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Kung gu

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I am going to disagree...

I have an M1 Air (getting sold to it's new owner tonight) and a Latitude 9420 with an i5. With the M1 chip in the Air, I've had the dreaded beachball several times when trying to open a simple app or file. My Windows 10 machine just scoots right through almost everything..

The M1 is faster for many things (power usage) but I would not say the M1 is snappy or that it opens apps and files instantly.
Well that's disappointing. It clearly looks like your machine is at fault cause I seen the M1 Mac operate in real life and to me it certainly did not beachball. Countless Youtube videos from small and big creators show otherwise too and operating as it meant too.
 

raqball

macrumors 68020
Sep 11, 2016
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It clearly looks like your machine is at fault cause I seen the M1 Mac operate in real life and to me it certainly did not beachball.
So you tried one at a store and that's your basis for doubting my 6+ months of ownership of it? Well, I hate to break it to you, but it does beachball at times when opening simple apps, opening files and doing simple tasks. And no, my machine is not defective..
 
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Kung gu

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No. There's a whole thread on the number of bounces it takes to launch an application along with relatively long boot time, time to apply OS updates, etc. Storage I/O is slow on M1.
Yeah I have seen that too but I don't care how long it takes to boot. I leave my computers on sleep ALL the time.
Wake from sleep is VERY fast on M1.

I agree on the OS updates Apple clearly does not optimise those.

Storage I/O is not slow its PCI Gen 4. The read and write speed is high too.

See the image below for proof of M1 including PCI Gen 4
1626824291935.png
 

Kung gu

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So you tried one at a store and that's your basis for doubting my 6+ months of ownership of it? Well, I hate to break it to you, but it does beachball at times when opening simple apps, opening files and doing simple tasks. And no, my machine is not defective..
Well it clearly is. Even my 16" does not beachball at opening apps or files. It never did.

Only time it beachballs if the app was not responding and I am sure that also happens on Windows too when an app is not responding.
 
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raqball

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Sep 11, 2016
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Well it clearly is. Even my 16" does not beachball at opening apps or files. It never did.
Every MacBook I've even owned has beachball'd... I find it VERY odd that you claim you've never seen it...

Moving on now, glad the one you used in the store didn't beachball.. LOL
 

pshufd

macrumors G3
Oct 24, 2013
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So you tried one at a store and that's your basis for doubting my 6+ months of ownership of it? Well, I hate to break it to you, but it does beachball at times when opening simple apps, opening files and doing simple tasks. And no, my machine is not defective..

Our approach is to start up a system and then just leave it running for long periods of time so any of the slow stuff starting up is eaten once and then maybe a month or two later on. I suspect that the Beachballs are a conflict or deadlock condition but they usually resolve if you wait long enough.
 
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09872738

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Feb 12, 2005
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Every MacBook I've even owned has beachball'd... I find it VERY odd that you claim you've never seen it...

Moving on now, glad the one you used in the store didn't beachball.. LOL
Well, mine doesn‘t either. Plus judging from what I read on the net or what pretty much all reviews say the M1 is way snappier than any competitor and even machines way upmarket. Snappier than retty much anything.
So I guess yours IS faulty or there is some sortof issue
 
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Kung gu

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There's a whole thread on the number of bounces it takes to launch an application
I think apple is even stealing microsofts old slogan. "it seems faster"!

So you tried one at a store and that's your basis for doubting my 6+ months of ownership of it? Well, I hate to break it to you, but it does beachball at times when opening simple apps, opening files and doing simple tasks. And no, my machine is not defective..

Well this video clearly shows that apps launch quickly and it also shows that there are no beachballs when opening an app.
 
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Kung gu

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Every MacBook I've even owned has beachball'd... I find it VERY odd that you claim you've never seen it...
I did update my post to say that I did see a beachball when an app is not responding. Even Windows shows the something when an app is not responding. The cusor turns blue and spins.

What I mean and still stand by it is I NEVER saw a beachball when opening an app or file.
 

raqball

macrumors 68020
Sep 11, 2016
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Well, mine doesn‘t. Seriously
Mine does / did not do it often but it did happen.

The person I quoted said:

"However on M1 Macs I tried at the store the smoothness and snappiness is noticeable. Apps open instantly and files
load quickly.
"

Generally this is true, as it is with Windows, but it's not a constant as the dreaded beachball is still present with the M1 chips...

Both OS's are smooth, fast and responsive and both have issues where at times, they are not..
 

09872738

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Feb 12, 2005
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Generally this is true, as it is with Windows, but it's not a constant as the dreaded beachball is still present with the M1 chips...
True, but not that often actually. My M1 barely stalls, and if it does its mostly software related as far I can tell. Software, after all, didn‘t change that much, at least in user land.

