On Wednesday morning Apple properly unveiled its new M1 silicon chipset. It’s coming to three new machines — the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro and the Mac Mini. Here’s how much they are going to cost in Australia and when you can get them.
M1 Mac Mini
First up we have the Mac Mini. It’s been two years since the last generation and now we’re seeing quite a big update.
According to Apple the new Mac Mini is up to eight times faster than the 2018 version thanks to the shiny new 8-core M1 silicon chipset.
In terms of hardware it has two USB-A ports, USB-C ports that supports USB 4 (!!!) as well as Thunderbolt. You’ll also find HDMI 2.0 with 4K support at 60 Hz, Ethernet and a blessed headphone jack. Gotta love a port party.
Here in Australia the Mac Mini starts at $1,099 and will be available on November 17.
Here are all the key specs:
- 8-core M1 ARM-based chipset
- 8GB RAM
- 256GB – 2TB storage
- 2 x Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, 2 x USB-A ports
- 1.4 inches x 7.7 x 7.7-inches , 1.2kg
[related_content first=”1528053″]
M1 MacBook Air
On the surface the new MacBook Air is quite similar to its predecessor. It comes with Retina display, USB-C ports and the scissor-switch keyboard that replaced the cursed butterfly.
But down in the guts Apple reckons the M1 chip will enable the new MacBook Air to clock 3.5 times improved performance and 2x faster SSD speed. The company is also boasting 5x better graphics performance and a battery life that can get 18 hours of video playback.
But the biggest change here, besides the ARM-based chipset, is that the Air will now be fanless.
The new MacBook Air will start at $1,599 in Australia and will be available from November 17.
Here are the key specs:
- 1.3.3-inch retina display
- 8-core M1 ARM-based chipset
- 8GB RAM
- 256GB – 2TB storage
- Up to 18-hours video playback battery. Up to 15-hours web browsing. 30W USB-C power adaptor
- 2 x Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports
- 0.16–0.63 inch x 11.97 x 8.36-inches , 1.19kg
[related_content first=”1528067″]
13-inch MacBook Pro
While we’re still going to see some Intel Macs for another couple of years, its cool to see the M1 also go into the MacBook Pro so soon.
According to Apple, the new m1 MacBook Pro is more powerful than its predecessor. However, as our U.S. colleagues pointed out, it’s unclear if the company mean the 8th gen or 10th gen Intel variant.
Apple also said the new CPU is up to 2.8 times faster, the GPU is up to five times faster and the devices has up to 11 times faster machine learning capabilities. When it comes to battery life it is apparently double the previous generation with up to 20 hours video playback.
In terms of design you’ll find the MacBook Pro has two Thunderbolt USB-C ports with USB 4 support, Touch ID and a Touch Bar.
And because MacOS Big Sur (which is finally coming out of beta this week) has been for M1, compatible apps should launch instantaneously and the machine itself should also wake up right away
The 13-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,999 and will be available on November 17.
Here’s a list of the key specs:
- 1.3.3-inch retina display
- 8-core M1 ARM-based chipset
- 8GB RAM
- 256GB – 2TB storage
- Up to 20-hours video playback battery. Up to 17-hours web browsing. 61W USB-C power adaptor
- 2 x Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports
- 0.61 inch x 11.97 inches x 8.36 inches , 1.4kg
[related_content first=”1528076″]