Speculations on how long M1 will be supported for?

[mactinkerlover]

Title. I'm guessing at least bare M1 has full support until 2026-2028. Then of course 2 years of security updates on whatever version it's left on.

It's hard to believe M1 is about to turn 4 years old. This is why I don't recommend the M1 macbook air to people who are going to keep the machine for more then 3-4 years because it's already half way through its lifecycle (unless they can get a really good deal on it and they can't spend anymore then that's different). ( also reminder apple does not take into account how long they sell a device into the software support time).

Also, do you all think m1 pro/max/ultra will be supported longer or do you think all m1 support will fall off at the same time?

Or do you think Apple could stop supporting M1 very soon after Intel as it's kind of a first gen product and they will cut software support short sometimes?

thoughts?

have fun discussing y'all!

 

[frou]

I've seen people suggest that since Macs are now Apple Silicon they will treat OS support lifecycle differently to Intel Macs. But if you think about it, iPhone/iPad have been "Apple Silicon" ever since the A4 (iPhone 4) and they have no issue dropping their own stuff on the regular.

 

[chabig]

I think they will support all of the M series chips until the early versions lack either the function or the power to run the latest software acceptably. This might be a long time.

 

[padams35]

Up through 2026-2027 feels like a good guess. Apple wasn’t very generous with the first intel (2006) support.

Also M1 base is missing the media engine found in everything newer. I think/hope M1-Pro will be supported for as long as M2/M2-Pro.

 

[chabig]

I think they will support all of the M series chips until the early versions lack either the function or the power to run the latest software acceptably. This might be a long time.

Update: The M1 might be obsolete sooner than we think. Apparently there have been some recent advancements in AI/ML and the M1 might have the hardware support Apple needs to move forward.

How M1 Macs may lag behind

M1 CPUs support ARMv8.5A, which doesn’t support the new bfloat16 floating-point format now widely used in AI. That’s likely to put them at a disadvantage.

eclecticlight.co

 

[mactinkerlover]

Update: The M1 might be obsolete sooner than we think. Apparently there have been some recent advancements in AI/ML and the M1 might have the hardware support Apple needs to move forward.

How M1 Macs may lag behind

M1 CPUs support ARMv8.5A, which doesn’t support the new bfloat16 floating-point format now widely used in AI. That’s likely to put them at a disadvantage.

eclecticlight.co

I knew there was something about m1 that would hold it back. I guess this is it.

Kind of like how the first Intel macs were 32 bit and that held them back significantly.

I wonder how much this is going to impact OS support time.

 

[mactinkerlover]

Up through 2026-2027 feels like a good guess. Apple wasn’t very generous with the first intel (2006) support.

Also M1 base is missing the media engine found in everything newer. I think/hope M1-Pro will be supported for as long as M2/M2-Pro.

Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. M1 might not be supported much longer then the last intel macs. This is why I caution anyone buying the m1 MacBook Air if they’re going to keep it more then 3 years.

I am wondering if M1 pro/max/ultra will be supported for longer. I know with iPads the X series of chips always received longer support but in the pas with the mac apple doesn’t care about hardware as much as they care about age.

 

[Basic75]

Apple wasn’t very generous with the first intel (2006) support.

Because the first Intel processors used in Macs were 32bit only. Sometimes there's a technical reason for Apple to drop support of old hardware, sometimes it's just because they want people to buy a new computer.

 

[roadkill401]

this is the grand question and part of what I need to wrap my head around. I have an M2 Pro mini that is my work horse but sadly it isn't the most portable. Funny, Starbucks frown upon your bringing a mini desktop computer and monitor to work while you have a coffee or two.

I was thinking of buying a laptop to fill the small need for something a bit more potable for the times that I can't spend in the studio/office. it doesn't need any heavy lifting but it would be nice if it could last me a good 5-8 years realisticly. With the M1 being 4 years old, I wonder if I would be stunting myself to a 3-4 at best time frame for a laptop that if I spent just $300 more would give me double the actual life cycle.

that also bring around the great question of RAM. 8 is good enough for all the work that I am looking currently to be doing. I don't see myself really needing much more, but it brings into focus what Apple did with the first generation of 64bit IPad Air (A6). it was a great ipad until they released IOS 9 and then it pretty much stopped working. Not that the processor couldn't handle the update, but that Apple had moved from optimized for 1gb ram to now really requiring 2gb of ram. So your ipad that was 2 years old was pretty much trash. I wonder if Apple will do the same sort of thing by suddenly deciding that for instance the M4 chip will only ship base with 16gb of ram and then every application and the OS is re-tuned to this normal making everything older that doesn't have that ram now totally nonfunctional.

 

[XboxEvolved]

Well I have an iPhone 11 that came out in 2019, going by Apple's patterns of when they will drop giving it the latest iOS, it will be dropped at the end of 2025 (6 years). My M1 MBP was first released in 2020 so at the very least it will keep getting updates until the end of 2026. The thing that is weird is this crap Apple does where they keep older stuff around for to long.

Like a sucker back in 2019 I went out and bought a mid-2017 Intel MBP (brand new) because Apple was still selling it on their site and that was all I could afford at the time. When I got my M1 in 2021 I handed the Intel MBP down to my daughter. Its last update came last year so I lasted roughly 5 and a half years before it could no longer be updated. BUT then Sonoma still supports stuff like the 2017 iMac Pro so that will be going on for at least 7 years with updates.

So yeah in conclusion M1 until 2026, M1 Pro/Max until 2027.