Is anyone running Logic Pro on an M1 MacBook Air?

[Velarian]

I’m curious to know if Logic runs on an M1 MacBook Air with out any obvious limitations?

 

I was holding off to see if the new MacBook Pros with upgraded M1 chips might be a better bet but with them starting at £1,900 I just can’t bear parting with that sort of money. Given the fanfare that greeted the first M1 chips when they were launched and all the talk of them blowing Intel chips out of the water, I’m assuming that even an entry-level M1 device should be up to the job. 

[BigRedX]

You should go and post this question on the Mac Music section of the SOS Forum. I believe that there are some people running this configuration on there who will be able to give you some real world experiences. 

 

AFAICS the problem with the M1 MacBook Air's, isn't the processing power (my ancient 2012 MacBook Pro has plenty of processing power for Logic provided I don't go mad with the plug-ins), but the fact that RAM is capped at 8GB which may be a problem if you are running sampler plug-ins with memory intensive samples (like orchestras).

[Velarian]

Cheers, I’ll go and take a look at that forum. 

[sammybee]

I'm running logic 10.7 on an 2021 MacBook Air M1, with 8gb. Runs much better than the 2017 MacBook Pro with i7 and 16gb ram that I was using before. Ram isnt capped at 8gb BTW, you can specify it with 16GB at order. However M1s use RAM far more efficiently than Intel Macs so you'll probably find 8gb sufficient

[Velarian]

So, I pulled the trigger and got an M1 MacBook Air. Great value for the power and I love the fanless design. Cool bit of kit 😎

[Woodinblack]

11 hours ago, Velarian said:

So, I pulled the trigger and got an M1 MacBook Air. Great value for the power and I love the fanless design. Cool bit of kit 😎

 

I did the same and got a M1 Macbook Pro 16". First new macbook since 1994, very impressed!

[Velarian]

17 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

I did the same and got a M1 Macbook Pro 16". First new macbook since 1994, very impressed!

That’s quite an upgrade!

 

I couldn’t bring my self to stretch to the cost of the new Pro/Max models but from what I’ve read the M1 Air will be more than adequate for my modest needs. 

[Woodinblack]

1 minute ago, Velarian said:

That’s quite an upgrade!

 

Oh no, I have had other ones (although I still have the 1994 one), its just all the others were refurbs. 

 

1 minute ago, Velarian said:

I couldn’t bring my self to stretch to the cost of the new Pro/Max models but from what I’ve read the M1 Air will be more than adequate for my modest needs. 

 

No, it took a lot of justifying, but then I pretty well live on my macbook pro, and the one it is replacing is 2013, so for a laptop I am expecting to use every day for the next 8 years, the costs are a bit easier to justify.

Although the speed and slickness of it are impressive as expected, the thing that was really shockingly good was the sound - I have no idea how they make it sound so big.

[Woodwind]

On 14/11/2021 at 21:26, Velarian said:

So, I pulled the trigger and got an M1 MacBook Air. Great value for the power and I love the fanless design. Cool bit of kit 😎

A few weeks in how are you finding Logic on the Air?

[Velarian]

6 minutes ago, Woodwind said:

A few weeks in how are you finding Logic on the Air?

Well, I can say it works just fine, no issues at all, but I’ve not had chance to stretch it’s legs yet as I’ve been too busy with work in the run-up to me retiring on Friday. Next week though will be different matter, unless my wife has other plans, which I suspect she has! 😂

[lemonstar]

I am thinking about going down the M1/Logic Pro route (but on a Mac Mini) as an alternative to an Intel NUC i7 system - I don't think there will be much in the way of a price difference. Much as I appreciate the strong points of the Apple ecosystem I think iOS is useless as a "file system" so for some of the things I use my ipad for I find it frustrating and limited but.. processing is fast, display is great, touch interface is responsive, etc - can I live without having a windows machine in the house - that's what's bothering me - or will I have to put some cash aside for a less highly spec'd win11 machine? Hmm - don't know. Haven't used Logic Pro so just watching some YT videos ATM.

[Woodwind]

44 minutes ago, lemonstar said:

I am thinking about going down the M1/Logic Pro route (but on a Mac Mini) as an alternative to an Intel NUC i7 system - I don't think there will be much in the way of a price difference. Much as I appreciate the strong points of the Apple ecosystem I think iOS is useless as a "file system" so for some of the things I use my ipad for I find it frustrating and limited but.. processing is fast, display is great, touch interface is responsive, etc - can I live without having a windows machine in the house - that's what's bothering me - or will I have to put some cash aside for a less highly spec'd win11 machine? Hmm - don't know. Haven't used Logic Pro so just watching some YT videos ATM.

Can you do without a windows machine?

 

Well that depends, but I have never owned a windows machine and have been using Macs as a primary computing system, professionally and domestically for 25 years.

 

A Mac Mini is a very different beast to an Ipad, don't be put off running OS12 by the frustrating experience of iOS (I hate ios and don't use any devices that run it).

 

 

[Owen]

I hate managing files on an iPad. It is just SUCH a pain.

 

Files on OSX? I have never, ever even thought about it.

1 hour ago, lemonstar said:

I am thinking about going down the M1/Logic Pro route (but on a Mac Mini) as an alternative to an Intel NUC i7 system - I don't think there will be much in the way of a price difference. Much as I appreciate the strong points of the Apple ecosystem I think iOS is useless as a "file system" so for some of the things I use my ipad for I find it frustrating and limited but.. processing is fast, display is great, touch interface is responsive, etc - can I live without having a windows machine in the house - that's what's bothering me - or will I have to put some cash aside for a less highly spec'd win11 machine? Hmm - don't know. Haven't used Logic Pro so just watching some YT videos ATM.

