It just occurred to me that the MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro chip can be called The MacBook Pro Pro. I kind of like it, it sounds cute. It also underscores how Apple is bad at names.
Meanwhile, I am still mulling over my Mac situation. After getting DisplayLink (mostly) working with my M1 MacBook Air, I’m seeing my options as:
- Do nothing
- Pro: Zero cost
- Con: All the fiddly bits with using the M1 Air remain
- Trade the Air for an M1 Mac Mini
- Pro: Minimal increase in cost, supports two external displays without hacks like DisplayLink, takes up less space
- Con: Can’t pick up and go for when I want a portable machine. To be fair, the last time I used a laptop outside of home was over two years ago and the Air has never left my desk.
- Trade the Air for a MacBook Pro Pro/Max 14″ model
- Pro: Supports multiple displays without hackery, can still be used on the go if needed, more powerful system for video editing, modeling and drawing, all of which I am doing a lot more of now
- Con: Expensive, unlikely to utilize the actual laptop part, so the snazzy mini-LED display would be largely wasted, may encounter first gen issues
- Trade the Air for a higher-end Mac mini
- Pro: All the advantages of the M1 Mac Mini, but with more power
- Con: Doesn’t actually exist yet, will be more expensive
Options I’m not considering:
- Any iMac. Despite the simplicity, I already have two QHD monitors and don’t want or need an all-in one computer
- Mac Pro. Way too expensive, obsolete as it runs on Intel chips and any replacement will be, if anything, even more expensive still
- Entry-level MacBook Pro. Right now it offers little over the M1 Air and a newer version sounds similarly non-compelling, an awkward compromise between the Air and the high-end Pro laptops.
There’s a rumored Apple event for March 8th, which is supposed to reveal the newest iPhone SE (mega-boring–sorry, SE lovers!) and an updated iPad Air (also boring as it’ll just be a spec bump). Vague rumors suggest some kind of Mac will be revealed. I’m hoping it will be the higher end Mac mini, so I can see what the premium would be over the current M1 and decide if it’s worth it. If not, I may go with the Pro Pro. Because it’s Pro.
