M1 Mac SSD Swap Issues Explained: Should you be WORRIED?

[@MaxTechOfficial]

Were you surprised by the results we got on our M1 Macs? What about those software bugs? Comment your thoughts below! The BEST M1 Mac on Amazon (ON SALE) ➡ geni.us/1mJ41T​ Subscribe for more videos like this one! Best deals on M1 Macs & Accessories on Amazon ⬇️ M1 MacBook Pro (ON SALE) ➡ geni.us/7lb3Gn​ M1 MacBook Air ➡ geni.us/1mJ41T​ M1 Mac Mini 2020 ➡ geni.us/Atm1​ Support us by checking out our Merch! ➡ teespring.com/stores/max-tech-store​ Max tech wallpapers ➡ bit.ly/2WNc6Qw​

[@elgrau]

Your genius links aren't working fam

[@robinbramlett110]

Not surprised at all and I’m sure there are going to be more bugs to come. That’s just the nature of new technology. Apple will eventually get it all worked out and more software will be able to work natively on the new chips. Until then I’ll be rocking with my Intel Mac!

[@AlejandroEarthPerson]

you might be right.. it does seems to be a software bug, but NOT associated exclusively with Rossetta.. I reviewed and killed some apps like you suggested. And in the last 12 hours I was able to identified the 2 (from the ones I used) that impacted the most the Memory Swap, Whatsapp (Intel) and Chrome(M1). Having stopped using both, the Memory Swap went down from 5Gb to 300Mb or even 0Mb most of the time. I'll keep testing over the weekend, you can compare this too using both of your macs.. (use chrome with at least 50 tabs). Using a 16gb MBA M1 1TB btw. Thank you

[@mikesyphoto]

One of the reason why I still love my MBP 2012. Upgradeable ram + upgradeable SSD/HDD. I am still using it up to now. but its kinda showing it age. But id hope they retain SSD/HDD/storage upgradeability

[@ultrathiccboi6987]

Hi max, where can i check my ssd status? what terminal command? great video btw!!

[@pangyongjie6940]

9:57 is the answer for those who had no idea what’s going on and just want an answer :)

[@LordLoldemort7]

tyyyy omg u saved me time

[@lewis4493]

You're a G!

[@bgenesis12]

You rock. However his solutions are bogus. Basically pay apple hundreds of dollars more for extra ram and storage. I can see the storage if you have loads of photos and movies. But only 16gb if you're like a content creator or editor or something. You'd be fine with a base model of you just browse and listen to music. This video kinda served no purpose but to worry people and get views.

[@tismanasou]

Nice solution. Pay 1K more to just push the problem 2-3 more years. I choose to give 1K more to buy a killer AMD laptop with NVIDIA RTX graphics.

[@cnotakufromus]

Thank you!

[@yossiitzinger]

Yes, windows and Linux use swap too, but you can switch the SSD when it dies

[@njpme]

When it dies, your data is gone.

[@夏愛-j7z]

@@njpme the point is you wont throw out the whole device because its not soldered to the mainboard like what apple fucking did

[@Olivia-W]

@@njpme Backup? The issue is not that you lose data, the issue it that when the drive dies the entire laptop becomes unusable.

[@warrenheaton2814]

There are Windows based products that do not allow you to change either the RAM and/or internal storage because it’s an integrated part, they just don’t get the attention that Apple products do.

[@warrenheaton2814]

@@Olivia-W Actually, the issue is that you have to swap out more than just the Flash Storage, but not the entire laptop. With the storage integrated into the motherboard, it becomes a motherboard failure. There’s every expectation that that the M1 MacBooks will hold up as well as the iPads.

[@kamerenoliviabutler4452]

Boy freaked me out just to calm me down and say it’s okay😂😂

[@HoshikageKisame134]

😭😭 me too

[@jepulis6674]

Did he offer to refund you though?

[@diamondbreak]

I think what we're being concerned right now is not the near future issue but the post 5 years degradation of what would happen next if we could not replace the unit.

[@magnussusanoo518]

You can replace it using SSD chip from other M silicon macbook, if you replace with used macbook, SSD chip must be degradated so use a new one or throw away your old macbook and replace it with a new one with new chipset This ESG system is unfair because apple shouldn't be labeled as an "Eco Friedly" company, because of their some ridiculous reason people have to replace their laptops more often try Framework if u want more flexibility

[@masx4813]

They shohld return : 1. Glowing logo 2. Replaceable SSD

[@cybercery5271]

Yes

[@ADeeSHUPA]

@@cybercery5271 uP

[@mts.camilo]

That’s why I still have my trusty 2012 non-Retina 13” MBP. Oh, never mind. It’s just bc of how expensive the M1 is in my place...

[@masx4813]

@@mts.camilo what ?? In my country has same price between intel / m1 MacBook air / pro

[@mts.camilo]

@@masx4813, the Intel MBA is not sold here anymore, but the M1 is at BRL 12,999 ($2,340 USD). On the MBP side, the baseline M1 is at BRL 17,299 ($3,110 USD) and the lowest-spec remaining Intel MBP 13” is at just BRL 23,899 ($4,300 USD). That’s why Apples don’t show up often on our tropical gardens...

[@leonugraha]

Hopefully this kind of issue will be resolved in the upcoming MacBook Pro 14” and 16”. The M1 Mac lineups performance is so tantalizing, but certainly they are still in bleeding edge phase.

[@tomsaltner3011]

Did you understand what “software based” means? Neither SSDs nor swap space are anyhow “bleeding edge”.

[@suisiruy]

If you're worried.. just pay more and buy more terabytes.... Best Apple advert ever.

[@stephangauthier911]

THIS!!!! I just watched a whole video of an apple apologist. I really despise these kind of things as it hurts the market and evolution. We all pay a hefty price (pun inteded) for this kind of behaviour.

[@samguapo4573]

I actually agree with him. That was my plan. To get the 512 or 1tb. Although I'll probably use 100gb only.

[@mzamroni]

It won't solve the problem. Even high end consumer ssd only has 150 TB write. My 6 years old 256GB ssd with history of heavy vm based labs usage is still on 27 GB write out of 75 GB spec. This m1 mac os is indeed has ssd handling problem

[@BartechTV]

@@mzamroni You are absolutely right. My heavily used 2017 15" MacBook Pro that edited hundreds of 4K videos was at 18 TB written when I sold it after 2.5 years. My 2016 12" MacBook is at 17 TB written after 5 years of use. My M1 MacBook Air is almost at the same level of TB written after 8 weeks.

[@samguapo4573]

@@eithw5100 I'd rather pay more than have a shitty product screw up on me.

[@talbeckbarlstilskin7452]

Apple should be paying you for clearing this out...

[@Maximara]

No they should not as it may not be Apple's fault. Not all people are reporting huge swappage to their SSDs.

[@vvhh4284]

@@Maximara a lot of people don't even know how to check the TBW, not even this guy who posted the video couldn't install a simple smartctl to check it.

[@Maximara]

​@@vvhh4284 And Longhorn didn't do the basic cross check of TB*100/percentage = TBW and find out his numbers indicated a TBW for the drive of 1579 (15.7*100/1) nor that 1% in 2 months would mean 100% in 200 months or 16.6... *years* . Your point?

[@vvhh4284]

@@Maximara exactly what i said, many people don't know the TBW. Mine Wrote 1TB in 4 days. It wrote 600gb while asleep for 3 hours, Apple clearly has some bugs to fix. That means with bugs like these I could reach a pretty hefty TBW in about 2 years.

