When Apple introduced the M1 processor late last year, the company made bold claims about its performance and efficiency. And when reviews of the new Macs powered by the chip started to come in, it turned out that those claims were largely true – Apple’s new processors are among the fastest desktop and laptop chips around, but they consume far less power than their closest competitors from Intel and AMD.
As a long-time Windows and Linux user, I have to say that I’ve been tempted to buy a Mac for the first time. And apparently I’m not alone, because during a quarterly earnings call, Apple executives said that about half of the people buying new Macs or iPads are first-time buyers of those products.
That’s probably good news for Apple… and probably not so good news for Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, MediaTek, and makers of Windows and Android PCs and tablets.
Here are some of the day’s best deals.
- Apple says 50% of Mac and iPad buyers during Q2 were new to the devices [9to5Mac]
Apple says half of its Mac and iPad sales during the previous quarter were from customers who had not owned Apple products before, suggesting that the high performance Apple M1 chip may be luring users from other platforms. - Worldwide smartphone market surgest 27% as key regions subdue the pandemic [Canalys]
Canalys says 347 million smartphones were shipped in Q1, 2021, which is a 27 percent increase over the same period a year earlier. Samsung shipped the most phones, but Apple, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo all saw stronger year-over-year growth. - Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21370 [Windows Blogs]
Microsoft Windows 10 Insider Preview BUild 21370 brings Bluetooth improvements including AAC audio codec support and streamlined selection of your Bluetooth audio devices. - Announcing Ubuntu on Windows Community Preview [Ubuntu]
The new Ubuntu on Windows Community Preview is designed for testing new features when using Ubuntu with the Windows Subsystem for Linux. The first build has a new out-of-box experience, preview Windows Terminal integration and ubuntuwsl config tool. - Allwinner Processor 2021-2022 Roadmap [CNX Software]
Allwinner chip roadmap shows a few new 22nm chips this year including a Allwinner T723 processor with 8 Cortex-A55 cores running at 1.8 GHz. Next year’s Allwinner T827 will be a 12nm chip with 4 Cortex-A73 cores and four Cortex-A53 cores. - Lenovo Tab M7 (3rd Gen) With Android 11 Leaks [TabletMonkeys]
3rd-gen Lenovo Tab M7 leaked: It’s expected to be a budget 7 inch tablet with a 1024 x 600 pixel display, a MediaTek MT8166 processor (or MT8766 for 4G models), 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and Android 11 Go Edition software. - Samsung Galaxy Book [Samsung/@liliputingnews]
Samsung’s new entry-level Galaxy Book is a 15.6 inch laptop with an LCD display. It weighs 3.4 pounds and supports up to an 11th-gen Intel Core i7 processor and NVIDIA MX450 graphics. Prices will start at $549 for a model with a Celeron chip globally, but in the US it will be available with 11th-gen Intel Core chips for $800 and up. - Update: Apple says the new 12.9 inch iPad Pro works with previous-gen Magic Keyboard, but it’s not a perfect fit [9to5Mac]
Apple clarifies that you don’t necessarily need to buy a new $349 Magic Keyboard for the new 12.9 inch iPad Pro if you already have a previous-gen one. It’ll work… but it “may not precisely fit when closed.” This is a response to earlier reports suggesting that the older keyboard cover might not be compatible with the new tablet.Â
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I bought 2 new iPads last year. An iPad Mini 4 with an A8 processor and an iPad mini 5 with an A12 processor. I had to upgrade after our old 32 bit iPad Mini’s became obsolete and the kids needed them for distance learning at school. I’d sure like to buy a new M1 powered Macbook Air, but I already have 2 Chromebooks, a 2012 Macbook Pro and the Linux laptop I’m using right now. I can’t justify spending $1k on a new Macbook Air when I already have 4 other working laptops.
Yeah, I’m in a similar boat. I’ve got two working laptops that I were both purchased in the last 2-3 years, one thing and light for on the go use (which mostly means around the house these days), and one higher performance model that I basically use as a desktop replacement. I’d really like to upgrade that model because it’s Core i7-9750H processor is rather underwhelming, but for the most part it still does what I need it to. So rather than move to something with a Ryzen 5000 or M1 chip, I’ll probably wait another year or two and see what’s available then.
By the time these new macs hit the used market in quantity I am hoping Linux runs smoothly on them. At that point I will be interested.
Holy crap… you’re onto something here!
I’m still hoping that Apple releases a new MacBook Pro, but with a touchscreen, and a 360′ hinge. Then you can combine creation/work/business with pleasure/content/consumption. A device like that would be awesome, especially dualbooting macOS and a Linux Distro.
But is good news for us the costumers because “Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, MediaTek,” have to get their shit together now and stop producing bullshit and get away with it.
🙂
“Apple’s CFO Luca Maestri said that half of the sales for both Mac and iPad during Q2 were from customers new to the devices.” Why did he combine both the Mac and iPad numbers? I would expect the iPad numbers to be high as the entry price is much lower than a Mac.
Also, I bought a new iPad back in December, but did not use an existing apple id… and it replaced another ipad which had a new apple id.
Many iOS devices are registered with new IDs, but are to repeat customers. From my tiny perspective, I doubt his numbers.
When you buy an Apple product you receive a survey a few days later.
One of the questions is “What was your previous Phone, tablet, computer, etc.?”.
Maestri just reported the results of the survey.