Apple M1X vs M2 chip: What we know so far — and what it means for new MacBooks
Apple M1X vs M2 chip: What nosotros know then far — and what it means for new MacBooks
It's now been just over half a year since we met the Apple M1 chip, the first product of the company's foray into designing its own Mac chipsets, and we can confidently say it's been a huge success. It's so good, in fact, that we honored the M1 with the Breakthrough Accolade in our Tom's Guide Awards for 2021.
The M1 bit has delivered significant performance and power efficiency boosts in every Apple product information technology's been integrated into, including the MacBook Pro with M1, the MacBook Air with M1, and the Mac mini with M1. The M1 scrap besides has no trouble running iOS and iPadOS apps natively, tying Apple's Mac and mobile ecosystems together more than tightly than ever.
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Now nosotros're hearing lots of rumors about what'southward side by side for Apple silicon. The earliest rumors nosotros heard pointed to a clear-cut successor chosen the M2 chip, but over the terminal few months we've also heard enough about a potential M1 follow-upwardly called the M1X that we at present believe Apple is working on two new SoCs: a beefier version of the M1 chip with more than cores and more RAM, expected to debut in new 14-inch MacBook Pro and xvi-inch MacBook Pro models later this yr, and an entirely new chip called the M2 expected to debut in new MacBook Airs in the first one-half of 2022.
So what's the divergence probable to be, and what does it mean for you? Read on for a quick rundown of everything nosotros know and so far about the long-rumored M1X and M2 chips.
Apple tree M1X chip: What we know and so far
- Expected to power 14-inch and xvi-inch MacBook Pro 2021
- M1X tipped to feature x CPU cores, compared to 8 cadre for M1
- GPU could be 16-cadre or 32-cadre (up from eight-cadre) and up to 64GB RAM
Information technology'south been a chip confusing to effort and parse everything we're hearing about the hereafter of Apple silicon, in part because we've heard future Macs volition include more powerful chips branded either M1X or M2. Nonetheless, a MacBook Pro 2021 leak earlier this year from iOS developer Dylandkt (whose Apple tree predictions on Twitter have proven correct in the past) helps elucidate things by suggesting that there are in fact ii chips in development: the M1 successor M2, and an improved version of the M1 known as M1X.
"The M1X is an extension of the M1 that will comprise more Thunderbolt channels, CPU cores, GPU cores, multiple external monitor support, and greater power draw," Dylandkt claims. He predicts these M1X chips would appear in new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, with an expected release date of tardily 2021. "These devices will both characteristic a 1080p webcam, SD bill of fare reader, iii Thunderbolt USB C ports, an updated MagSafe port, and an HDMI port."
Around the same fourth dimension, Bloomberg published a report suggesting that the adjacent iteration of Apple silicon will make it with every bit many equally 10 CPU cores, a notable comeback over the octa-core CPUs on the electric current M1 chip. The same Bloomberg report also suggested that the next generation of Apple silicon could back up as much as 64 GB of RAM and sport a GPU as large equally 16-core or 32-core, which seems like a nigh-unbelievable improvement over the M1 flake's viii GB of RAM and octa-cadre GPU.
While it'due south hard to believe a new M1X chip from Apple could evangelize a 32-core GPU and 64 GB of RAM, it's certainly possible. What's much more credible is the proposition that Apple tree will release refreshed 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros this year sporting M1X chips (or however Apple ends up branding an improved M1) with slightly more than Thunderbolt channels, CPU cores, and GPU cores.
If that proves true, what it means for the xiv-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros (or any other Mac that gets an M1X injection) is simple: significant boosts to performance and battery life, likewise as the ability to natively run iOS and iPadOS apps. The return of MagSafe charging, the add-on of an HDMI port, and (if the rumors prove truthful) slimmer bezels would all just be icing on the cake.
Apple tree M2 flake: What we've heard
- Tipped to launch in 2022 with new MacBook Air
- Rumored to be built on 4nm process (vs 5nm for M1)
- Could have upward to ix-10 GPU cores but just viii CPU cores
Every bit noted in a higher place, we've alternatively heard nigh both the M1X chip and an M1 successor branded the M2. For example, back in Apr Nikkei Asia reportedly heard from sources that a new chipset called the M2 had entered product, which (if true) would mean those chips would be ready to ship in Apple products by the terminate of this twelvemonth.
Now, it's possible that this leak is truthful and refers to the afore-mentioned improved M1X chips we expect to see in the long-rumored 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro refreshes, since those are nevertheless expected to debut in late 2021. However, nosotros've heard enough corroborating leaks and rumors to believe that in that location is a divide M2 chip, and that it's significantly different from the M1X mentioned above.
For starters, the M2 chip is rumored to be built on a 4-nanometer fabrication node, rather than the 5nm process used for the M1. If truthful, that means meliorate operation and efficiency over the M1, because there are more transistors per square nanometer.
Nosotros've as well seen reports from both Bloomberg and Dylandkt that Apple is on rail to release a new MacBook Air sporting an M2 chip in early on 2022. According to Dylandkt, the M2 chip could be a adjacent-gen SoC (Arrangement on a Chip) built off the same foundation as the A15, which reportedly entered production in May ahead of its rumored debut in the iPhone 13 afterward this year.
And while you lot might assume a chip called the M2 would exist better in every way than one branded the M1X, rumors suggest that in fact the M2 could exist slightly less beefy. One of Bloomberg'southward most contempo reports claims Apple tree volition ship new MacBook Airs early adjacent twelvemonth in a bunch of new colors, each sporting an M2 chip with ix-10 GPU cores but just 8 CPU cores. While these chips will still be faster and more performant than the current M1, there's good reason to suspect they'll be slightly less speedy than the M1X chips we expect to run across powering new xiv-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros later this year.
Apple M1X vs M2 chip: Outlook
Leaks and rumors over the past six months have painted a hazy, shifting pic of what to await from the side by side generation of Apple tree silicon. The ongoing chip shortage has likely thrown a wrench into Apple'due south production pipeline, making information technology fifty-fifty more than hard to predict when and what hardware the visitor volition release next.
Still, it'south safe to assume that we will run across a more powerful version of the M1 chip debuting one-time later this year or early on adjacent. The contempo leaks suggesting we'll see an M1X chipset in new MacBook Pros later this year, with an M2 chip appearing in new MacBook Arrogance in 2022, seem quite credible. But even if the folks in Cupertino change things up, one thing's for sure: Apple silicon is a significant comeback over the Intel-based chipsets which have been powering Macs for years, and nosotros can't wait to see what the side by side generation can practise.
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Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/apple-m1x-vs-m2-chip-what-we-know-so-far-and-what-it-means-for-new-macbooks
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