[@Maximara]

What about Microsoft who has their OS flipping *defrag* the SSD?! www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/windows-10-alert-defragger-bug-defrags-ssd-drives-too-often/ When is Microsoft going to point that out? As pointed out the raw writes don't tell you jack. The *percentage* is the key number here what is your percentage?

[@lukasworbs3388]

The performance difference between 8 and 16gb with a full ssd would be verry interessting

[@gillesbkf4315]

Nobody let his ssd fill up completely, think about it. Imo it will just dump unnecessary ram usage when it reaches 80% Ram uses

[@danfuerthgillis4483]

No laptop or Desktop should be swapping with 8 gigs of memory, it is because users are MORONS and don't know shit about Computers and applications and the memory required that these things even exist. I have never ran Windows with a swap file. Windows XP all the way to Windows 11. This explains why M1 mac users are having this issue and not a peep from the Window crowd. I don't know a single person who I know that runs Windows with a swap file, this is the first thing you disable after installing Windows ( hybernation is the next one).

[@tomsaltner3011]

@@danfuerthgillis4483 Think again. It is often not the user but the apps and use cases (such as rendering…) using up mem, swap- and diskspace.

[@tomsaltner3011]

@@danfuerthgillis4483 So you did never use swap on Windows, you believe that this is a good idea and you think that this is a specific „problem“ of Macs and M1? You also believe that most non-Mac-devices are configured as you do? This is simply not true. Swap space is the standard config for all operating systems since a long time, and for a good reason. And if you had followed the video, you would have heard that if you really want, you can configure any OS out there w/o swap space and it is not M1-related at all. It just isn‘t wise, except for some very rare technical use cases with extreme real-time requirements… Even unified memory is not a new concept. It was called „Chip-Mem“ on AmigaOS in the Eighties… ;)

[@danfuerthgillis4483]

@@tomsaltner3011 I do a lot of audio and video stuff so my systems do not run any services ( My IMac or Windows machines) and for many years no swap file we are not in the 1990’s with 128 mb of ram. There is no reason what so ever for any system with a “Competent” users needs to have this shit on period end of story. No IT user worth his ball sack would see this any other way.

[@jutjub22]

I switched from 8GB to 16GB (SSD 512GB), in my workflow, for 30 days it was like this (I use some apps that are note ported yet for m1): - 8GB 16.5 TBW, -16GB 2.5 TBW Pretty significant upgrade for me, had a bit of lag in some extreme cases with 8GB too.

[@The_Penguin_City]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4TCpoOroLWopZY

[@AFatOcelot]

How big was the difference? I just bought the 13 mbp 8GB 512 ssd for the extra chip and 10core and feel like I got kinda screwed esp with the old look…I didn’t realize it would be deficient in ANY way except extreme gaming

[@jutjub22]

@@AFatOcelot this was 2 years ago, some software was still using emulation over rosseta too, so that used kore memory. With 8GB I had lags and issues, Chrome was reloading tabs too, but I use it for programming, running Docker, Visual Studio, Xcode, Slack, Discord. So it is not casual use… Not sure, you would be fine with M1 with 16GB ram too. Or even 8GB for light usage.

[@AFatOcelot]

@@jutjub22 hm ok. I haven’t had any issues with even 20 tabs all running videos in testing so it’s been great so far

[@jutjub22]

@@AFatOcelot it will be fine, takes a lot to make it lag. SSD is super fast, so even with memory full, it works well.

[@mark-qi6di]

I thought you made a video showing that there is no difference in swap for the 8GB model versus the 16GB.

[@DragonsinGenesisPodcast]

My SSD has been going strong for 6 years with no noticeable issues stemming from swap. Swap isn’t anything new. People are only recently learning about it and freaking out.

[@dewan0143]

I guess Ur SSD is greater then 256GB ..😃😃

[@NormalGadgetLab]

Honestly such a high swap usage is incredibly scary since normal use don't even come close to 2-20TBW in a month. Sure the SSDs may last longer than their rating, but the risk of failure increases as well. Max Tech is always kinda based.

[@libertarian1637]

You can actually replace SSD chips, it just takes more skill; Apple switched to soldered on memory, both RAM and ROM because they don’t want user upgradability as it takes $ away from them. I’ve been a long time Apple customer and have upgraded a lot, at least on models that are upgradable. NVME SSDs are just as fast as Apple internal storage but they’re just user replaceable and upgradable which lets you extend the use of your computer instead of buying another one. Some parts naturally wear out like batteries and Apple’s fight to remove repairability demonstrates they hate both their customers and the environment because it forces otherwise functional machines to the trash pile.

[@old-wise-one4473]

While the M1 issue is likely software for many of these, there is also the other variables which we often see in Intel systems which can also cause similar issues! ● Under sized RAM for the users usage i.e. Photo/video editing with 8GB when they really need 16 or more of RAM. The size of the project also comes to play. ● Running lots of Chrome tabs! I had one person show up with over 30 tabs setup to start every time the system was started up. ● Any app running multiple documents uses more swap space! Apple took away an important feature years ago to allow you to run the same app re-entrantly. As an example you can't launch iTunes twice which was a cool feature for those who wanted to edit their library with the songs proper name leveraging the iTunes store. ● Run the system with too small a SSD or over full drive! The OS and your Apps need elbow room! Having your SSD controller having to run: Wear-leveling ,TRIM and garbage collection needlessly!

[@orchishgrunt7888]

If this is so, then why is Apple selling computers that don't have enough 'elbow room' to perform basic OS activities? Why not have macOS partitions reserve/overprovision the disk to optimize for swap? And TRIM/garbage collection actually improves the life of the drive and quality of life for the user since it mainly serves to prepare the NAND cells for new data; otherwise it would need to write twice to the same cells, doubling write operations.

[@Flameboar]

This does not explain why Apple chose to solder the SSD onto the motherboard in the M1 MACs. This issue of SSD swapping is not a potential problem on other computers because their SSDs can be easily swapped out if there is a lifetime problem.

[@mhacker84]

that's Apple...

[@rajsharma-wh2xx]

@@andyH_England bro u should not be here. u r just apple fan. and people here talking about longevity of the product.

[@jimtincher7357]

@@andyH_England soldering the SSD doesn't make it any faster, you just can't replace (when it fails) it or upgrade it yourself. We're in the 21st Century... this should all be modular.

[@rajsharma-wh2xx]

@@andyH_England lol in which world u leaving? agendas and facts u r talking about are your own assumptions not tech

[@michaelkeudel8770]

@@andyH_England I have a 512gb crucial mx500 ssd in my desktop, only 3.4Tb written so far, and the life counter is down to 72% remaining, so your comment is nonsense.

[@brunorbf]

The issue is not the swap file. Most of the modern OS, since the 90's use swap file. The issue lies in the fact that if the SSD dies, you cannot replace it. For me that is a non starter (buying a computer that I'm unable to replace or upgrade the ram and storage), and you should all be conscious of the 'right to repair'.

[@modhatter113]

Yes, I agree whole heartedly with your comment. It appears that Apple has joined the "disposable club" along with so many others including major appliances, which are also very costly to replace.

[@mikebutkus]

This is hands down the best explanation of the SSD Swap Issue 👏

[@bizmonkey007]

@@texyrexy Yeah, you beat me to saying it. Constant Geekery's breakdown is great.

[@asdbef3667]

nah ..not best..even had some major errors in explanation

[@elingrome5853]

Louis Rossman has angrily smashed his way into the chat

[@TheWorld4all]

Just because you understood it doesn't mean it's the best explanation.

