This story is part of Apple event, our full coverage of the latest news from Apple headquarters.
Apple's next-generation Macs will use a new chip called the M1, a big brother to the A14 chips in its iPhone 12, which Apple says will bring new performance and battery life to its PCs. The same M1 chip now powers new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini models.
The company's goal with the chip is "to achieve industry-leading performance and features while relentlessly focusing on power efficiency," said Johny Srouji, Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Apple Launch Event Tuesday. High-end models will be added to the new Macs over the next two years Apple is gradually kicking Intel off its PCs.
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By doing Apple M1-based MacBook AirThe processor ensures a battery life of up to 15 hours of surfing the Internet and 18 hours of video. The processor speed is three and a half times faster than the previous Intel-based model, while the graphics are five times faster, according to Apple. The new 13-inch MacBook Pro is up to three times faster than the best-selling Intel device, according to Apple.
The processor has 16 billion transistors, a significant increase over the 11.8 billion used in the iPhone 12's A14 Bionic. This allows Apple to increase the number of central processor cores from six to eight. The M1 has four high-performance cores for heavy-duty work compared to two on the iPhone 12 and four high-performance cores for low-priority tasks.
Like the iPhone and iPad chips, the M1 has special circuitry for graphics and artificial intelligence Processing. Apple combines these modules with a unified storage architecture so that the computer does not have to waste time copying data internally when it changes its processing approaches. While the memory chips are separate from the brains of the operation, they are in the same chip package next to the processor for better speed.
Faster, sustained performance on MacBook Pro
The MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini use the same M1 processor, but the fan on the MacBook Pro and Mac Mini keeps the M1 running at top speed for longer. This should be useful for video editing or other tasks that require sustained high performance.
Intel didn't specifically comment on Apple's claims, citing the new 11th generation Core Tiger Lake laptop processors as evidence that they are still competitive: "Intel is focused on delivering the most advanced PC experiences. .. We Believe PCs Are Similar Using Intel Technology Those based on 11th Generation Intel Core Mobile Processors offer global customers the best experience in the areas they value most, as well as the most open platform to developers , both today and in the future. "
Apple hasn't detailed the tests behind its performance claims, but does use a combination of real-world software and synthetic benchmarks to test its speed. Customers considering the new Macs may want to compare the speed with new Intel-based computers, not just previous generation models.
Performance is critical in making the transition to the Mac chip. It influences whether Mac buyers will enthusiastically embrace the new models, sit out for a while, or even buy a Windows computer powered by Intel's new Tiger Lake chips. With the coronavirus pandemic Apple is the best time to attract as many customers as possible.
A developer who writes Mac and iPhone software, Mark Pilkington tweeted who was impressed with the processor. But he was dissatisfied with the number of USB ports - two on the new MacBooks - and even more dissatisfied with the maximum storage capacity of 16GB. Another developer, Benjamin Mayo, responded to this He'll never buy a laptop that's less than 32GB.
However, the M1 is just the first Apple Mac chip. Apple took about two years to completely transform its Macs, including high-end MacBook Pros with larger screens that are popular with developers today, as well as iMacs and Mac Pros. Future models will undoubtedly offer more memory.
The M1 is a more powerful version of the A14 Bionic that is used in the iPhone 12 and iPad Air. The differences include the two additional high-speed processing cores, twice the number of graphics processing cores, twice the memory communication speed, and the overall ability to operate at a faster clock rate.
Rosetta 2 software emulation can outperform Intel Macs
Good performance also means Apple's Rosetta 2 technology is more useful for running Intel Mac software on Apple silicon machines during chip transition. Craig Federighi, head of Apple software, said Rosetta could actually run some games faster than Intel chips - as long as developers tweak them to take advantage of Apple's metal graphics technology.
The M1 chip also contains other technologies, including an integrated controller for processing Thunderbolt and USB 4 communications, a secure enclave for storing the most sensitive data, a signal processor for accelerated adjustments to photos and videos, and engines for compressing and decompressing video and audio.
Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the Apple silicon changeover at Apple's WWDC developer event in June. But it's been in the works for years, with rumors of arm-based Macs dating back to 2012.
The MacBook Air starts at $ 999, while the smaller Mac Mini starts at $ 699 - a $ 100 drop in price, given analysts' expectation that Apple's chips will be cheaper than Intel's for the company , probably easier to justify. The M1-based MacBook Pro starts at $ 1,299.
