Chapter 1: Introduction to Apple Silicon

Apple's M-series silicon is revolutionizing app development, and the M2 Pro Mac mini stands out as a powerful tool for developers.

When I received my M2 Pro Mac mini on January 25, I was eager to test its performance against my previous machine, an M1 MacBook Air. The results from Geekbench were striking; the Mac mini boasted nearly double the multi-core processing power compared to the MacBook Air (15,158 vs 7,735). These benchmarks align perfectly with the scores available on the Geekbench website.

With Xcode performance being my main motivation for upgrading, I assessed the build times for several Xcode projects on both machines. The Mac mini significantly outperformed the MacBook Air, completing the projects 2.09 times faster.

Reflecting on the substantial performance boost I experienced two years ago when I transitioned from a 2016 13-inch MacBook Pro to the M1 MacBook Air, I never imagined I would encounter such a drastic enhancement in processing power again. Yet, the M2 Pro has surpassed the M1's capabilities in terms of raw multi-core processing power—it's astonishing.

Chapter 2: A New Era of Performance

For the past fifteen years, I've been a proud Mac user, crafting iPhone applications since 2008, but I've never owned a machine as powerful as this. Throughout the years, I’ve bought several Mac minis, 13-inch MacBook Pros, and MacBook Airs—each a competent device, but none matched the performance of the top-tier Macs of their times. Now, with the 12-core M2 Pro Mac mini, I'm thrilled to possess a machine that ranks third for single-core and fifth for multi-core performance on Geekbench. Unlike the pricier Mac Studio and Mac Pro models, the M2 Pro Mac mini provides high-end performance at a more accessible price point.

The first video titled "The Power of the M2 Pro Mac Mini" dives into the performance capabilities of this remarkable device.

Section 2.1: Finding New Inspiration

Owning such a robust computer naturally inspires creativity. I had previously been dissatisfied with the graphics of my golf-themed Wordle app, "Word Golf Ace," which I developed on the M1 MacBook Air. The M2 Pro Mac mini motivated me to revisit and enhance my artwork. I had been using PaintCode for vector art in my applications but realized I had pushed it beyond its limits. Rather than stretch it further with the M2 Pro, I opted to explore new methods for generating vector art.

To create backgrounds for my golf courses, I initially used bitmap images as references. An online search led me to an article on Medium recommending Photopea for converting bitmaps to vector images and exporting them in SVG format. Although I had previously tried this with mixed results, the capabilities of the new Mac mini compelled me to explore alternative bitmap-to-vector conversion tools.

After researching various options, I decided to use VTracer. Upon generating the SVG file with VTracer, I imported it into Pixelmator Pro to finalize the vector image. Below are comparisons of a golf course image from "Word Golf Ace," created with PaintCode on the M1 MacBook Air, versus an updated version crafted with VTracer and Pixelmator Pro on the M2 Pro Mac mini.

Once satisfied with the image in Pixelmator Pro, I exported it back to SVG format and employed another tool, svg2pdf, to convert the image into a vector-based PDF. While Xcode allows importing both SVG and PDF formats into asset catalogs, I've noticed larger build sizes in TestFlight using either vector format. This issue requires further investigation, and I may need to switch to PDFKit for optimal results.

Since the newly updated golf course images contain irregularly shaped vectors, I opted to release an update for "Word Golf Ace" with the golf courses rendered as bitmaps. I doubt that anyone will notice the difference.

Chapter 3: Conclusion and Reflection

When I developed "Word Golf Ace" at the end of last year using the M1 MacBook Air, it featured 14 golf courses and had a build time of 53 seconds. However, inspired by the M2 Pro Mac mini, I integrated VTracer, Pixelmator Pro, and svg2pdf into my workflow, resulting in the addition of a dozen new courses, significantly improved graphics, and a reduction in full build time to under ten seconds. Although I still have work to do in fully transitioning my vector-based image workflow away from PaintCode, the M2 Pro Mac mini has reignited my motivation to progress.

The second video, "M2 Pro Mac Mini Review: Game Changer!" provides further insights into the transformative impact of this device.

UPDATE: The latest Geekbench Mac Benchmarks now place the 12-core M2 Pro Mac mini at the top for single-core performance and second for multi-core performance. The drastic drop in rankings for the high-end models of the late 2019 Mac Pro remains a mystery.

If you’re a fan of Wordle, consider giving "Word Golf Ace" a try!

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