[@cmdaltctr]

Just make the ssd repleaceable. Its an existing problem that we all know exist. But oh wait, apple won’t allow ssd replaceable. They are not about saving the environment- its about making more money. Thats all nothing so complex about it.

[@orbit354]

It would not be as fast and efficient then.

[@TheInchii]

@@orbit354 really? How much slower it would be 10-15%? Whats better if you use your machine as an Professional, have 10-15% slower ssd or one day find out that your ssd died and you lost all data, or replace the whole motherboard after 2years if you are heavy user because ssd will be used so kuch that you will need to change motherboard. Performance is important but i would rather have a few % slower machine but be safe and have in my mind that if ssd will die i can change it without problems. Here you will have to swap the whole motherboard if 1 of the elementa will die, until you are under warranty you are fine but if this will happen when your warranty will expire then well just order the new one. Sorry but If i pay 1300euro for a laptop I expect it to work at least 4years and be fixable without losing data or that reapir will be as expensive or more expensive than getting a new one.

[@somnia3423]

@@orbit354 why shoudnt it be?

[@orbit354]

@@TheInchii if your ssd dies you’re losing your data no matter what 😂 Just use an external hard drive or icloud. You’re not safe with a replaceable SSD. I don’t know why you would think that. It’s not only 10-15%. Mac os is definitely profiting from the Soc and the implemented ssd. Power efficiency is even more profiting of that than the Performance. If your ssd dies and that’s very unlikely, the customer service is going to fix it for you. It’s more difficult to repair but not impossible, you definitely don’t have to buy a new MacBook. And you can use your normal macbook way longer than any windows laptop.

[@warrenheaton2814]

What’s bad for the environment is how users choose to discard the device or component after it has failed. Apple will recycle your computer at no cost to you, even if they didn’t make it.

[@coolaj86]

I just upgraded from a Macbook that lasted me almost 10 years (and still had more life in it). The idea that my SSD might break in a matter of 2-3 years *is* terrifying.

[@Elevengotone]

sounds like perfect timing to replace the ssd after your apple care expires!

[@jeremydean5336]

I own Apple M1 with 16GB Macs. A MacBook Pro and a Mac mini. I’m not happy that Apple hasn’t comment on this issue even if it isn’t a problem and if it a bug.

[@taylorshin]

I also had a Mac Mini 2008. It came with a snap lower cap that can be opened easily to expose memory slots. So easy to upgrade. The SATA 2.5" SSD was a bit of challenge to get into. But it was at least easier than arranging cables in an ITX PC. Now?

[@alexanderpeter219]

Great explanation, now we just need to figure out the WiFi connection issues that are occuring in macs, in particular M1 macs.

[@samguapo4573]

Apple can fix this by making the SSD's removable.

[@rajsharma-wh2xx]

@@andyH_England rip only person supporting shit done by Apple. U must have also supported removing headphone jack, then charger from box and now usb port itself. apple laptops with glued battery.

[@tundealuko]

@@andyH_England Everyone knows this but still decided to buy Mac. Everyone has the option to go for Mac or Windows laptop, you can decide to get a windows/Linux machine that is open, but again we chose Mac that’s closed.

[@rnd3898]

@@andyH_England And what if your ssd fails before Apple acknowledges that the problem even exists? I own a MBP 2011, the gpu failed after my warranty expired but before Apple was forced to start the logic board replacement program. So I had to buy a new laptop, since the repair would have been outrageously expensive and it would have been only a matter of time until the new gpu would fail again. Obviously no laptop manufacturer is perfect, but it's beyond me how people can defend Apple for treating their costumers like shit, when it comes to repairs

[@rajsharma-wh2xx]

@@andyH_England if that's the case why apple not giving 3-4 years warranty on their products?

[@raptorduck8785]

It will make it slower... Look at apple and compare with the competence, the other seller of all in one and notebooks. Apple is the one giving the long life span of all, and by much. Im a dude who buyed Lenovos and HP and those notebooks life span are trash, in 3 years you have expensive bricks. With Apple you still have support for 2012 macbooks, and they are still alive. The M1 with that integrated SSD will last at least 5/6 years EASY, is nothing to worry about.

[@JohnnyMotel99]

I have a 2018 MacMini and over 2.5 years it has swapped about 17.5TB of data (using smartmoncontrols). My MBA M1 has written 13.9TB in just 6 weeks....

[@dstrelnikov]

I'm having 3% lifespan usage, Data Units Written: 175,977,801 [90.1 TB], unboxed begin Dec 2020. it writes about 1TB a day

[@DarkCloud360]

You should check some of your apps then

[@dstrelnikov]

@@DarkCloud360 Im having Intell mac pro heavy loaded with daily docker (50GB) from same date and it has only 1/6 of the usage (15TB) :-D

[@jamesgrantham1743]

I’m no excusing apple for this but at that rate you’ll still get 8 years from the MacBook which in my eyes is good for a laptop and that’s if they fail to sort the issue or it fails at 100% hopefully not

[@skip741x3]

970 evo plus bought in dec... im at 5% ..use to dualboot big sur and win 10..

[@bhanukamaddumage3802]

@@texyrexy Lmao not gonna lie, you had me in the beginin😂😂😂

[@MrVanderwel]

"Before you get mad at Apple, do, because they've made it so that you can't swap the SDD out at all" - Fixed.

[@fishreact]

Not only that, but they've also made the M1 unique in that it won't boot from an external drive after the internal one inevitably dies. It requires a working internal drive to even work. Many of the 2015/2016 12" MacBooks you find these days have dead internal storage, and since it's soldered it can't be swapped out, but you can at least continue to use them with an external SSD. not so with the M1.

[@computernerdinside]

There are plenty of ultrabooks that have soldered flash memory as well.

[@toldim79]

@@computernerdinside The only difference is on those windows laptops u still can order the new flash chip and replace it if u are skilled enough but it's not the case with M1 cuz probably u never will able to get a new one.

[@computernerdinside]

@@toldim79 Also realize that the standard customer isn't going to replace a flash chip. Good luck finding shops that will for a reasonable price, without just outright replacing the board.

[@toldim79]

@@computernerdinside You are absolutely right about the standard customer will not able to replace it as mentioned "if u are skilled enough" but still u have to look the big picture. Even though if not everybody will able to replace still some workshop would able to do it and with this, it will reduce the electronic waste which is a big problem besides the fact that is super frustrating if u need to through your MacBook into the bin just because it has a faulty SSD which would cost low as 25 euros if it is a standard 120GB SSD. So if we are talking about the price of a single embedded SSD chip it supposes to be cheaper than 25 from aliexpress to have it soldered with some workshop it will cost 80-100 euros in Ireland still an acceptable price if u compare how much will cost u a new mac. So don't get me wrong i am not saying this chip is bad, it has a pretty decent single performance, cuz It is a very compact design it is a very fast hardware cuz the memory chips are sitting close to CPU and the MACOS is tunned only for this chip, but ones the motherboard die the end-users will pay the price of this compact design, which is not the best thing when we suppose to be "green".

[@normcity1389]

You're missing the point. Hard drives fail. Sometimes after 10 years sometimes after 6 months. It's a fact of computer life. Apple solder hard drives onto the motherboard so you can't replace it if it fails. You have to buy a new machine. This is the point.

[@Jackson_M5]

Can't replace it and cannot even remove it to potientally recover a "partially" dead SSD.

[@IshanKhandelwal]

soldering ssd is worst move. ssd must be user replaceable. my current windows laptop has user replaceable ram hdd and wifi card. don't even need to open complete laptop for this.

