Production Expert recently ran a survey of the community to see both their buying intentions and also the experience of using Apple Silicon. Over 1400 pro audio users completed the survey. The survey was open to both Apple macOS and Windows computer users. Here are the results.
Buying Intentions
Of those yet to make a purchase 88% said they intended to buy Apple Silicon. 12% said they intend to buy a Windows Intel machine, 3% of those who said this currently use an Apple Mac as their studio computer. 7% are Windows users who are intending to move to Apple Silicon.
In terms of time scale, those polled;
22% said “I am an Apple Intel user and will be upgrading to Apple Silicon in the next 6 months.”
31% said “I am an Apple Intel user and will be upgrading to Apple Silicon in the next 12 months.”
28% said “I am an Apple Intel user and will replace it with Apple Silicon when it dies.”
Satisfaction
Of those polled 593 (56%) have already upgraded to Apple Silicon with a high satisfaction rating.
Of those polled;
93% said “I was an Apple Intel user and have invested in Apple Silicon and love it.”
7% said “I was an Apple Intel user I have invested in Apple Silicon and I am disappointed.”
Context
It’s worth bearing in mind that many of those polled as owners and users of the new Apple Silicon will have been running their software via Rosetta 2. It’s a testament to how good Rosetta is that Silicon Macs have such a high satisfaction rating for music and post producers using them.
If you want to know how compatibility is progressing then read Apple Silicon - The Ultimate Pro Audio Guide 2022
Summary
Given the concern about compatibility, there are a lot of happy users of Apple Silicon powered Macs. As more software and hardware becomes compatible things can only get better for both existing owners and those planning to invest in the new Apple Macs.