I’ve for a couple of months been using the 16” Apple MacBook M1 Pro (2021). All-in-all its a great machine, that can handle multi-tasking very well, without throttling but at a hight price tag. Since I got the laptop I’ve had it connected to my Gigabyte M34WQ ultra widescreen monitor.

The specs: (more detailed info):

  • CPU: M1 Pro 10 Core
  • RAM: 16GB
  • GPU: 16 Core
  • Display: Retina XDR 16.2” 3456x2234 @120Hz
  • Battery: 100Wh USB-C 140W MagSafe 3.
  • Storage: 1000GB SSD
  • Camera: 1080p
  • Additional: SDXC, HDMI, 3.5mm jack, MagSafe 3, 3x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C)

I actually didn’t buy the laptop myself, its the machine that my employer gave me as I work remotely. So I’ve been able to try it out with a wide variety of different development tasks. I can comfortably work with multiple tasks, have multiple programs running, use VMs, use Slack and Teams among other other programs simultaneously without the laptop throttling or spinning up its fans. I’ve previously used the Intel based Macs, and directly when I started an IDE, the laptop would turn its fans on and try to lift off my table like one of Elons rockets.

The M1 CPU seems to be working well with most apps, and software. I use VMs, common IDEs, and plenty of other developer tools and programs to do both my personal and professional software development. Most software work out of the box, but some needs extra tweaking or setup to get them to work with the hardware.

The price of the machine is one big con. I mean its extremely expensive for most people. It can handle all day-to-day usage, software development and so on and looking good doing so. Bu I wouldn’t buy it myself out of my own pocket, but I wont say no to a free work laptop. I mean you can get the same specs and hardware running Windows for half the price. Or even Arch Linux, btw 😉.

I do enjoy MacOS for software development, and working on the M1 is a breeze. Both the setup and daily usage is simple. I do hate the Mac keyboard layout compared to Windows’s. But that’s just a personal preference. I actually like the trackpad, and the webcam is ok. The laptop is also quite heavy at approx. 1.6kg. I’m not walking with my laptop in my hands, and I don’t think you are either, but anyways the weight of a laptop can be the final straw for some individuals. The battery has a very long charge on its own. I have the laptop charing most of the time, but if I use it in battery mode, with high usage, and full brightness I do get plenty of battery hours. More than on my old and normal Intel MacBooks and Windows laptops. I do believe that the advertisement says 21 hours under normal work loads, and that could be true. I mean the silicon architecture of the single system chip of both the M1 and M2, that optimizes the usage of memory among other things, makes the newer MacBooks so fast and efficient. I might write more about my thoughts, and the architecture about the M1 and M2 chips in another blog post.

Pros:

  • Large battery capacity
  • Very Fast
  • Great for multitasking and high-usage with low throttling
  • Beautiful display.

Cons:

  • Pricy af
  • Quite heavy
  • M1 CPU don’t always work nicely with all software.