[@thorlordofthunder2677]

Ever heard of apple care? Very good service, definitely don’t have to buy a new device unless you want to.

[@Jackson_M5]

@@thorlordofthunder2677 Apple stores are in the upper quantile of retail profitability because they charge exorbitant fees. This is common knowledge. They're so high that the majority of the time, the "genius bar" recommends purchasing a new item.

[@Jackson_M5]

@@thorlordofthunder2677 Look a soldered on cpu, memory and ssd while providing meh or just passive cooling on the cpu and miniscule ram is maximizing bricking and planned hyper-obsolescence. I would expect this on a $400 dollar "disposable" laptop, not a premium one. If you want to be an Apple cultist be my guest, but this is straight disgusting.

[@MadBert]

I've bought the Mac mini M1 with 8GB and 512GB of storage (I need more storage than ram for a fair price) . Since it's first gen I don't think the computer itself is gonna last a great amount of years anyway it's gonna be outdated "soon" I expect 3 to 4 years, more 3 than 4. It happened with the first iPhone, First ipAd, First watch and is gonna happen with the first M1. In 3/4 years my SSD will still be functioning perfectly fine even with 2/3GB of swap memory when editing Photo/video that I do 3/4 days a week. I'm more "worried" about the lifespan of the whole unit rather than having more ram for"future proofing" something that is NOT future proof at all with that impressive but still first gen quickly ageing processor. I'm more into using it to the max it can gives me while spending the less money possible and buying a newer model in 3 years then I'll think what I need and I'll buy probably another Mac with a similar philosophy. Spend less, use it to the max and then buy a newer model. You an always earn some money back selling the "old" unit or just give to a friend so the rest can also enjoy the ecosystem.

[@abhijayapaliwal]

I own a 16 gb mba m1, my swap usage barely goes to 100 mbs max on a high usage, if you are worried about swap, go for 16 gb ram model

[@Char1es4k]

16gb mbp m1 here. Swap memory usage is also quite radical on my device. It goes up to 3-4GB if I keep my Mac open for a week. That being said, SSD usage on my Mac is 6TB written in 3 months, so I'm not too worried about it.

[@abhijayapaliwal]

@@Char1es4k i shut down my laptop every day when not in use

[@Char1es4k]

@@abhijayapaliwal That explains :P

[@Hproawesome]

Of course, the apple effect:pay us more for more ram and storage, then will will fix your godam problem.Even on windows based pc, you can use less storage and still wouldn’t have this problem since most windows desktop and laptop ssd is removable, but since apple design both software and hardware, that what you get for buying overpriced apple products.😒

[@ryansmith9711]

You guys are my favorite tech channel… The amount of research you clearly put into this piece is crazy. I bet you spent eight or 10 hours on the Internet just to come up with these succinct and well thought out facts… Kudos.

[@MuzammilHussain619]

Agreed!👍

[@ryansmith9711]

@@texyrexy Was your comment sarcasm?

[@ryansmith9711]

This is a serious comment. I think you all do amazing work and I can see that you put in a ton of effort to get this video done. I post this reply because some people do not know how to read a compliment. I'm making sure this positive comment does not go off the rails.

[@kudivani]

He should do an actual work on it not just browsing the Internet and he would find out that you can easily use more than 1TB [mostly via kernel_task writing] due to swapping. I have 16gb RAM and when I work in Lightroom and than edit in Photoshop just few pictures swapping is on [more than approx. 1GB seams to be the trigger] and than kernel_task starts writing huge amounts of data, but it will not end when I quit Photoshop. Its using swap memory in same levels than before and the problem continues in Lightroom or any application I run... [Kernel is going like crazy]. Already 60TB written and 2% lifespan usage gone.

[@ryansmith9711]

@@kudivani To put together the statistics they had to do a lot of searching and collating of use experiences. The result is not just an opinion but a well-researched video. My point is simply that they did not just look at a few comments and make the video, they clearly dug in deeply and their conclusions are likely 100% accurate.

[@anitaweasel]

apple should allow hardware swap to really help the environment

[@vaibhav2831]

apple need money

[@anitaweasel]

@@vaibhav2831 one of the most hypocritic companies on earth

[@vaibhav2831]

true

[@vaibhav2831]

just imagine everything in apple to be like system 76

[@paristath6773]

@@anitaweasel If people are still buying their products, then theres no reason for them to lower the price.

[@taylorshin]

Really? One way to help is paying the exorbitant fee to Apple? The real problem is, regardless TBW or not, SSDs can die unexpectedly and abruptly. If this happens, Macbooks these days have no other choice but to visit Apple store to get another Mac(or pay as much as the another Mac) instead of simply changing the SSD module like in most PCs.

[@Barbu_Deluxe]

Love the pace of your videos. It is so much easier to understand for the non fluent in English. Good work !

[@chewsir]

This can have a negative impact on resale value as the hard drive cannot be replaced or upgraded by consumers. If I ever purchased a M based laptop, i would run a battery and hard drive health utility before finalizing the deal.

[@dulistanheman]

Since everybody use RAM swap, I will "Download" the RAM then 😁🎉

[@doomtomb3]

Download this tool to increase the speed of your computer

[@YPO6]

You wouldn't download a RAM?

[@maggyy_]

i got 32 gb totally free

[@jomarnavarro7]

Nah, ram cant be downloaded on m18 mac's, silly, don't you see they are soldered? :)

[@MauroMarcenaro]

so ppl must write and think what u want?

[@rorywalters1614]

If you transfer several TBs of data everyday for sure you're gonna wear out the SSD real fast. They're doing this intentionally. No average users do this.

[@nobodynemoq]

actually, my M1 Air (8GB RAM, 512GB SD) does about 2TB SSD writes a day 😕and I'm not a "power user". I'm using mostly Chrome, and - maybe this is the real reason - Messenger and WhattsApp applications, which appeared to be Intel-based. I've just switched to web-based versions and we'll see...

[@michaelkeudel8770]

@@andyH_England you do know the edge is built off of the chrome code base right?

[@michaelkeudel8770]

@@andyH_England its built from the exact same code, not from scratch or from the ground up, your talking nonsense.

[@michaelkeudel8770]

@@andyH_England they are BOTH built from the chromium code base, yes chrome was built first, and any and all changes were imported back into that same code base. If you think MS hasn't added it's own code into its edge build, then I have a bridge to sell you. MS builds hooks into the OS, it did exactly the same thing to Netscape, look up embrace, extend, and when it achieves enough marketshare, exterminate. That's how Internet Explorer ended up everywhere, because only IT ran MS specific code in the browser. It's another case of lather, rinse repeat. It was the reason for Microsoft being charged and convicted for anticompetive antitrust issues.

[@JL-os7ml]

My M1 (256GB) uses over 1TB data read and 1TB data written everyday.

[@JarosawTabor]

For me his explenation is so apple-fan. My Air is also swapping like crazy with over 18TB in 1 month.

[@kudivani]

@@JarosawTabor same here. What programs/apps are you running? I figured out some solutions for my swapping situation so maybe i can help you too.

[@varunkapoor4819]

There is something I wanna know. Is the 10% like, actual usage is only 1-2% but it shows 10 because of a bug and hence there is no need to worry. Or is it that actual 10% has been used because of a bug and the damage has been done and nothing can be done about it ?

