12 votes

Apple Event (8th March) - Peek Performance

10 comments

  1. [3]
    stu2b50
    Link
    Ooh, those Mac Studio prices are surprisingly competitive... Especially the $2k one for my needs. It's a 1.5k decrease from the macbook pro config, so a pretty good discount for not having the...

    Ooh, those Mac Studio prices are surprisingly competitive... Especially the $2k one for my needs. It's a 1.5k decrease from the macbook pro config, so a pretty good discount for not having the screen and keyboard. Presumably much better thermals as well.

    I'm not interested in the screen, but I know there'll be a lot of people who will be. There's just not a lot of 27in retina displays - pretty much the only other thing is the LG 5k.

    8 votes
    1. [2]
      onyxleopard
      Link Parent
      I might be interested in the new Studio Display (a resurrected Apple product line—my parents still have a CRT Studio Display from the mid 90s). Usually it doesn't bug me when Apple doesn't...

      I might be interested in the new Studio Display (a resurrected Apple product line—my parents still have a CRT Studio Display from the mid 90s). Usually it doesn't bug me when Apple doesn't highlight the nitty gritty technical details. However, in this case, there is a major specification that Apple didn't mention and is nowhere to be found on the product page: frame rate. Since there was no mention of "Pro Motion" (Apple's nomenclature for variable refresh rate or VRR) I'm going to assume 60 Hz, but I'd be thrilled if this supported >60 Hz and VRR.

      I've been yearning for a high quality monitor from Apple (or anyone else) that has a high DPI (>200), good, but not necessarily color-critical color gamut (Pro Display XDR is way overkill for me), good HDR support (so high peak brightness and a decent panel like OLED or mini LED), but with at least 120 Hz refresh rate, and ideally VRR support as well.

      The closest thing I could find in 2021 was the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9, which makes a concession on the resolution/DPI as it is half of 5k resolution in a 32:9 5120x1440 mini LED panel. It offers HDR and up to 240 Hz with VRR (though macOS only seems to support locked 60 Hz, 48-120 Hz VRR, or locked 120 Hz for now). It's expensive, though there isn't much competing with it right now, much less last year.

      Samsung announced two options in 2022 that I might have considered if I didn't already go for the Neo G9: the Neo G8 and the ARK (but neither have pricing, or expected release dates, and the ARK doesn't even have any real specs announced other than the aspect ratio).

      I am yearning for the day that high DPI, 120 Hz VRR becomes the baseline—tablets, phones, and TVs, even laptops can do this—why are desktop monitors lagging behind on this?

      4 votes
      1. NoblePath
        Link Parent
        The new display is too roch for my blood or my needs. But i’d happily lay down more than half that price for a display lime the one i the new 24” imac. Optimized for users eyes (as opposed to...

        The new display is too roch for my blood or my needs. But i’d happily lay down more than half that price for a display lime the one i the new 24” imac. Optimized for users eyes (as opposed to pros) i have never experienced so much joy looking at a display.

        1 vote
  2. [4]
    Akir
    Link
    I'm kind of surprised that they're already making a new iPhone SE. I'm particularly happy that their product page has rough comparisons with previous models; it seems like they're mostly making...

    I'm kind of surprised that they're already making a new iPhone SE. I'm particularly happy that their product page has rough comparisons with previous models; it seems like they're mostly making this as a way to get those holdouts with iPhones 6/7/8 who missed out on the last SE model. But for those who didn't, upgrading doesn't seem that compelling (though I really do like that 2 extra hours battery life). 1.2x faster graphics doesn't seem that compelling when I haven't found any apps that don't perform perfectly smoothly on the old one.

    The iPad Air, however, seems like it's exactly the iPad I wanted. In other words, it's an iPad Pro without the crazy expensive screen.

    In somewhat related news, Apple has officially used the M1 moniker in way too many products to make much sense of them. If I didn't already know better, I would assume M1 Ultra is not as good as M1 Max, since Max implies that it's the best. They could have at least used a synonym. I'd love to buy an M1 Climax.

    7 votes
    1. balooga
      Link Parent
      I'm still rocking the 8... they have my attention!

      I'm still rocking the 8... they have my attention!

      4 votes
    2. Octofox
      Link Parent
      The branding on the M1 is shocking. “The MacBook Pro M1 Pro” is such a confusing and bad name. I feel like intel did a much better job with “12th generation i7” where if you think about it for a...

      The branding on the M1 is shocking. “The MacBook Pro M1 Pro” is such a confusing and bad name. I feel like intel did a much better job with “12th generation i7” where if you think about it for a moment it’s quite clear which one says how new it is and which bit says what tier it’s on.

      3 votes
    3. balooga
      Link Parent
      That confused me for a bit too, until I realized that “M1 Ultra” is just two M1 Maxes duct-taped together. Branding is weird but the M1 Max is still the literal max tier for a single chip.

      If I didn't already know better, I would assume M1 Ultra is not as good as M1 Max, since Max implies that it's the best.

      That confused me for a bit too, until I realized that “M1 Ultra” is just two M1 Maxes duct-taped together. Branding is weird but the M1 Max is still the literal max tier for a single chip.

      2 votes
  3. BiscuitMuncher64
    Link
    All of these events are so boring for me usually. Processor gets faster. Tablet/iPhone gets updated slightly. Hit us with the AR headsets already.

    All of these events are so boring for me usually. Processor gets faster. Tablet/iPhone gets updated slightly. Hit us with the AR headsets already.

    5 votes
  4. [2]
    sharpstick
    Link
    At the end of the Mac Studio portion they mentioned that there is only one more Mac to upgrade to M1, the MacPro so does that mean that the 27" iMac is being discontinued? I've been waiting to...

    At the end of the Mac Studio portion they mentioned that there is only one more Mac to upgrade to M1, the MacPro so does that mean that the 27" iMac is being discontinued? I've been waiting to replace mine with a better version. I like the all-in-one design that comes with a keyboard and mouse. The Mac Studio is just the computer and the cord, mouse and keyboard sold separately.

    2 votes
    1. onyxleopard
      Link Parent
      I interpreted the Mac Studio & Studio Display as the replacement of the Intel-based 27" iMacs and iMacs Pro. Apple will never come out and say this explicitly, though. Though, the low end price...

      the 27" iMac is being discontinued

      I interpreted the Mac Studio & Studio Display as the replacement of the Intel-based 27" iMacs and iMacs Pro. Apple will never come out and say this explicitly, though. Though, the low end price point of the Mac Studio & Studio Display is a significant bump in price over the entry point into 27" Intel-based iMacs. As someone who used an Intel 27" 5k iMac for ~6 years, it's a little disappointing that price/performance point isn't really present in the Mac lineup any more. I think the Mac Studio looks pretty nice, though. I'm less convinced on the Studio Display—it certainly seems to have some nice features, but the lack of Pro Motion is a big issue for me.

      The Mac Studio is just the computer and the cord, mouse and keyboard sold separately.

      Most people already have these peripherals, but Apple will gladly sell you the new keyboard and mouse or trackpad that they showed in the event.

      2 votes