mac mini, which still uses Intel processors. A new 30-inch iMac will replace the current 27-inch Intel model.

Finally, an Apple Silicon version of the Mac Pro desktop is planned for 2022.

The new machines appear tailor-made to address criticisms of recent Intel Macs and the initial volley of Apple Silicon machines. To wit, the maximum amount of RAM supported by these new chips will be 64GB (up from 16GB in the M1), more than two Thunderbolt ports will be supported, and the new laptops will feature HDMI and SD card slots. That last addition addresses a complaint many users have had about the MacBook Pro for some time now.

..."

Interesting! It can't come soon enough. I had the M1 Macbook Air in my cart yesterday 
I have to give my current windows laptop to one of my kids and I need a replacement, with M1 being the best bang to do some postprocessing on the side. I would however have a larger Pro to be used as a desktop replacement too if possible, I'm mostly just taking my iPad when traveling. No immediate need but not sure I can wait for another half a year though.

[digitaldog]

May want to check this out:
https://9to5mac.com/2021/05/21/2021-macbook-pro-models-m1x-no-logo/

[armand]

May want to check this out:
https://9to5mac.com/2021/05/21/2021-macbook-pro-models-m1x-no-logo/

Thanks!
Rumor has it that they'll announce stuff at their next meeting on June 7, so I'll wait until then to make a final decision.
Truth being told, outside of more storage (fixable) the main thing that I would like from the M1 stuff is support for 2 monitors, which is not a deal breaker but I would like to have it.