Logos and the MacBook Air M1, compared to a maxed out 2019 MacBook Pro 16"

I spent some time comparing my MacBook Pro 16" and the new MacBook Air M1 in Logos and Proclaim, running the same operations on each machine. I created a video to actually let you see the programs working on each machine. Here's the link: https://youtu.be/_p8wtfzRzfs.

If you simply want to know whether the M1 Macs will run Logos and Proclaim, the answer is yes, and incredibly well. I timed Logos in 8 operations, and Proclaim in one (launching). The total times for each machine are essentially the same, 2:16 for the MB Pro, and 2:12 for the MB Air.

What's really remarkable is that the MacBook Air is an entry level laptop, and it is mainly indistinguishable from the MacBook Pro. Keep in mind that the Air has to run Intel apps with Rosetta 2, which allows Intel-based apps to run on the M1 chip. Once Logos releases an M1 version, it might (or should) be even faster.

Questions? Ask away!

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Gregory Lawhorn

I apologize in advance for the extra verbiage toward the beginning, and the cough toward the end!

Michael

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1137450#Comment_1137450

That was a very helpful comparison video. Thanks for putting that together. I'm sure it'll help others that are thinking about purchasing the new M1 Macbooks.

Ji-hwan Moon

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1137450#Comment_1137450

Thank you for the test. The results are amazing.
Is 8GB RAM enough?
I have to use logos 9 gold, word, pdf expert, keynote, onenote, powerpoint together.

MWW

Thanks Gregory! Great job on the video and very helpful comparison. Now I must resist the temptation to covet [:P]

John Fidel

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1137459#Comment_1137459

I appreciate you putting the time in on this video. I will be ordering some new Mac laptops in 2021 and this give me comfort to proceed with regard to Logos!!

Tony Walker

FWIW, I got the new Air (lowest specs) for 12 a month for 12 months. I selected the trade in option on Apple's site and was surprised that an older MBP was worth $750 (especially considering the intel prices will probably drop drastically soon on the resell market). I also got the edu price of 899. And with the Apple Card, you can select 12 payments at no interest. They deduct the trade in credit from the total before you even had to send it in, so the tax is not on the full amount but only on the difference (149 in my case).

So instead of 999 plus full tax, it is 12 a month for 12 months and the tax was around $10. Was a no brainer for me. My only hesitation is will I regret 256gb in a couple of years?

Thanks for the video greg. I watch it this morning.

Gregory Lawhorn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1137456#Comment_1137456

Thank you for the test. The results are amazing.
Is 8GB RAM enough?
I have to use logos 9 gold, word, pdf expert, keynote, onenote, powerpoint together.

Right now I have Logos, Safari, Mailplane, Keynote, Word, and OmniOutliner open. Everything is remaining very responsive.

Here's a screenshot of Activity Monitor:

Gregory Lawhorn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1137466#Comment_1137466

FWIW, I got the new Air (lowest specs) for 12 a month for 12 months. I selected the trade in option on Apple's site and was surprised that an older MBP was worth $750 (especially considering the intel prices will probably drop drastically soon on the resell market). I also got the edu price of 899. And with the Apple Card, you can select 12 payments at no interest. They deduct the trade in credit from the total before you even had to send it in, so the tax is not on the full amount but only on the difference (149 in my case).

So instead of 999 plus full tax, it is 12 a month for 12 months and the tax was around $10. Was a no brainer for me. My only hesitation is will I regret 256gb in a couple of years?

Thanks for the video greg. I watch it this morning.

Hey, Tony! It was great talking to you yesterday. It's not too late to return your Air and get a bigger SSD (Apple has a 14 day return). There's only a $50 difference between your model with 528GB and the $1,149 model (these are education prices). Drive space is everything, so I'd bump it up.

Ji-hwan Moon

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1137469#Comment_1137469

Air base model is enough! Thank you for your kind answer. I will also inform the Logos community in Korea

Gregory Lawhorn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1137475#Comment_1137475

Air base model is enough! Thank you for your kind answer. I will also inform the Logos community in Korea

Just to be clear, I have the $1,249 model, not the $999 model, but I assume that the $999 would function almost as well. The only difference is that the GPU on the lower model is 7-Core, and the next model is 8-Core, but I don't know if that would matter in Logos.

mab

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1137480#Comment_1137480

So if I understand all this right, basically Apple now has a base machine that performs like an i9 fully decked out. Which is really cool all by itself. It won't necessarily make Logos do anything better right now but it sure makes buying a Mac a much more desirable option for Logos users and this is likely to get even better down the road.