[@houghwhite411]

Both

[@rajatsachan5179]

me, a macbook enthusiast, watching this on windows laptop: Ah, thank you, you had me worried there. {lol}

[@cogulad1067]

LMAO!! Same here

[@mootsym]

same. I have an 08 13" MB and have been using my sister's 2018 hp i3 for the past year (used a work laptop the year prior). Waiting for the 14" MBP to compare to the 16gb Air and if the difference will justify the price for me. Such good machines.

[@cim8097]

What's stopping you from getting a Mac?

[@cogulad1067]

@@cim8097 I really don’t have $1500 rn

[@cim8097]

@@cogulad1067 get an Apple Card and finance it with zero interest

[@serang]

If a laptop has only soldered SSD, no matter what OS is running on it, the owner should be worried. It's a bad design to begin with 🤷

[@Jittrippin2050]

They are doing this to make people buy MacBook Pro, this is why I hate Apple.

[@SeanGold]

Great video and very informative! I just wanted to share my experience on an M1 Air with 8/256GB and I've had it roughly 1 month now, and according to DriveDx I've written over 95TB's and used 9% of my SSD Lifespan in that time.

[@kudivani]

Similar here. Already 60TB written in 2 months. Obviously it is an issue for some users. What programs/apps are you running? I figured out some solutions for my swapping situation so maybe i can help you too.

[@SeanGold]

@@kudivani hello! Thanks for reaching out. My main usage is Lightroom Classic and a bit of CC. I've edited a couple small videos too. But this isn't even me using Lightroom like I normally do, just browsing and organizing with a few edits lately. I can only imagine what it would be if I used it really heavy. Any advice would be appreciated!

[@kudivani]

@@SeanGold so far i figured out these things: the main problem is if yor swap memory jumps above 0.5 - 1 GB [it could be different according to RAM], but when it does kernel_task starts writting like crazy and it is doing with all apps you will use [especially Photoshop and Lightroom]. So try to keep swap memory low. But if it jumps up finish what you need and then log out as user and log in, this should clear your swap, simple quiting programs [Ps and Lr] dont work. The triggers of swap memory: Lightroom's GPU acceleration. Turn it off! [I verified it few times, 100% sure] It seems Lightroom performance is the same. Lightroom's generating previews in parallel. Turn it off! [Not yet verified yet.] Photoshop. Nothing to do with this one. Finish job. Log out. Log in. And continue... And that is it. If it will help you, get back and comment here.

[@Lonnie91a]

So your new m1 is going to last 10 months and it will be junk? That’s not very good. Haha

[@jordyjordyjordyjordyjordy]

Hey! About a year on, do you have any updates on how this is going? Thank you!!

[@Dabbaranks]

Great work! Really appreciate the work you do for the community! I am already at 28TB after 5 weeks of ownership. (M1 Macbook Pro 16 GB / 1 TB). I have Migrated Data from every macbook i've owned since the mid-2000, including to this M1 from a 2013 Macbook Pro retina 15 running Mojave. After some digging and looking at Activity Monitor's disk activity, the main culprit in my case seemed to be 'kernelmanagerd.' It seems people have been having issue with 'kernelmanagerd' (an extension control task) causing fast power drains, but for me it was writing over 20GB to my SSD in under 1 hour after a reboot. I guessed that it was one or more old extensions that BigSur didn't really like. After wiping, doing a clean install, and installing apps fresh, I have not had this process write to my drive at all. In fact, the process hasn't even appeared in my Activity Monitor at all since reinstalling. I will keep an eye on things, but this seems to have fixed my issue...

[@ataturk4779]

What is your new daily swap usage now ?

[@arjunsinha1307]

Yes?

[@ulaganath]

Did you restore from time machine or started all fresh. How much after clean install from 28tb till now.

[@breadone_]

bruh i swear he’s made like 20 videos in this shot already

[@Smart.Potato]

I recently got an MBP M1. before this I had and still have a MBP 13 2014 and the ssd is still going strong with no issues.

[@sveddish]

Yes, but the 2014 MBP used x86_64 architecture, so it doesn't apply.

[@Smart.Potato]

@@sveddish lol What do you mean doesn’t apply? X86 based macOS doesn’t use swap memory?

[@aek_tiesto]

I recently purchased an m1 mac, prior to that, I watched several videos on this channel. Now after this explanation, it's worth subscribing. Thanks for the great work and keep it up!

[@timmeyer6083]

I'm at 8% of lifespan in 1.5 months with 129TB written, which is over 3TB a day.

[@yassienE4935]

I’m going to buy one.... should I be worried

[@yassienE4935]

@@-xYz--nk1gm I’m getting 16gb ram and 256gb storage just like my old Mac hopefully this issue won’t be a problem

[@kudivani]

Similar here. Already 60TB written in 2 months. Obviously it is an issue for some users. What programs/apps are you running? I figured out some solutions for my swapping situation so maybe i can help you too.

[@yassienE4935]

@@kudivani remove discord, whatsapp, chrome and any chromuim bases app

[@kudivani]

@@yassienE4935 how you know this would help? Is there some research on web?

[@SasduPlessis]

Wow, this is some solid stuff. Thanks for your thoutough investigation and clear explanation of this. Could you recommend an app to check the SSD swapping?

[@olafschluter706]

Just stumpled upon this morning, and learned something good. I have some intel-only apps on my system. I found that the major resource hog among those was Logi Options+. Taking 3.5 GB of memory just for warning me about battery state of my mouse or keyboard and displaying some on-screen feedback when I change settings on my keyboard. I disabled it and eventually my Mac wasn't using swap space any longer after just have been booted. And that's with a 16 GB RAM machine. I lost one mouse button due to the fix, but it was the least important one. The figures you showed with rather high percentage of lifetime spent are accurate though, if one takes them into relation to the SSD size (which wasn't in the figures but may be deduced). On my mac mini M1 (16GB, 1TB SSD) the lifetime used is 5% after two-and-a-half-year of usage and the TBW is above the 200 mark. Half the size of the SSD and it would be 10% with the same amount of TBW and I think I saw that combination in your video. Using 2% lifetime/a of a 1TB SSD is considered power-usage by macOS system administrators. I am a software developer. Needless to say that this SSD will still be there when I am no longer. It will last for another 48 years. I won't. Would need to become 106 years old.

[@merefield2585]

The issue should not be software app specific! The OS should manage this whatever is running!

[@chidorirasenganz]

nah MacOS isnt like iOS which kills background processes. Chrome and chrome based electron apps use a lot of RAM and there's not a way around it until google fixes chrome

[@travis1240]

The issue is people buying less RAM than they need. If you're going to use high RAM consumption apps (or even several simultaneously), you need to either have lots of RAM or lots of swapping will happen. Apple didn't reinvent computing with the M1, turning 8GB into 32. It's just a fast CPU with fast swapping to the internal SSD.

[@attha2]

i dont mind this issue in mac if ssd is replaceable.

[@speedyink]

This is spooky...I just was screwing around with these setting on my new Windows laptop the same day you uploaded this. Installed some more RAM, so I adjusted the swap file to make it smaller. You can freely adjust this in Windows, and even disable it. With my usage, I basically use zero swapping as now I have enough ram to keep anything I have running at one time purely in RAM. I set it so it starts with no swapping, but it can still use it if it needs it. My monitoring gadget has shown it hasn't needed to use it at all so far.

[@warrenheaton2814]

You watched to the end, right? The part where there's no need to worry about it?

