During Apple’s ‘One More Thing’ Mac-focused event, the tech giant showed off its first proprietary ARM-based processor, the M1.
The new chip is built on 5-nanometre technology and features 8-cores, with four cores being designed for high-power and the others for high-efficiency. Another notable spec that the company teased is that every single core on the chip’s high-efficiency side is more powerful than the current dual-core MacBook Air (2020).
To add additional context to this level of power, the company’s current A14 mobile chip features a six-core design with only high-performance cores.
Apple also claims that the new CPU and GPU features the best performance per watt across the entire industry. This is important because the chip drawing less power means it should be able to stay cooler. This could be helpful for the tech giant’s MacBook hardware development since it should allow for small and lighter laptops.
Like many predicted, Apple confirmed that iOS and iPad apps are compatible with its M1-based Mac computers. This will be an interesting shift because it likely requires developers to optimize their apps for mouse/trackpad and keyboard input.
During the keynote, Apple also emphasized how its upcoming MacOS Big Sur update is optimized specifically for the tech giant’s new M1 chip.
Further, Apple reiterated that its Rosetta 2 emulation software emulates macOS apps developed for Intel-based macs.
During its keynote, Apple also revealed M1 chip versions of the 13-inch MacBook Air, the 13-inch MacBook Pro and Mac mini.
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