 

[BigRedX]

AFAIAC an iPad (and the iPhone for that matter) is just a handy device for browsing (but no really interacting with) the internet, getting email and using a few apps that are iOS only.

 

If I want to do anything serious (including things like typing this reply) I do it on one of my Macs which has a suitable interface for such things.

[Velarian]

2 hours ago, BigRedX said:

AFAIAC an iPad (and the iPhone for that matter) is just a handy device for browsing (but no really interacting with) the internet, getting email and using a few apps that are iOS only.

 

If I want to do anything serious (including things like typing this reply) I do it on one of my Macs which has a suitable interface for such things.

This ^^^
 

Touch interface for consuming.

WIMP interface for creating. 

Edited December 10, 2021 by Velarian

[lemonstar]

Anyone consider the M1 Mac Mini instead of going for the MacBook? I know I’d have to spend another £500 for a monitor on top of the £1500 I’m looking at for the M1 Mac Mini including Logic Pro. 

[tegs07]

5 hours ago, lemonstar said:

Anyone consider the M1 Mac Mini instead of going for the MacBook? I know I’d have to spend another £500 for a monitor on top of the £1500 I’m looking at for the M1 Mac Mini including Logic Pro. 

It’s what I will most likely get when my current Mac mini dies. Best thing Apple ever came up with alongside the iPhone. 

[Trueno]

I’ve had a Mac Mini 2014 since… erm… 2014. By far the cheapest way to get into Mac desktops. To me it’s an advantage over imac or macbook as I can use my serious clackety keyboard for writing. Current monitor is dead cheap, but I don’t need more at the moment. I haven’t upgraded the latest OS’s as they’re not supposed to be so good with an old style hard drive… but I will be upgrading to M1 if/when I get any problems.

 

I also have latest iPad air… I use it for digital art (Procreate). Works really well… may upgrade to an iPad Pro, but don’t think I’ll need it, current screen size is fine.

[Velarian]

I think a Mac mini is a good way in to the M1 world if you already know that a desktop solution is enough for you. If recording is the main focus then this is almost certainly the case. I went for the Air because I like having a portable device for other reasons but I’ll probably add an external monitor, keyboard and mouse at some point to give me the best of both worlds. A large hi-res monitor would be better for using Logic. 

Edited December 12, 2021 by Velarian
Typo

[Woodinblack]

Always loved the mini, i have a 2013 with an ssd drive i use as my music computer, eventually it will update to an m1

[Owen]

19 hours ago, lemonstar said:

Anyone consider the M1 Mac Mini instead of going for the MacBook? I know I’d have to spend another £500 for a monitor on top of the £1500 I’m looking at for the M1 Mac Mini including Logic Pro. 

You will be getting quite the monitor for £500!

[Velarian]

The Pro Display XDR is £4.6k ! 😱

 

What other monitor options are that would give the Retina experience for a more reasonable cost?

[lemonstar]

1 hour ago, owen said:

You will be getting quite the monitor for £500!

i agree it is a hell of a lot - I was looking at something like this for £550 but it's probably totally OTT - I'm just looking around ATM:-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-PA27AC-27-Inch-Professional-Monitor/dp/B077XJSC9D/ref=pd_rhf_dp_s_ci_mcx_mr_hp_d_1/258-1105259-0464921?pd_rd_w=Vv4kV&pf_rd_p=f1512742-6a19-4088-9827-09f4d3d40791&pf_rd_r=K444Z6FJQ5HVEXQDXNJ9&pd_rd_r=a19fe6d1-ed5b-41a4-a9d9-051ca2b927c5&pd_rd_wg=sgcIL&pd_rd_i=B077XJSC9D&th=1

I'm sure i could spend less.
 

 

[Woodinblack]

47 minutes ago, lemonstar said:

i agree it is a hell of a lot - I was looking at something like this for £550 but it's probably totally OTT - I'm just looking around ATM:-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-PA27AC-27-Inch-Professional-Monitor/dp/B077XJSC9D/ref=pd_rhf_dp_s_ci_mcx_mr_hp_d_1/258-1105259-0464921?pd_rd_w=Vv4kV&pf_rd_p=f1512742-6a19-4088-9827-09f4d3d40791&pf_rd_r=K444Z6FJQ5HVEXQDXNJ9&pd_rd_r=a19fe6d1-ed5b-41a4-a9d9-051ca2b927c5&pd_rd_wg=sgcIL&pd_rd_i=B077XJSC9D&th=1

I'm sure i could spend less.

 

I have a 24" Asus 2560x1440 IPS screen that was £180. For that sort of money I would want something higher res. I mean this little 16" screen is 3456 × 2234

[BigRedX]

The problem with the initial M1 Macs is that they only support 2 decent-sized monitors, and Logic works best with as much monitor real-estate as you can give it.

 

I run a 3x24" set up with arrange and mixer on two monitors and an editor and plugins on the third. My current graphics card does support a 4th monitor but I currently don't have anywhere sensible to put it.

 

Also depending on what else you might be using you computer for, £500 isn't a lot for anything that will do more than show you the CGI. I certainly haven't come across any colour accurate ones at under £500, and even some of those over that price  are pretty bad for light-leakage and colour variations across the screen.