Macs with M1 processors are here. What we’ve been able to see so far is nothing short of stunning performance, especially compared to previous Intel chips. But this is, as we know, only the beginning. The M1 is the first in a whole family of chips that will now power Macs.
As impressive as these new processors and the improvements they bring in terms of speed and battery life are, some have been disappointed with the new Macs because they are virtually identical to the models they replace.
We’re talking design, of course, to give a sense of continuity to existing Apple models, assuring customers that basically nothing has changed.
But as we wait for the next generation of Macs to certainly catch on even as we speak, it’s time to start thinking about other features of Apple’s unprecedented control. Equipment and the Software This could allow the company to offer its most venerable line of products.
In front of the music
As the owner of a new MacBook Air M1, replacing my six-year-old model, I’m thrilled with the addition of Touch ID. Being able to quickly and easily authenticate to access everything from system wide settings to my 1Password vault is great, and much better than laboriously typing in my administrator password every time.
But…
I have to admit that I am without Face ID. Yes, not everything is perfect. Sometimes he doesn’t recognize me because of the mask that I now use almost all the time or on other occasions when the light is not the best.
Sometimes I still need to enter my password, like I used to. But overall, Face ID is still magical, as my device knows me.
Face ID certainly looks ripe to include the Mac in the near future. Apple has gone to great lengths not to beef up the front cameras on the new MacBook M1s, but to me that suggests it is planning a more substantial upgrade.
And while upgrading the camera to 1080p would help, why limit yourself to that when you could instead bring the TrueDepth camera and Face ID pack to your Mac instead?
It would also solve the problem of lack of biometric authentication on the iMac. While the idea of an external keyboard with Touch ID has been questioned, I have to imagine that incorporating biometric sensors into external hardware poses security concerns.
Face ID would avoid this, being integrated directly into the main screen. Plus, there’s no better feeling than waking up your Mac and having it recognize you.
At the cellular level
Most other Apple devices have had some form of cellular connection for a long time, whether it’s the iPhone (obviously), the iPad, or even the Apple Watch. And yet, all this time, the MacBook never made the cut.
This is not unreasonable: many computers have a mobile connection when you are not near a Wi-Fi signal. Of course, you can connect your laptop to your smartphone, if your plan allows it. , but adding a mobile phone option to MacBooks would be good news for those looking for an all-in-one plan.
Also, let’s not forget that Apple will soon start building its own cellular radios. While these are primarily intended for the iPhone and iPad, it’s not hard to imagine that the company could, now that they are producing these chips in bulk, include them in other devices. .
It’s not sure, of course, but it’s another way to show how many capacities Apple’s custom silicon opens up.
Nano dwarf
Keeping things largely the same is, as we mentioned, a strategic decision. But once the transition is complete, Apple has an opportunity to review and redesign some of its older Macs, and perhaps no model is more ripe for a radical overhaul than the Mac mini.
The teardowns of the new mini M1 exposed a frankly impressive amount of interior space. As someone who has taken several mini Macs apart, these little computers have always been impressive in how Apple has managed to incorporate so much technology, packing cases tight to the gills with clever engineering.
But Apple’s interior is much, much more compact than its predecessor; It seems clear that Apple just dropped its new card into the boxes of the mini Macs it had around it, leaving plenty of room inside the drives for … air?
It’s not hard to imagine a Mac mini that is much smaller than the current version, perhaps more than the size of an Apple TV, an incredibly powerful desktop computer that can, incredibly, fit in your pocket.
If the company decides to invest in a smaller configurable tower to scratch those that need configurability, why not create an even smaller desktop Mac – a nano Mac – to deliver a basic entry-level experience?
The potential is clearly there; It’s just a matter of whether Apple believes there is a market for such a computer, competing with rivals like the Raspberry Pi and Intel’s NUC.
But at the very least, it’s hard to say that there would be some wow factor to producing the smallest desktop Mac ever. And that’s the real power of Apple’s silicon – the ability to rethink all the assumptions we’ve made about these computers that have been around for decades.
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