Edit: this is interesting:
Quote:

“fun fact: retaining and releasing an NSObject takes ~30 nanoseconds on current gen Intel, and ~6.5 nanoseconds on an M1“

„…and ~14 nanoseconds on an M1 emulating an Intel“
 
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mi7chy

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2014
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Well this video clearly shows that apps launch quickly and it also shows that there are no beachballs when opening an app.

Doesn’t mean anything without showing that the device was rebooted to clear disk cache prior to launching apps plus those are stock apps that are pre-cached vs 3rd party apps that aren’t.

My impression after six months of MBA M1 ownership is storage I/O is slow so it heavily relies on disk cache. Have’t seen a beach ball but I have the 16GB RAM model and using it as slightly more than a Chromebook so haven’t really taxed it.
 
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DaveFromCampbelltown

macrumors 68000
Jun 24, 2020
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I tried using multiple operating systems but nope, that's not gonna happen. I don't want to deal with Windows, Linux and whatever in parallel for one task.
I use WSL on Windows though, which is pretty great when you think about it. You get the raw performance of Linux for development and all the apps and stuff you might need in Windows. Now if it only ran in MacOS haha. That would be even better.

The equivalent of WSL is built in to macOS, actually macOS is built on top of a Unix/Linux system.
You can run all your favourite Linux commands in the command-line environment such as ls, rsync, dd and the like. In fact some commercial programs like Carbon Copy Cloner are simply clever wrappers around rsync.
If you want to go a bit further you can install Brew from brew.sh and run programs like wget and even graphical Linux programs like gnome-latex.
 

raqball

macrumors 68020
Sep 11, 2016
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My impression after six months of MBA M1 ownership is storage I/O is slow so it heavily relies on disk cache. Have’t seen a beach ball but I have the 16GB RAM model and using it as slightly more than a Chromebook so haven’t really taxed it.
I agree.. I just got a Windows machine with an 11th gen i5 (obviously MUCH less powerful than the M1) but everything on it feels equal to, or even snappier, than on my M1 Air. I also have had my M1 for 6+ months. This is an Apple centric forum so I do consider that when reading responses..

The easy out is for others to just say your machine is defective. Mine is not, it beachballs every so often when doing simple tasks and I just feel like macOS is slower in many regards compared to a clean Win 10 install..
 

Kung gu

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Mine is not, it beachballs every so often when doing simple tasks and I just feel like macOS is slower in many regards compared to a clean Win 10 install..
That's the thing you SHOULD NOT be seeing beachballs for simple tasks. Why is it doing so is what we need need to know.
 
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Kung gu

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I agree.. I just got a Windows machine with an 11th gen i5 (obviously MUCH less powerful than the M1) but everything on it feels equal to, or even snappier, than on my M1 Air. I also have had my M1 for 6+ months. This is an Apple centric forum so I do consider that when reading responses..
That's because the single core speed of the 11th gen i5 is similar to the M1. The single core speed is what makes system snappy.
 

raqball

macrumors 68020
Sep 11, 2016
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That's because the single core speed of the 11th gen i5 is similar to the M1. The single core speed is what makes system snappy.
Hence my previous posts.. Both are OS's and systems I have (Air and Latitude) are fast and responsive for the most part and both have issues at times.

The argument of which is better, snappier ect is going to boil down to the user. What they run, how they run it, computer config ect....

My point was Windows 10 is just as fast, snappy and responsive as macOS yet they both have issues from time to time. Trying to claim otherwise is just false..
 

Kung gu

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Doesn’t mean anything without showing that the device was rebooted to clear disk cache prior to launching apps plus those are stock apps that are pre-cached vs 3rd party apps that aren’t.

My impression after six months of MBA M1 ownership is storage I/O is slow so it heavily relies on disk cache. Have’t seen a beach ball but I have the 16GB RAM model and using it as slightly more than a Chromebook so haven’t really taxed it.
It's not slow man. Here's a third party app comparison.


The video starts at the Premiere Pro app opening.

Adobe themselves state that their app launches is faster on M1.


Other performance highlights:

  • Launch 50 percent faster
  • Open projects 77 percent faster
  • Save projects 168 percent faster
  • Gradient wipe effect 90 percent faster
  • Lens Flare effect 66 percent faster
 
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raqball

macrumors 68020
Sep 11, 2016
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That's the thing you SHOULD NOT be seeing beachballs for simple tasks. Why is it doing so is what we need need to know.
You should Google "Beachball on M1 MacBook" before claiming it should not be happening.. It does, there are NUMEROUS threads and complaints about it..

Here is a screengrab of just a few.....
K1NZCh5B
Screenshot-2021-07-20-173104.png
 

Kung gu

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You should Google "Beachball on M1 MacBook" before claiming it should not be happening.. It does, there are NUMEROUS threads and complaints about it..
I know that BUT for simple tasks like opening files and starting apps it should not beachball.
Have’t seen a beach ball
Even this poster says he has not seen a beachball and states the use of the M1 Mac is not heavy just like your usage.
 
