Apple M-series Mac

What hackers pick instead

• Apple MacRecommended for excellent build quality and tight hardware-software integration that makes it reliable and easy to use, though critics dislike macOS UI changes and pricey upgrades.453recommend
• Apple Mac StudioRecommended for running large local AI models thanks to huge unified memory, plus quiet, efficient everyday performance; critics note slow prompt processing and high prices for upgrades.319recommend
• Apple M1 MacStill fast enough for web dev, everyday work and Linux years after release, and cheap used. Critics note soldered, hard-to-upgrade storage.48recommend
• Apple IIRecommended as an open, expandable, hacker-friendly 1977 computer that was everywhere in classrooms; critics cite its price and limited graphics and hardware.46recommend
• Apple MacintoshRecommended for its graphical interface, attention to detail, and strength in visual and creative work. Critics say it started out costly and limited, with weak multitasking and slow performance for demanding tasks.34recommend

Every quote

The 40 most detailed of 47 comments. Each links to the original.

1. Display quality, trackpad quality, overall form factor, and very high RAM space in a laptop would be the primary reasons I'd go with Asahi Linux.

   Recommends · Aug 2026 · in “Asahi Linux Progress Report: Linux 7.2”

2. The hardware+software combination of MacOS is unbeatable in terms of things like battery life and overall reliability

   Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Leaving Linux”

3. I thought there was universal sentiment that apple silicon / M-series computers are pretty unmatched.

   Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “How Will OpenAI Compete?”

4. His only success was the M series macs, a really good but by no mean revolutionary step-up

   Mixed · Nov 2025 · in “Report: Tim Cook could step down as Apple CEO 'as soon as next year'”

5. super integrated packages like Apple's M-series make for really well-performing computers

   Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Micron Announces Exit from Crucial Consumer Business”

6. Sadly the hardware is amazing and so much more efficient compared to Intel/AMD x86.

   Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Asahi Linux on M3”

7. If you're interested in pure inference I'm pretty partial to Apple devices.

   Recommends · Jun 2026 · in “Qwen 3.6 27B is the sweet spot for local development”

8. I see a lot of people extolling the battery life, displays, and trackpads.

   Mixed · Dec 2025 · in “Apple releases open-source model that instantly turns 2D photos into 3D views”

9. when it comes to Laptop Battery life afaik there isn't even a competition.

   Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Linux support is coming to Snapdragon X2 series”

10. If you can run Linux on it, that thing is going to last forever.

    Recommends · Aug 2026 · in “Asahi Linux Progress Report: Linux 7.2”

11. the M-series chips handle inference well for tool-calling tasks

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “April 2026 TLDR Setup for Ollama and Gemma 4 26B on a Mac mini”

12. macOS on M-series macs is excellent for local models

    Recommends · Aug 2026 · in “Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra”

13. you can get insane good M-CPU hardware

    Recommends · Jan 2026 · in “Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux”

14. The M-series chips in Macs are crazy

    Recommends · Jan 2026 · in “I was banned from Claude for scaffolding a Claude.md file”

15. Macs are great for running LLMs

    Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Georgi Gerganov on llama.cpp/ggml future after Nvidia acquisition of HuggingFace”

16. Mac M series machines are an option except that then you're not running Linux, except in VM

    Criticizes · Nov 2025 · in “Asus Ascent GX10”

17. I don't think that works anymore with with the M chips (at least in the same easy way)

    Criticizes · Jan 2026 · in “Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux”

18. Buy something else to run Linux, as in anything other than Apple M series laptops

    Criticizes · Sep 2026 · in “Asahi Linux on M3”

19. The M-series machines do not have good prospects in terms of running Linux well.

    Criticizes · Oct 2026 · in “New iMac with M6”

20. I wish Apple would support Linux out of the box on their M-series hardware.

    Criticizes · Oct 2026 · in “Apple and a hacker's future”

21. Apple isn't going to tell you, so good luck writing a driver for it.

    Criticizes · Jun 2026 · in “macOS 27 Beta Breaks the Ability to Boot Asahi Linux”

22. the M-series Macs have spent 5 years changing absolutely nothing

    Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “Apple Business”

23. The prompt processing times I've heard about have put me off

    Criticizes · Feb 2026 · in “Ask HN: Anyone Using a Mac Studio for Local AI/LLM?”

24. absolutely no documentation on the hardware, drivers etc.

    Criticizes · Jun 2026 · in “macOS 27 Beta Breaks the Ability to Boot Asahi Linux”

25. the local llms were unusable

    Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “Apple Introduces MacBook Pro with All‑New M5 Pro and M5 Max”

26. after turning off wake on LAN they've all slept exactly as expected for the past several years

    Mixed · Feb 2026 · in “Claude Code is suddenly everywhere inside Microsoft”

27. buy a different computer and you're guaranteed to be buying an objectively weaker computer

    Recommends · Oct 2026 · in “macOS 15.8.2 Breaks OpenGL”

28. I myself don't want to support Apple in any way, including buying any of their hardware.

    Mixed · Jan 2026 · in “Fedora Asahi Remix is now working on Apple M3”

29. which are currently dominating with total vertical integration of the OS and hardware

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Apple Discontinues Mac Pro”

30. hardware/laptop options are horrible compared to MacBook M series machines

    Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Apple to focus on 'quality and underlying performance' with iOS 27 next year”

31. More weird than the opaque Management Engines on Intel or AMD chips

    Mixed · Jun 2026 · in “macOS 27 Beta Breaks the Ability to Boot Asahi Linux”

32. I am yet to meet someone who doesn't love theirs, myself included.

    Recommends · Aug 2026 · in “Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra”

33. The next time I felt a step change was the M series of Macs.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “PC processors entered the Gigahertz era today in the year 2000 with AMD's Athlon”

34. state of the art M series mac chips with polished MacOS

    Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “1M Downloads of Zorin OS 18”

35. M series Macs are still very much a work in progress.

    Mixed · Apr 2026 · in “Asahi Linux Progress Linux 7.0”

36. an older M series Mac would also suit the bill

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “MNT Reform is an open hardware laptop, designed and assembled in Germany”

37. I hate to admit apple hardware is incredible.

    Mixed · Dec 2025 · in “Local AI is driving the biggest change in laptops in decades”

38. I LOVE the silence of the M series machines.

    Recommends · May 2026 · in “It's hard to justify buying a Framework 12”

39. The Mac M series is more impressive imo.

    Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Elevated errors for multiple models – Resolved”

40. any M-series Macs or most Linux laptops

    Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “As AI gobbles up chips, prices for devices may rise”