How do I even begin to describe the new Apple Silicon M1 powered Mac Mini except with one very simple word: “Wow!”
After reading and watching every review I could find on the internet (or at least from countries where Apple deigned to launch it first), I was practically vibrating with excitement to get my hands on one.
Now, Apple released three machines powered by their new M1 chip: the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac Mini. All of them retain the same chassis as their Intel predecessors, making them visually indistinguishable—except, of course, for the tragic loss of some ports.
I chose the Mac Mini because it was the cheapest and, paradoxically, the most powerful of the three. Unlike its laptop siblings, it has a proper desktop-class cooling system, reducing the likelihood of thermal throttling. Plus, it was the most affordable way to experience the hype without replacing my perfectly functional (and still very expensive) two-year-old MacBook Pro– especially since Apple would inevitably release a redesigned lineup six months later, leaving early adopters to question their impulsive life choices.
Apple Malaysia only started taking pre-orders on December 10, and after 12 agonizingly long days—each one feeling like an eternity—I finally got my hands on it. I won’t bore you with benchmark tests (the internet has that covered in excruciating detail). Instead, let’s talk about what actually matters: how it feels to use an M1-powered Mac as a daily driver.
Snappiness Redefined
The first thing I noticed? Speed.
Apps launch instantly. Windows refresh in a blink. UI animations are smoother than ever. Even with multiple apps running in the background, the Mac Mini doesn’t flinch. My workflow of rapidly switching between virtual desktops—rather than using multiple physical monitors—feels zippy, with zero lag.
More impressively, every app I use daily (Teams, Outlook, Slack, WhatsApp, Tidal) works better than on my Intel MacBook Pro, regardless of whether they’re Intel-based, Apple Silicon-native, or Universal apps.
Even “heavy” apps like Photoshop and Lightroom run surprisingly well, despite not having native Apple Silicon versions yet. (This was the first moment I realized that, just maybe, Apple had actually pulled off the impossible.)
A Brief History of Apple’s Painful Transitions
I’ve been through two major Apple transitions before, and let me tell you—both were rough.
1. Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X:
Apple tried to ease the transition by introducing the “Classic” environment, essentially a software emulator that let OS 9 apps run inside OS X. It was slow, clunky, and about as fun as watching paint dry. Drivers barely worked, and the fancy new UI came at a massive performance cost.
2. PowerPC to Intel:
To help with this switch, Apple introduced Rosetta, a software-based translation layer that allowed PowerPC apps to run on Intel Macs. Again, slow and clunky. And if your software needed to access hardware-level calls (like drivers), you were out of luck.
Enter Rosetta 2: The Secret Sauce
Now, Apple’s move from Intel to its own M1 chip introduces Rosetta 2—and this time, things are different.
Rosetta 2 isn’t just a software-based translation tool; it acts as an invisible wrapper that dynamically transcodes Intel-based instructions into Apple Silicon instructions in real-time. And the M1 chip even has built-in hardware acceleration to make these translated apps run as if they were native.
This is the kind of wizardry that only Apple can pull off—tight integration between hardware and software that squeezes every last drop of performance out of their systems. This is why some Intel-optimized apps actually run better on the M1 than on their original Intel Macs. No native Apple Silicon Photoshop? No problem—Rosetta 2 makes the Intel version fly.
The Future Is Bright—And Expensive
As excited as I am now, I’m even more excited about what’s coming next.
Newer, more powerful Apple Silicon chips are on the horizon—chips with even more high-performance and efficiency cores, better power management, and increased capabilities. Apple has already booked out TSMC’s entire 3nm production capacity for 2023. That’s a flex.
And then there’s the inevitable hardware redesign. The M1 runs cool and sips power, so expect even thinner and lighter MacBooks, improved battery life, and even more integrated performance benefits like high-performance graphics, security, and I/O speeds—all baked into Apple’s system-on-a-chip architecture.
Apple now has three form factors (Mac, iPad, iPhone) running on the same hardware architecture. Their use cases are clear—better battery life, improved photography/videography, enhanced security—but there’s an increasing overlap between iPads and MacBooks. Could a consolidation be coming? Perhaps in the near future, non-pro users will gravitate towards iPad-like devices, while power users stick with traditional laptops and desktops.
Whatever happens, one thing is certain: Apple’s computing future looks very bright. And, as usual, my wallet is already bracing for impact.