[@speedyink]

@@warrenheaton2814 I'm not worried, I just like to nerd out and tweak settings, been doing it for decades

[@chunkyg6715]

If you care about the longevity of your mac it’s always a good idea to buy more RAM than you’ll need, at least for a few years. Even with a fast SSD writing data from memory into storage and vice versa is relatively slow and wears out the SSD so best if that’s only done for data you wish to keep. This is inevitable on a MacBook with low RAM with multiple apps running that each consume a moderate to high amount of memory. It’s also a good idea to buy an SSD with more storage even if don’t need all that storage to decrease wear. Given everything is soldered means you can either spend more on a high spec mac or spend less and need to replace the mac sooner, where both options are expensive. Even on Linux systems that use an SSD I never use a swap partition because installing more RAM is better than having to replace a failing SSD.

[@mug786]

buying more ram & storage enables apple anti-consumer behavior. amd & intel are getting pretty good in terms of performance per watt, if you can at all, get another brand. macbooks had no competitors in 2021, but in 2023 there are plenty.

[@lawrencelim6890]

*** Important UPDATE: - this bug was fixed in the Mac OS Big Sur 11.4 software update. This issue was caused by a data reporting error which overestimated ssd usage.

[@asianstud7]

Did they fix the non compatible dongle issue?

[@lawrencelim6890]

@@asianstud7 Mac OS Big Sur 11.2.2 and 11.3 fixed the issue with usb c adapters causing macs to fail.

[@asianstud7]

@@lawrencelim6890 thank you. but it doesnt necessarily mean all dongles will work right?

[@jiridanieltravnicek7192]

Thank you for this video! So is it a bad idea to buy the 8GB RAM version?

[@vartannazarian3451]

Disable internal swap, use external SSD, make swap partition or file, and active swap in external SSD.

[@travis1240]

Not very practical IMO. You can't really use a small thumb drive or SD card/reader for that because they will fail really quickly. You'd need a larger one on a cable and lug it around with you everywhere. Even then you'd be disabling the M1's ultra-fast swapping since you'd be forcing the data to go out over lightning. It's better to just buy a Mac that already has the right amount of RAM.

[@Jackson_M5]

Don't buy from a company that literally fucks you over.

[@picudo]

I appreciate the video as a whole, but in the end of the video there was a very typical fanboy phrase, "it's there for a reason" .... Okay, so all the problems of previous macbooks were there for a reason as well, the godly engineers wanted like that? Keyboard issues, overheating, etc etc? It's basically saying that those engineers and QA team has no possibility of doing mistakes.... It's there for a reason, to make everyone who wants the machine to last more than 2 years, spend 200+ USD more in super expensive upgrades.

[@aronfaine9457]

i mean come on. Swap is "there for a reason" because swap isnt new, its been around across all operating systems for years. The keyboard and overheating issues are specific to certain models, obviously that wasnt "there for a reason." The biggest problem is if Apple will actually have this issue fixed, or if they will say its normal, and if the bug could cause premature wear and require people to buy entire new Macs in just two years or so. Thats a bit of a stretch, but people like Louis Rossman arent stupid. theyve been around the block so many times, its not crazy for them to assume things like planned obsolescence.

[@PMR4U]

Thanks, I’m more confident with the ssd being soldered , I’ll wait for the m1x first to see if they drop the price for the m1

[@chinarut]

wouldn't hold yr breath...

[@PMR4U]

@@chinarut all good, i can wait to see if it’s worth it for the m1x performance and price, if not ill go with the 13” m1

[@williamyang93]

Great video, learned a lot about RAM swapping and glad to hear it’s not something to worry about! Would love to have a follow up video about recent M1s

[@timha4102]

I‘m not so sure I can keep calm when a couple weeks of webbrowsing gave me 5% SSD wear. Imagine trying to sell the Macbook in a year or two and your buyer reads 90% wear in the Smart Values. „But Max said, you shouldn‘t worry about it.“ ;)

[@seaocean4868]

Also a major factor in ssd lifespan is heat. They get really got. It'd be good to test how well the m1 Mac handles ssd cooling

[@j.j.oliphant9794]

I would think another solution would be to use an external SSD for swapping specifically. I know it wouldn’t be quite as fast but with the new blazing fast ports it should be enough for most uses.

[@SaranshDhar]

can you tell how to use external ssd's for swapping specially or if you only give a link to any article or video it will be extremely helpful😊

[@elosoter]

The operating system doesn't allow you to select what drive to use for swap

[@MichaelMarquez-m3b]

I think you would have to boot from an external drive to do that.

[@SToXC_.]

imagine going around with a ssd all the time

[@markday3145]

"Apple would have fixed it if it was really a problem" is being very generous. Apple engineers are not using the same apps you are. They're much more likely to be using native apps, relying less on Rosetta 2. And they're likely to have more RAM in their systems since that makes their builds go faster. It is entirely plausible that they never saw a problem because their internal usage is so much different. Bytes written (both as a lifetime limit, and as a measure of lifetime remaining) can be quite misleading. Lots of small writes cause far more wear than a few large writes (assuming the total bytes is the same). The app you were using showing 100% lifetime remaining might be measuring something different: number of spare pages used. That measure would not be indicative of the rate of wear, especially on a young SSD. With wear leveling, those writes get spread around the disk reasonably evenly. What tends to happen is that most of the SSD reaches maximum wear at about the same time, then it starts consuming spare pages quickly as the normal pages start failing. When that starts happening, you want to migrate to a new SSD immediately because you are at risk of the rest of the SSD failing very quickly. The reason a larger SSD handles more writes is because there's likely to be lots more free space for the leveling algorithm to use. Those free pages are in fact wearing down, but that wear is spread across all pages. One of the best things you can do is to prevent your disk from getting full (like under 90%; even better, under 80%). Buy a bigger SSD than you think you will need, and you'll get massively more lifetime.

[@chinarut]

that is a huge oversight on Apple's part if they only depended on an Apple Enterprise usage profile as part of their durability testing. I highly doubt it. I did enjoy your comment nonetheless :)

[@markday3145]

@@chinarut Not relying only on internal usage, but that’s a large part of it. Until the product is announced, the people using it are employees and a few external developers and seed sites. It’s a key part of limiting leaks. There are formal testing teams that try to do things typical customers would do, but there’s a limit to how comprehensive they can be (because of limited resources). The good news is that Apple gathers usage statistics, and SSD writes are one of the important ones. They likely have a good idea how prevalent excessive write loads are. The hard part is figuring out why.

[@sivamanipatnala5517]

Thank GOD!!! I was so worried that this might be a stunt performed by apple to get a new mac in like the next year coz these m1 macs are just lower end of macbook lineup.....This must be the first time I am happy that it was just a "software bug"....

[@johnforde7735]

Apple have never ever promoted upgrades with planned obsolescence. The design and build the best machines possible. So I'm not sure why you would think it was an Apple 'stunt'.

[@windowstips1430]

Hahahahahahahahaha excuse me ?

[@johnforde7735]

@@sivamanipatnala5517 Yeah, I think the internet amplifies the hysteria. I've been using my same Mac for 7 years with a 1TB SSD drive. No problems.

[@chinarut]

@@texyrexy it's all perspective...

[@johnforde7735]

@@texyrexy Absolutely not. They were caught managing old batteries. It is a feature, not a bug. And guess what, they still do.

[@TheSoulshakepower]

Wow what an amazing work you guys do here, you clearly know your stuff an make it very clear to understand, plus so professional videos (quality, editing). Thanks a lot!