Thanks Gregory.

Gregory Lawhorn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1137499#Comment_1137499

So if I understand all this right, basically Apple now has a base machine that performs like an i9 fully decked out. Which is really cool all by itself. It won't necessarily make Logos do anything better right now but it sure makes buying a Mac a much more desirable option for Logos users and this is likely to get even better down the road.

Thanks Gregory.

You're welcome!

Andrew116

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1137504#Comment_1137504

Gregory thanks for a really clear, thorough and completely excellent video. Wow.

Stephen Steele

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1137469#Comment_1137469

Thank you for the test. The results are amazing.
Is 8GB RAM enough?
I have to use logos 9 gold, word, pdf expert, keynote, onenote, powerpoint together.

Right now I have Logos, Safari, Mailplane, Keynote, Word, and OmniOutliner open. Everything is remaining very responsive.

Here's a screenshot of Activity Monitor:

Thanks for doing this - could we get a screenshot with the 'memory' tab visible?

Bill Anderson

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1137537#Comment_1137537

Gregory,

Thanks for the well done video. It was very helpful. Thanks as well for confirming that heat doesn't appear to be an issue.

Gregory Lawhorn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1137537#Comment_1137537

Thanks for doing this - could we get a screenshot with the 'memory' tab visible?

Here you go. I currently have these apps running:

Logos
Proclaim
Safari
Launchbar
Feedly
Word
OmniOutliner
Mailplane
Accordance (shh, don't tell anyone)
Notability
Activity Monitor

Here's the screenshot, sorted in order of memory use:

Gregory Lawhorn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1137546#Comment_1137546

By the way, I ran the same search as in the video – {Speaker <Person God>} – and it took 25 seconds, LESS time than in the video, even though quite a few apps are open.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1137473#Comment_1137473

It's not too late to return your Air and get a bigger SSD (Apple has a 14 day return).

Apple is currently under the Holiday Return Policy and items can be returned by January 8, 2021. See details here.

Jon Varner

Do both machines have the same amount of ram and same sized SSD?

Gregory Lawhorn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1137762#Comment_1137762

Do both machines have the same amount of ram and same sized SSD?

The MacBook Pro 16" has 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD. The MacBook Air has 8GB of RAM and a 528GB SSD>

Gregory Lawhorn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1137780#Comment_1137780

Just FYI, the MacBook Air won't run two external monitors off of Thunderbolt. I have a 30" ViewSonic and a 42" ViewSonic. The 42" is my primary monitor. The 30" is for music (hanging above my piano) and is normally off. When I turned it on, the 42" lost the signal, and the 30" became the external monitor.

Martin Stidham

Thank you for taking the time to shoot the video, answer questions, give comparisons and advice. Answered a lot of questions for me and others!

Gregory Lawhorn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1137819#Comment_1137819

My pleasure!

SineNomine

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1137796#Comment_1137796

Just FYI, the MacBook Air won't run two external monitors off of Thunderbolt.

Although apparently you can connect a second one via the HDMI port.

Gregory Lawhorn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138168#Comment_1138168

Although apparently you can connect a second one via the HDMI port.

True

Gregory Lawhorn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1137780#Comment_1137780

It's Saturday morning, which is when I move from my draft manuscript (usually in Omnioutliner or Scrivener) to a Sermon Document in Logos. The MacBook Air is noticeably slower when working with a 3,000 word Sermon Document. Scrolling is affected, typing is laggy, and responsiveness is not what I see in my MacBook Pro. Freeing up RAM in CleanMyMac didn't change things.

That being said, I've used the MacBook Air for sermon prep in Logos since Wednesday, and this is the first time it has felt like a slower machine than my MacBook Pro.

Gregory Lawhorn

I also should say that nothing but Logos and OmniOutliner were open at the time.

mab

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138245#Comment_1138245

Hi Gregory, I wonder if your sluggishness with your document is more because Logos is actively making updates on your use of it and sends them to the server. I notice that a little sluggishness is slightly evident on my working with a document on my XPS 15 which is an i9 8th Gen. I think this is a portion of Logos that might need some overall attention but it might also be Rosetta doesn't fully manage it at its best.