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raqball

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Sep 11, 2016
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I know that BUT for simple tasks like opening files and starting apps it should not beachball.

Even this poster says he has not seen a beachball and states the use of the M1 Mac is not heavy just like your usage.
I've posted a screenshot with numerous M1 beachball complaints via Google search. You can do the Google search for yourself and see many, many more complaints on the topic. Or let me guess, they all have defective computers right?

You are trying to defend a product you've used for a few minutes in store.. The beachball is pretty common on the M1 as the Google search results will show you.. Even if Apple defenders want to deny the problem..

You are reaching to defend a product you don't own and have not used for any period of time. So I am moving on now.. Google M1 MacBook beachball and see for yourself..
 

Kung gu

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I've posted a screenshot with numerous M1 beachball complaints via Google search. You can do the Google search for yourself and see many, many more complaints on the topic. Or let me guess, they all have defective computers right?

You are trying to defend a product you've used for a few minutes in store.. The beachball is pretty common on the M1 as the Google search results will show you.. Even if Apple defenders want to deny the problem..

You are reaching to defend a product you don't own and have not used for any period of time. So I am moving on now.. Google M1 MacBook beachball and see for yourself..
I don't need to use the M1 Mac for long time as I have experience with the 16". As I have told I have yet to experience a beachball when opening a file or app. Now as for the people that do have a the beachball problem. It's macOS being
a ****. The M1 chip is plenty capable of opening apps and files. This means that Apple still needs to work out the issues
in macOS.

Now I might also add this is a brand new arch for the Mac. I think a far more fair comparisons would be with ARM Windows and ARM Windows devices. The ARM Macs need more time in the oven to be stable by the looks of it.

Comarping a mature x86 Windows platform devices to ARM Macs is not good a outlook.
 
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The_Interloper

macrumors 6502a
Oct 28, 2016
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I don't need to use the M1 Mac for long time as I have experience with the 16". As I have told I have yet to experience a beachball when opening a file or app. Now as for the people that do have a the beachball problem. It's macOS being
a ****. The M1 chip is plenty capable of opening apps and files. This means that Apple still needs to work out the issues
in macOS.

Now I might also add this is a brand new arch for the Mac. I think a far more fair comparisons would be with ARM Windows and ARM Windows devices. The ARM Macs need more time in the oven to be stable by the looks of it.

Comarping a mature x86 Windows platform devices to ARM Macs is not good a outlook.
Total nonsense. Apple sells the M1 with macOS as its one and only operating system; if it’s not ready for ARM then it damn well should be. It’s the 11th major iteration of the OS; it hardly needs “more time in the oven to be stable”. Make no mistake, this has been running on some form of Apple Silicon for years in Apple’s labs.

Don’t get me wrong, they are very good machines but not without their problems. The Mini is riddled with issues - lousy Bluetooth, terrible monitor wake problems, temperamental HDMI port etc.

I’ve managed to bring an M1 to its knees in Finder just by scrolling through 10-year-old RAW image files on a Synology NAS. Previewing the things was torture; beachball city. No issues on a Ryzen Windows machine. Again, they’re good but have their issues.
 
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Kung gu

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Total nonsense. Apple sells the M1 with macOS as its one and only operating system; if it’s not ready for ARM then it damn well should be. It’s the 11th major iteration of the OS; it hardly needs “more time in the oven to be stable”. Make no mistake, this has been running on some form of Apple Silicon for years in Apple’s labs.
Ok, what is with that statement. Is WINDOWS on ARM ready to be on the market yet??

No its not not even close, yet Microsoft sells the Surface Pro X at a high price and you can buy that is stores and online very easily. I am also sure that MS sells the Surface Pro X as its only OS too.

Seems to me that Apple gets a very harsh critique while MS get a free bonus points in this Alternatives to Mac forum.

"It’s the 11th major iteration of the OS"

Wrong, Big Sur is the FIRST ARM macOS to be made available to the public. Devs are still porting apps to M1 and Apple still needs to optimise macOS even more to make it more stable.

If we go that route, Windows RT 8 on released October 26, 2012 which was an ARM based windows and even till today
ARM Windows is NOT READY.
 
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Kung gu

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Make no mistake, this has been running on some form of Apple Silicon for years in Apple’s labs.
Real life usage is MUCH different than running it in labs. Apple will need collect data on how M1 Macs performs outside of labs.
The Mini is riddled with issues - lousy Bluetooth, terrible monitor wake problems, temperamental HDMI port etc.
The Mac mini has always been like this. Worst Mac to buy IMO.
No issues on a Ryzen Windows machine
Specs of Ryzen machine
 
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