[@rayamc607]

I have had an M1 Mac since November. I use it for animation and development along side several iMacs. I am rending 1000's of frames a day over that period TB's of data constantly and by drive is showing 100% health. I don't think you can use a disc more than I am and if there was a problem with the system then I think it would show for me. Most probably as you say it's individual 3rd party apps that aren't optimised causing the problem. I am using an 8GB/512GM Air - amazing machine! Great video

[@mzamroni]

It is indeed big problem. Ssd hardware doesn't differentiate whether the written data is swap file or not. Regular consumer ssd usually only has 150 TB write

[@LinoshTheHaloGamer]

HDD/SSD swaps have been used for a long time. And considering the amount of lifespan SSDs have you should have at least 7years before it fails on a typical use case (yes even intensity applications such as video editors, 3d modeling etc) By that point the laptop would have mostly been obsolete than worn out

[@divya11114]

We'll have to wait and see for an year or two to see how many macs Apple had to repair due to failing SSD due to swapping. I generally want my laptop to be my daily driver for atleast 4 years before I even consider upgrading it. The thing with apple is that their repairs are so expensive after the warranty period that it's downright outrageous. They try their damn hardest to try and sell you new product by making their repairs expensive.

[@LinoshTheHaloGamer]

@@divya11114 Don't worry about swap killing your SSD. The whole swap kills your SSD came from the times when OSes was designed around HDD. Now situation has improved drastically. However if still are worried...you can keep your multitasking as low a possible. Close browser tabs you don't need. If you're running heavy app like Final cut, avoid running applications. (All these steps minimize RAM usage, thereby lower swapping)

[@thetoolmat8632]

@@LinoshTheHaloGamer What? I can’t have 126 tabs open ? And every program and watch the usage / swap bars turn multi colored? What the heck Apple??? - JK of course, but watching all those “Test” videos that is what they do - why? - it is not a real world sit…. Yeah i can see maybe 10 tabs open? ….Because I forgot 8 were open, and a few programs like LR and PS because they work together… I am not a “Power User” - but Apple needs to be put on the carpet, Right to Repair should mean an easy swap for a Licensed Repairman, who is certified by Apple to do so easily - yeah I am for Apple still controlling their Platform, but for it to be a major problem that cannot be resolved in minutes vs waiting after sending it in - Apple should be responsible for that. Hell even raise the price by $750 to have the ability to be able to replace by the common purchaser…charge the consumer for that capability! - …people would still line up for those machines, just watch!

[@LinoshTheHaloGamer]

@@thetoolmat8632 Strict control on user experience is something Apple magically pulls. Poor repairability is a part of this strict control. They don't want you to use their products the way you want it. But in the way they want it. That's the main reason experience on an Apple device is premium. It does allow users to break the chatered path.

[@Sfp500]

It’s like no one has heard of MTBF. If you want a product to be unusable you make sure that the component with the shortest can’t be replaced.

[@iscaro78]

I started to use Microsoft Remote Desktop BETA for M1 when it came out and me swap usage now is half the size it was before!

[@teachingislam4life639]

Is this a joke? If not, where can I find it?

[@Elfig2011]

So in a way, we can have the same issue on iPads and iPhones , all stuffed with ssd also.....but NO way to check the status on these ssd’s....

[@ryandobal]

you just ruined my day 🥲 just kidding haha

[@ryandobal]

that scares me

[@balwinderkaur311]

I think those 10 percent guys just open apps and always forget to close them so they always have like 20 apps running in background ruining their ssd’s

[@zaxarispetixos8728]

Yeah they are using it wrong lol

[@iamworstgamer]

i do that and my health is still 100% and used it for 2 months

[@sherianderson6528]

@@zaxarispetixos8728 😂😂😂

[@benjaminmiranda2523]

The Macbooks from early 2017 to 2020, the last ones with intel chips have this issue too. When the lifespan of the ssd is reached, the storage basically explodes and ruins all the data inside it. It's not only a M1 issue, i'ts been around for a while. If you are editing heavy files in Final cut, Logic Pro, erasing and copying big stuff to your computer, it will die eventually, and you can't do anything about it.

[@lum123]

Max, I’m feeling more relieved now !! Thanks !! And one question: if I use an external SSD memory, like a sandisk SSD, would this probably reduce the use, wear and then the future problem in the SSD fo the MacBook?

[@divya11114]

Nope. The M1 chip will write to the integrated SSD by default. There's no way to change the swap drive preference as far as I'm aware.

[@alvareo92]

Not for swap or OS stuff, yes for any files you regularly work with. Like if you’re a photo or video editor and you keep them all on that external drive, it will help

[@jii808]

This happened with my 2016 MBP 16GB RAM 256GB SSD. I have 550 TBW in 14 months because of memory swap. 188% of SSD lifespan. SSD is pretty much dead now. I just had the whole logic board replaced 14 months ago. I just bought a new 32GB RAM 2021 MBP, hopefully that solves it.

[@RAaaa777]

Oh yes that definitely solved the issue for apple, thank you for being a nice customer. Your new motherboard/laptop will be bricked in a couple years and you will be back and buy a new one 😊 That's some great engineering by apple!

[@abisography]

Hope my SSD runs until I live. Looking into the current rate, I am positive.

[@MilianMalivukMusic]

Thank you for this explanation and actually doing some research instead of just spreading the rumor of "all the M1's have an SSD problem". That's is called alarmism. Don't jump on hypetrains people, always do your research or wait until a situation clears up.

[@fishreact]

It is not a "rumor" that SSD's eventually die. They do. It is not a "rumor" that Apple M1 MacBooks make much greater use of the SSD than Intel based Macs. They do. It is not a "rumor" that once the SSD dies on an M1 Mac it becomes unusable. It will. In some cases, the machine will last under a year. In others it may last 4 or 5 years, but all M1 MacBooks will eventually become unusable, and people should be aware of that before investing their money in an expensive product.

[@MilianMalivukMusic]

@@fishreact You're right, these things do happen but how many tech channels or pseudo tech websites jumped on this just to get attention without even investigating the problem and completely overweighing the lesser problem cases against all the fine machines. I'm a normal end user, not a computer nerd nor do I work with 200 ultrafloppybites of data every month, so I'm not even sure about if the stress these problematic machines experienced was way above average. I'm a 2013 iMac user, I want to switch to M1 but I'm not in a hurry, I'm definitely waiting things off, especially (negative) hypes to cool down to have a clearer view.

[@thebusinessfirm9862]

I tell you what...you blokes are bloody good! Tremendous research and information. Thanks for making this great video, mate.

[@AdiCherryson]

No I'm not confident at all. Why didn't you show the total amount of writes and reads on your M1 macs. It would be a great indicatior since you've tested them a lot. Second thing. No swapping doesn't do any good if it is performed at this rate. One thing an OS is using free memory is to cache read and write operations to the disk. It is pointless if it makes it at the expense of writing RAM to the disk. Main reason for swapping in this case should be due to OOM and not the perfomance reasons. If you can run your apps without any problems with the swapping turned off then there's something off with those swapping rates. I'd rather have no performance benefits (if any) and my SSD left alone for intentional use.

[@AdiCherryson]

@@andyH_England I'm pretty sure I did understand the issue. What do you mean by "will past the life of your laptop". And when my laptop's life is goint to end? Are you saying that those SSDs will outlive the screen, the keyboard, SOC? Well the battery will degrade for sure but with this rates I'll bet SSDs will be common failure. Next, don't mix RAM shortage with some vague benefits from putting SSD in better use. If it can "sit there doing nothing" without apps crashing from the OOM then there is no real benefit from swapping RAM to the disk that I can think of. If on the other hand there is not enough memory then maybe they should put it more and not using SSD as RAM.

