Apple’s M1 chip made its debut with the MacBook Pro and Air in late 2020. Recently, the chip, called Apple Silicon, can also be found in the iPad Pro 2021 and iMac 2021. In this article, you can read everything you need to know about the M1 chip.
Apple’s M1 chip: you need to know this
After months of speculation, Apple announced it would switch to Apple Silicon at the end of 2020. This was big news, as Apple worked with Intel for years. Until the latest MacBook Pro 2020, the Intel chip can therefore still be found in Apple devices.
During the ‘One More Thing’ event, the Cupertino company announced that it was taking a different approach. More devices with the M1 chip are now available, such as the iMac and the iPad Pro from 2021. But what exactly does that chip do? High time for an explanation.
System on a Chip (SoC)
Apple soldered all computer components onto that one M1 chip. For example, the graphics processor and Neural Engine are also fixed on the chip. This is also called ‘System on a Chip’ or SoC. You will also find such a SoC in the iPhone 12 series, for example: the A14 processor.
This SoC has dramatically improved the speed and graphics performance of Macs with an M1 chip compared to those with an Intel chip. The Mac mini, for example, is sixty percent faster than its older Intel brother. The chip makes the Macs a lot more powerful, so that heavy tasks and programs run much more smoothly.
More powerful processor for everyday and heavy tasks
The M1-MacBook’s so-called 8-core CPU is the most powerful processor you could find in a Mac so far. The CPU consists of four efficiency cores and four performance cores. That may sound complicated, but the bottom line is that many hands make light work. The efficiency cores handle the simple tasks, while the performance cores do the heavy lifting.
The four performance cores work together, so that you can, for example, record music professionally and edit photos effortlessly. The other four efficiency cores also work together, but mainly perform the mundane and simple tasks. This ensures that everyday tasks go very quickly, even if you perform heavier tasks in the background.
The graphics processor of the M1 chip is also doing very well. The chip ensures that you can play 8K video smoothly and editing animations and videos is also a lot smoother. In games you will also notice that everything works smoothly due to the 8-core graphics processor on the M1 chip.
M1 chip provides longer battery life
Only one-tenth of the normal amount of power is used when performing simple tasks by the efficiency cores on the chip. This ensures that the battery can last a lot longer.
MacBooks with the Apple Silicon chip are therefore a lot more efficient than their predecessors. According to Apple, MacBooks with an M1 chip have the longest battery life ever. For example, with a MacBook Pro you can watch movies continuously for twenty hours before the battery needs to be charged.
Chip optimizes Machine Learning
In addition to an 8-core CPU and 8-Core GPU, the M1 chip also contains a 16-core Neural Engine. It can perform 11 trillion operations per second. Together with the CPU and GPU, the Neural Engine is completely tuned for machine learning. This means that the device itself can predict things through use.
This way your MacBook learns to analyze sound, recognize faces in photos and much more. You don’t have to worry about privacy-sensitive information that your Mac stores: because everything is processed on your own device, the data cannot be distributed anywhere over the internet. In addition, features such as Touch ID are also arranged on the M1 chip. In addition, the chip uses encryption.
System is perfectly matched to the M1 Chip
Because Apple has both developed the M1 chip and the macOS system Big Sur, they are perfectly coordinated. This allows the entire system to respond more quickly. You notice this especially when you start up your Mac or use apps.
Your MacBook is also better protected by this collaboration. In addition, the M1 chip allows you to use all iPhone and iPad apps on your Mac. Apple has developed a special piece of software called Rosetta. This allows you to run all apps that are actually made for Intel chips without any problems.
More about Apple’s M1 chip
Want to learn more about Apple’s first proprietary Mac chip? On iPhone you can find a lot more about the M1 chip. For example, we answer frequently asked questions about Apple Silicon and we compared the M1 chip with the Intel chip.
Wondering how the first Mac with its own Apple chip fares? We have tested the MacBook Air with M1 chip and you can read all about it in our review. Prefer to watch? Then watch the video below.
The latest news about Apple:
-
New renders show colorful design MacBook Air 2021
-
‘iPhone 15 gets a 5G modem from Apple for super-fast internet’
-
‘Some Apple Watch users receive survey with hint of blood sugar sensor’
-
iOS 14.5: ’89 percent of iPhone users block spying apps’
-
Video shows lifelike iPhone 13 Pro Max dummy with smaller notch