HACKER Q&A
📣 tsycho

Should I buy an Intel MacBook now, or wait for an ARM version?


I was about to buy a MacBook Pro 13" as my personal laptop, but I am confused after WWDC's announcements yesterday. I want to use this machine for ~5 years at least.

If I buy the Intel Mac, will it get obsolete after a year w.r.t. software? As in, will new software stop working on Intel machines within 1-2 years?

If I wait for the ARM Mac, I see 2 risks:

(a) Most software won't work (well) for a while unless Rosetta 2 works magically well (I am not optimistic).

(b) The first version of the hardware will probably be bad.

  👤 noah-kun Accepted Answer ✓
On point "a", Rosetta 2 will work perfectly if Rosetta 1 is any indication.

On point "b", the "first version" of the hardware was over 10 years ago.