[@arda_]

There are so many weird click baity videos from this channel that I struggle when it comes to deciding if I’ll watch this video that I am genuinely interested about. Something to think about...

[@JDRos]

It’s odd that Rosetta apps would use swap considering that Rosetta apps get a performance hit from not being native, those apps should NEVER be on Swap.

[@mikehuang3136]

Thanks to Max Tech again, you’re saving the world!

[@fishreact]

Over the last 7 days, I have on average 1.18TB written per day, using the Mac for Lightroom and FCP. If the average TBW for the 256GB drive in my Mac is 400TB, I should expect it to last 338 days, or about 3 weeks short of a year. That is a perfectly reasonable length of time to expect a laptop to last before it becomes e-waste. People should just stop complaining.

[@ayokunlesunmola60]

why am i seeing this hours after i bought the mac pro

[@JustGeekstuff]

I strongly believe that it was done intentionally by Apple to generate more profits. Sure the unified memory, Apple Silicone chips are powerful, and sure they wanted to keep the performance high and the best as possible. But, they took advantage of this issue and tried to make a buck by putting a really high/ridiculous price tag on the higher storage space and Rams. Honestly, these RAMs and SSDs don't even cost much them, particularly when they are procuring them in mass manufacturing, they profit at least 100-300% for each upgrade people do. The fact that Apple never even came out and explained this makes this so much more valid.

[@rajsharma-wh2xx]

Even if swapping isn’t causing ssd degrading. Ssd will degrade eventually within 3-4 years and battery 2-3 year. Not many people change laptop within that period of time.

[@rajsharma-wh2xx]

@@andyH_England u would not be using your laptop if that's the case.

[@rajsharma-wh2xx]

@@andyH_England even my iphone battery requires replacement now its just 2 years old.

[@davidgitano27]

Great clip Max. You always come out with great content. 👍🏼

[@RalfWeyer]

One of the reasons I wouldn’t buy a first gen product, and this doesn’t relate to Apple only. I would only buy second or better third gen products, so for an Apple Silicon Mac this will probably be second half of 2022, buy that time it’s basically the third gen hardware, and the OS and all apps should be cleaned up and bugs sorted out mostly.

[@nabilahani3482]

I would like to buy the new M1 MBA, for studies in veterinary field, however due to this SSD Issue, shall I just grab the intel version MBA of early 2020? I also wish to use it for 5 years and above. Need an opinion, tq 🥺🙏🏻

[@RalfWeyer]

@@nabilahani3482 sorry for being late with the answer, which of course is only my personal opinion. As stated before I would not buy a first generation product at all, never mind the the vendor. Like here there can be all sort of issues related to hardware and software, which usually gets sorted out over time. Also this being the first gen product is the worst Apple Silicon Mac there will ever be, since things will get better with future models. Same is true for the software, no matter from Apple or any other vendor. Especially other software vendors probably don’t use the SOC to it’s full potential since some of the specialised cores like Machine Learning are new to them. And if you plan to use the system for 5+ years your are probably better of with an Apple Silicon machine since support for Intel Mac machine will decrease over time especially from third party software vendor.

[@abdel_rahim]

What do you expect from a microprocessor that has the RAM memories soldered onto its own PCB? It is not a product to meet user needs, but rather to meet the needs of Apple's repair service.

[@divya11114]

Right. People need to sell a kidney to first buy a Apple product, then sell another to get it repaired once it's out of warranty.

[@abdel_rahim]

@@divya11114 true. I think that f Apple's repair service gives more profit than Apple's shell service.

[@IamTimClark]

This popped on my list of video's today for some strange reason. A year later and still a nothing burger. There is nothing wrong with my m1 and the swap is not high at all. I use all native apps though. 16GB 512GB M1 with lots of external storage. No issue here.

[@2392youngmoney]

Do you do video editing on it?

[@IamTimClark]

@@2392youngmoney Yes I do. At least 3 times a week I do videos that I upload to KZbin and Facebook.

[@2392youngmoney]

@@IamTimClark thank you for your response, it’s really helped! I’m considering a M1pro 14 16gb and 512ssd. I’m learning how to edit videos and I’m going to use DaVinci. I’m going to edit from an external ssd, so the 512 should be fine. I just wanted to make sure I’d be ok with it. What program do you edit with?

[@IamTimClark]

@@2392youngmoney I edit with Final Cut Pro. It is designed by apple and works flawlessly with the new silicon chips. It is great to have a software that works.

[@AndrerDiogo]

you guys have honestly became one of my fave youtube channels! this video was very informative and very clearly presented. thank you!

[@OscarBenben]

Morality: If you are doing something, finish what you are doing before starting to do something else. That’s more a state of mind and personal structural work issues than MacBook performance issues. The main problem is not the machine, is the people using them wrong.

[@tomsaltner3011]

OSCAR, You look at it from a users perspective. That is a very limited view. Are you aware that there is a multitude (hundreds or even thousands) of processes that are running in parallel the user has none or little control of?

[@OscarBenben]

@@tomsaltner3011 as a user, users things interest me, the rest I don’t care.

[@tbonez5906]

Nice vid, good info. My M1 is still at 0% but I do not use those swappy apps you mentioned and like you said Apple will take care of it if there was an issue because if they did not and peoples drives started failing within 2 - 3 yrs I guarantee their stock would take a major hit by those customers not buying Mac computers in the future. Apple's not greedy stupid to jeopardize their future to try to make people upgrade in that short of timeframe. 5-10yrs these computers should be fine and by most comparisons, people would have upgraded to another new computer in that timeframe, so peeps should not be worried. However, you should be worried about one thing Max Tech... all your links above do not work ;). But I'm sure you can fix that too ;). Great vid man, like your channel.

[@StretchDub]

Wow this actually a great point made!

[@perdomot]

Been using my M1 since November and I am under 3 TB of swap so far. No worries.

[@mtunayucer]

Yeah, i guess it depends on applications installed and used.

[@RobinPodder]

how much is your ssd life spend now?

[@maartentakens8721]

Just checked my usage after 7 weeks, it seems that i used 1 percent of its expected lifespan in this period of time, using it daily for work and photo editing in Lightroom - in Rosetta- well if i do the math and it will continue to be like this ( 1 percentage / 8 weeks ) it will take up 99 * 8 weeks thats 693 weeks or 13 years before it will reach the 100% of its expected lifespan so i don't worry at all about this issue.

[@h9hkk6155]

Apple still sells MacBooks with 8gb memory, that amount of ram was in cheap PCs 4 years ago. Even worse a cheap PC has 8 gb of ram and 2 gb video memory, a MacBook has just 8 - that's some next level cheapskates in apple 🍎

[@13Cubed]

Excellent video. I appreciate you putting this one together. I figured there was a logical explanation.

[@OscarBenben]

That’s an issue not for disorganized people that doesn’t close one door before opening another one. If you use one app at a time or 2, nothing will happen !

[@GiggleNuggetsZone]

So glad to find out my percentage used on MBP 16 is 0% after 14 months.

[@Jackson_M5]

Failure for any component is 0 to a large number.

[@Gearsandco]

My daily machine is a 1tb ssd 16gb ram 8 core gpu M1 MacBook Air, I bought used for a good deal, and I checked the total data written it showed 19.5tb with 1% usage which is not terrible for a4 years old machine, I'm also really impressed and I want to push it as hard as I can now that I added the thermal pads to the heatsink to keep it as cool as possible under sustained heavy usage. who need a m4 Max, I'm okay waiting a bit longer to render and save a lot of money than buying a $2000+ specked up MBP.