In 2006, Apple started using Intel processors in its devices. Then, on November 17, 2020, Apple announced that it would include its new M1 chip in its MacBook Air, the 13-inch MacBook Pro and the Mac Mini.
The M1 chip is based on the Arm architecture instead of the x86 architecture used by Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) and Intel. Apple has been using Arm architecture chips for several years on its iPhones, modifying and improving them to increase performance.
Under the M1 hood
The M1 is an 8-core processor, with four performance cores and four efficiency cores that are used only during peak performance.
Several things make the M1 unique. It is manufactured using the state-of-the-art 5 nm (nanometer) process from the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for creating transistors, which is superior to AMD’s 7 nm process and Intel’s 10 nm manufacturing process. A nanometer is a billionth of a meter, and the smaller the transistor, the more it can be compressed into a single chip.
The M1 has unified random access memory (RAM) that allows for incredibly fast data transfer and comes with an 8-core graphics processing unit (GPU) that in many cases offers graphics superior to those of the Intel Xe graphics processor, which is used in 11th generation Intel processors. The M1 also comes with a 16-core Neural Engine for machine learning and tasks related to Artificial Intelligence.
Where the M1 really shines is its high performance per watt. This low consumption of electricity comes with two main benefits:
- Less heat generation – allows Apple to eliminate fans, resulting in a thinner device design
- Longer battery life – the M1 offers a 50% to 80% gain in battery life over Apple’s Intel processors.
Reviewer Joel Hruska said of the Apple M1 chip: “It represents the most potent threat to the x86 domain that I have seen in my entire career.”
AMD Ryzen chips come with up to 64 massive cores, which increases its multitasking capability. On November 5, 2020, AMD announced the launch of its Ryzen 5000 series of mobile processors.
How M1 compares to Intel and AMD chips
In side-by-side testing, PC World tested an Apple MacBook Pro M1, which includes an M1 Arm-based SoC / CPU, a 512 GB custom SSD, 16 GB LPDDR4X / 4267 memory and a 13.3 inch 2560×1600 screen . Against him, they analyzed several laptops of similar sizes, including:
- Prestige 14 Evo from MSI, which includes an 11th generation i7-1185G7 four-core Core with Iris Xe graphics, 16 GB of LPDDR4X / 4267 memory, a 512 GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD and a 14 inch FHD screen
- Prestige 14 from MSI which includes a six-core 10th generation Core i7-10710U, GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q graphics, 16 GB of LPDDR3 / 2133 memory, a 1 TB PCIe 3.0 SSD and a 14 inch 4K screen
- Yoga Slim 7 from Lenovo that includes an eight-core Ryzen 4800U with Radeon graphics, 16 GB of LPDDR4X / 4267 memory, a 512 GB PCIe 3.0 SSD, a 14 inch FHD
- Acer Predator Triton 500 with a 10th generation six-core Core i7-10750H CPU, GeForce RTX 2080 Super graphics, 32 GB DDR4 / 3200 memory, a 1 TB PCIe 3.0 SSD and a 15.6 FHz 300 Hz screen inches.
PC World reported that the 3D rendering tests resulted in the M1 being “a stone-cold killer” with no fan noise, while the fans on board the x86 laptops were running. Most notably, the 8-core Mac M1 beat out laptops with a Ryzen chip and most laptops with an Intel chip, with only the MSI Prestige 14 getting a little ahead.
PC World also reported that tests carried out by Puget Systems on Photoshop, which is a single thread process, showed that the M1 surpassed the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7, with its Ryzen 7 4800U chip. However, Intel’s 11th generation Tiger Lake chip won the MacBook Pro M1 by a small amount. What made the biggest difference in Photoshop testing was the amount of memory available.
As of November 18, 2020, Adobe Photoshop runs natively on Apple M1 Macs and Microsoft Surface Pro X tablets, which also include Arm-based processors. Microsoft’s Surface Pro X tablet is the only one that uses Qualcomm’s custom Arm-based SQ1 chip, which was developed exclusively for Microsoft.
Intel shoots Apple’s bow
Perhaps feeling pressure from the M1, Intel started firing at Apple, citing benchmark tests. On January 5, 2021, Tom’s Hardware published slides of a recent presentation from Intel that pitted the M1 against Intel chips in a variety of tasks, including photo enhancement, organizing albums, choosing stock options and duty of care. home online.
However, Tom’s Hardware pointed out that the Intel chip used in the comparison is Core i7-1185G7, while the Intel chip used in most laptops is Core i7-1165G7. The i7-1185G7 is used only on a production laptop – the MSI Prestige 14 Evo.
Even more peculiar was that Intel switched between different Apple devices during some of the tests. It switched to a MacBook Pro with only 8 GB of RAM instead of the 16 GB model, and in a battery life test, Intel switched to an Intel Core i7-1165G7 notebook, the Acer Swift 5, instead of staying with the Core i7-1185G7.
Intel has included in its statistics the performance of the M1 in games that currently do not work with macOS and the M1 CPU, including Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, games in Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Crysis Remastered and Red Dead Redemption 2.
In its presentation, Intel praised the broader form factors offered by Windows machines, such as 2-in-1s, small form factor desktops, desktops with touch screens and even easels. Apple currently lags behind in the areas of touchscreen and 2 in 1 convertible. Intel recently launched a Twitter campaign to show tasks that are impossible on M1 machines, perhaps indicating a certain level of desperation on the part of Intel.
Only one PC offers tablet mode, touch screen and stylus features in a single device. #GoPC
– Intel (@intel) February 2, 2021
Microsoft, Google and Amazon are said to be interested in the low-power features that M1 offers, which would be especially beneficial for use on servers. As we reported recently, Intel’s revenue from cloud service providers fell 15% from the previous year, showing a possible weakness in its data center business. Microsoft, Google and Amazon may try to develop their own chips, with Microsoft and AMD already reporting that they are working on their own ARM-based chips.
Should you buy an M1 device?
The bottom line must be that the first to adopt M1 devices may have to suffer for a little while before developers catch up with them. One important area where M1 appears to be lagging behind is in games, but that will change as developers migrate their applications to the Arm architecture. Apple is well known for optimizing its software and hardware to create what its fans consider unmatched performance.