Dan Lioy, Ph.D.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138245#Comment_1138245

This review on Forbes might offer some insight: https://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickmoorhead/2020/11/21/apple-macbook-pro-13-m1-reviewwhy-you-might-want-to-pass/?sh=5846ecf0786a

Gregory Lawhorn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138275#Comment_1138275

Hi Gregory, I wonder if your sluggishness with your document is more because Logos is actively making updates on your use of it and sends them to the server. I notice that a little sluggishness is slightly evident on my working with a document on my XPS 15 which is an i9 8th Gen. I think this is a portion of Logos that might need some overall attention but it might also be Rosetta doesn't fully manage it at its best.

Based on your comment I put my Air in airplane mode, but it didn't change the sluggishness, so while it probably does talk to momma all the time, that's not making Sermon Editor pokey. Thanks for the idea though.

Wilson Hines

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138347#Comment_1138347

So guys, one thing I haven't seen. Is there even a squeak from Faithlife on a Silicon native Logos app timeframe?

Forgive me in advance if this has been hashed out, but I haven't seen it yet. Thanks

PetahChristian

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138408#Comment_1138408

Is there even a squeak from Faithlife on a Silicon native Logos app timeframe?

M1 Mac Chip Compatibility - Faithlife Forums (logos.com)

Mike Prewitt

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138409#Comment_1138409

A nice summary of the Apple M1 Macs (with several review videos and benchmarking) is available at:

https://9to5mac.com/2020/11/17/apple-m1-mac-reviews/

Wilson Hines

I spent some time comparing my MacBook Pro 16" and the new MacBook Air M1 in Logos ..

Questions? Ask away!

Gregory, et al., because of this and a couple other great threads on here, I did a thing today....

I struggled quite a bit with the 1 TB versus 512 GB. I currently have a 2014 i7 15" MBP and it's got 8 GB and 256 GB which the 256 is maxed out. I felt like doubling to 512 would be practical, but in the long term, I think to keep it for 5-6 years, the 1 TB is practical and realistic.

Gregory Lawhorn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138478#Comment_1138478

Gregory, et al., because of this and a couple other great threads on here, I did a thing today....
I struggled quite a bit with the 1 TB versus 512 GB. I currently have a 2014 i7 15" MBP and it's got 8 GB and 256 GB which the 256 is maxed out. I felt like doubling to 512 would be practical, but in the long term, I think to keep it for 5-6 years, the 1 TB is practical and realistic.

Good for you; my Pro is 2TB, and I'm glad. My Air is 512GB, since it's a secondary machine that's fine for me.

Mike Prewitt

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138478#Comment_1138478

Gregory, et al., because of this and a couple other great threads on here, I did a thing today....

I struggled quite a bit with the 1 TB versus 512 GB. I currently have a 2014 i7 15" MBP and it's got 8 GB and 256 GB which the 256 is maxed out. I felt like doubling to 512 would be practical, but in the long term, I think to keep it for 5-6 years, the 1 TB is practical and realistic.

That's exactly what I ordered too.

13-inch MacBook Pro, Apple M1 chip with 8-core CPU and 8-core GP and 16-core Neural Engine, 16GB unified memory, 1TB SSD storage

Bill Anderson

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138319#Comment_1138319

This review on Forbes might offer some insight: https://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickmoorhead/2020/11/21/apple-macbook-pro-13-m1-reviewwhy-you-might-want-to-pass/?sh=5846ecf0786a

One of the things this author suggests is that battery life isn't nearly as good as Apple claims when using certain apps in Roseta 2.

Does anyone with the new MacBook notice whether running Logos is a battery drain?

Gregory Lawhorn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138489#Comment_1138489

Does anyone with the new MacBook notice whether running Logos is a battery drain?

It seemed pretty good this week during hours of sermon prep. This morning I ran Proclaim about 2 hours and my current battery is 86% (I hadn't touched it since church).

Gregory Lawhorn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138490#Comment_1138490

Does anyone with the new MacBook notice whether running Logos is a battery drain?

Beyond this, we need to remember that Rosetta 2 is a stop-gap measure until developers get universalized versions released. It's not a deal breaker for me.

Wilson Hines

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138489#Comment_1138489

This review on Forbes might offer some insight: https://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickmoorhead/2020/11/21/apple-macbook-pro-13-m1-reviewwhy-you-might-want-to-pass/?sh=5846ecf0786a

One of the things this author suggests is that battery life isn't nearly as good as Apple claims when using certain apps in Roseta 2.

Does anyone with the new MacBook notice whether running Logos is a battery drain?

