4 min read | Tech | A.M.

11.10.20 | Cupertino, CA

Apple, Inc. today announced a new lineup of computers built around their all new M1 System-on-a-Chip, which Apple says—together with the latest version of MacOS Big Sur which releases 11/12 and ships with the refreshed Mac lineup—delivers an experience of up to 3.5x faster CPU, up to 6x faster GPU, up to 15x faster machine learning (ML) capabilities, and battery life up to 2x longer than before.  But what does this announcement mean for fashion professionals?  And what actual benefits would an upgrade give us?

First, Apple's move away from Intel signals a move toward a more refined native MacOS experience.  Features like better power management and native GPU performance boosts translate to a generally better interactive experience compared to Intel's often underwhelming UHD graphics offerings in recent logic boards.  Apple suggests we can expect better interactions, core animations, website loading, security, video playback, image previewing and editing, and even video gaming (Macs have previously been underwhelming in the gaming industry, to say the very least).

But gaming isn't the only practical benefit.  Third-party developers like Adobe, Autodesk, Blackmagic Design, and several others are developing new versions of their respective software that take advantage of the new tech.  Photoshop, Illustrator, Maya, DaVinci Resolve, and more stand to benefit from increased performance and decreased rendering times, which means less time in Clo3D and more time connecting with customers and manufacturing partners.

Speaking of Clo3D, interoperability is the next logical concern.  Many fashion apps run either exclusively or best on Windows, and in some specific cases, it’s due to the availability of Nvidia GPUs.  Previous versions of Clo3D, for example, benefit from faster render times using Nvidia's CUDA tech.  Apple doesn’t currently support Nvidia GPUs, nor do they have plans to do so, meaning that Apple computers are forced to utilize slower CPU-only rendering methods.  In other words, more time taken away from other tasks while the Mac completes a render.  This may not greatly impact a single session, but compounded over dozens or hundreds of sessions in a given season, the numbers certainly add up.

Now that Apple has moved to ARM-based tech, there's a real concern that new Macs won't ship with the ability to create Bootcamp-enabled partitions. For those wanting a Mac but prefer Windows OS, virtualization will be the only path forward.  Applications like Parallels have been around for almost a decade, but Windows apps running on MacOS suffer from significant performance decreases when compared to Windows OS apps running natively on a Windows PC.

Battery life increases in both the upcoming MacBook Air and MacBook Pro are actually very welcomed news.  Although many creative professionals are working from home and do not require all-day battery life, it's quite comforting to know that it's possible to get almost 20 hours of video streaming when compared to my current MacBook Pro's four hours.  I generally spend a handful of hours in a given week on Zoom chats as well as streaming educational classes, and on more than one occasion, I needed to move near a window without access to a wall outlet for better lighting.  A typical Zoom call might last between 1.5 - 2 hours, taking my battery from a full charge down to almost 25% which made me quite nervous on more than one occasion.

But even more interesting from a video chat perspective is news that the new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro ship with new FaceTime cameras that have better ISPs which produce clearer, more reliable video quality.  This is quite welcome news for Mac users, including myself, who rely on video calls for work and who've been remarkably disappointed in the poor performance of Apple's previous built-in FaceTime cameras.  Apple has yet to allow anyone to demonstrate the differences, but suffice it to say that any improvement is better than nothing.

Where the new Mac lineup really shines, however, is with Apple's native apps.  Final Cut Pro, Logic, iMovie, Photos, GarageBand, Keynote, and the rest of their productivity suite, stand to benefit from the increased battery life and GPU performance.  As I write this, I'm using Apple's Pages app, largely because it's quite excellent and serves my needs as a writer, and when compared to Word or Google Docs, gives me better battery performance.  However, I can still go from a full charge to 13% (where I'm at currently—though to be fair, I'm a chronic multitasker) in just a few hours of continued use.  Better batteries and power management mean that I can potentially go all day without ever needing to recharge, which is perfect for when I'd prefer to head to an isolated park bench to continue working, weather permitting of course.

The new screen in the MacBook Air now supports P3 color gamut, meaning you can now see more colors, and truer to life, than ever before.  This is especially helpful when looking over Pantone swatches or reviewing product photography to ensure color accuracy and quality control in proofing sessions.  And equally impressive, the MacBook Air doesn't require internal fans to help keep the laptop thermally regulated, meaning that it runs silently even under heavy load.  I've already considered this as a solution for our Podcast, as the current MacBook Pro I use (formerly top-of-the-line 15" from 2019) sounds like a hairdryer if I have too many apps going, making recordings all-but-impossible.

But the most important consideration, especially now, is cost.  Apple was smart to keep the pricing the same as previous models.  However, we're in the midst of a pandemic that still sees around 465,000 unemployment claims in Washington State, and we're about to go into a holiday season unlike any in recent memory.  Apple recently unveiled an all-new iPhone 12 lineup, which we did not cover simply because, for many fashion professionals, the upgrade path is not a necessity at this time.  Yet, considering that a computer capable of running desktop apps stands a fair chance to positively increase productivity in a measurable and meaningful way, the new Apple lineup is certainly worth consideration.

For a creative professional, the allure of a new tool (read: toy) can be excessive at times.  But as business owners, one must always ask the question, Will this make me more money?  For many, the answer will be certainly not.  But for some requiring faster performance speeds in a small and light package, who need better color accuracy and video chat quality, and completely silent operation in the MacBook Air, the answer might very well be yes.

Pricing and availability:

“The new MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini with M1 are available to order today on apple.com and in the Apple Store app. They will begin arriving to customers and will be in select Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers starting next week. The new MacBook Air starts at $999 (US), and $899 (US) for education; the new 13-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,299 (US), and $1,199 (US) for education; and the new Mac mini starts at $699 (US), and $679 (US) for education.”

The internet will be littered with tests and reviews in the coming weeks, and as with anything else, time will have the final word. View the source link for the entire press release.

Source: Apple

Editor’s Note: Images courtesy Apple, Inc. Links provided for further reading. We do not receive a commission.

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