But in all reality, if it gave me 10 hours I would be perfectly happy with that. If it gave me eight hours I would be happy.

Wilson Hines

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138490#Comment_1138490

Does anyone with the new MacBook notice whether running Logos is a battery drain?

It seemed pretty good this week during hours of sermon prep. This morning I ran Proclaim about 2 hours and my current battery is 86% (I hadn't touched it since church).

I also think the following quote about 80% sums me up. “I think the new MacBook Pro 13” M1 will be fine for users who use 100% Apple software, stay primarily in Safari and don’t need to connect it to a bunch of peripherals.”
generally speaking, logos is primarily one of my only non-Apple used applications. I do use affinity and they have already come out with a Apple silicone version of their software. I also use a few other things like 1Password, and they’ve already re-compiled as well. as far as browsers, I use Safari 100% of the time.

Gregory Lawhorn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138496#Comment_1138496

I also think the following quote about 80% sums me up. “I think the new MacBook Pro 13” M1 will be fine for users who use 100% Apple software, stay primarily in Safari and don’t need to connect it to a bunch of peripherals.”

It's also fine for users (like me) who use a lot of non-Apple apps (Accordance, Logos, Word, Excel, Notability, OmniOutliner, Scrivener, Stream Deck) and various peripherals (a Stream Deck, an wireless Logitech keyboard, a Logitech web cam, etc).

Gregory Lawhorn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138562#Comment_1138562

On the non-Logos side of comparison, I just compared importing and rendering yesterday's sermon video into Final Cut Pro on the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. The Air finished when the Pro was still at 66% percent, at which point I quit FCP on both computers. The Pro's fans ran the whole time, and are still running a minute AFTER quitting FCP. The Air has no fans, and so I'm sure that it throttled the M1 back to keep heat down, but was still significantly faster than the Pro. So, I'm starting to give serious thought to Ebay'ing the Pro and picking up a 13" Pro with the M1.

Gregory Lawhorn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138569#Comment_1138569

I'm starting to give serious thought to Ebay'ing the Pro and picking up a 13" Pro with the M1.

I’m a quick thinker. I’ve ordered a 13” MacBook Pro with 16GB RAM and 1 TB storage. $10 a month with the 16” as a trade-in.

Wilson Hines

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138572#Comment_1138572

Wow! $10.

I did not put anything on a credit card, but I do try to think like your thinking. In my mind I think about how much it cost me to own something over the lifetime that I do on it. For example my current i7 has cost me $30.13 a month to own for 6 1/2 years.
This new MacBook for the same months will cost me $26.28 per month. You can’t beat that.

Wilson Hines

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138590#Comment_1138590

I have also posted my old MacBook on craigslist and have not even got a nibble. I’m fine with that in all reality. But it would be nice to be able to recoup some of the money. They would only give me $350 for it in trade-in, and I just thought it was not worth giving the computer up for that.

Gregory Lawhorn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138591#Comment_1138591

I have also posted my old MacBook on craigslist and have not even got a nibble. I’m fine with that in all reality. But it would be nice to be able to recoup some of the money. They would only give me $350 for it in trade-in, and I just thought it was not worth giving the computer up for that.

We move in to our church every week (in a local museum) but if I had a dedicated sound booth, I wouldn't mind putting an older Mac in it as a dedicated Proclaim machine, or recording the sermon audio each week. I've typically passed my laptops down to my kids, and there are also a couple of missionaries in the East who are using my old laptops.

Dan Lioy, Ph.D.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138572#Comment_1138572

For those debating between the 13” MBP w/ 8 gigs vs. 16 gigs of RAM, the following video comparison is informative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP1_4wek4nI

Wilson Hines

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138606#Comment_1138606

For those debating between the 13” MBP w/ 8 gigs vs. 16 gigs of RAM, the following video comparison is informative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP1_4wek4nI

I’ll check that out when I’m on WIFI. Thanks.

For me personally, 16 GB is a no brainer simply from the perspective of owning the rig for five or more years. The thing I wrestled with was storage. It was hard for me to buy the 1TB, but I don’t regret it.

Mike Prewitt

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1138606#Comment_1138606

For those debating between the 13” MBP w/ 8 gigs vs. 16 gigs of RAM, the following video comparison is informative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP1_4wek4nI

More RAM doesn't make your machine faster. But it helps you run more apps and switch back and forth with less paging to the SSD. So, the 16-MB model would do better at running multiple apps, which the guy in the video doesn't test.