In its probably last launch event of the year, that Apple called “One More Thing”, the Cupertino giant too the wraps off its first-ever Macbook powered by its proprietary Apple Silicon, M1 Chip. And to most of our surprise, Apple has decided to give this shiny new tech to none other than the new Macbook Air, Mac Mini and Macbook Pro.
Just a pro tip before we begin, Apple literally upped its presentation game to an all new level this time. Watch the event rerun if you haven’t and you’d what we mean.
Before we head on to the new devices, let’s talk about the new tech developed by Apple first. As promised at the WWDC, Apple has introduced its own processors for the new Macs, moving away from the Intel chipsets. Based on the ARM architecture, the new M1 chip is claimed to provide higher performance at better power efficiency.
Apple’s new M1 chip is made up of 8 CPU cores that include 4 high-performance cores and 4 high-efficiency cores. To satisfy Apple users’ graphic needs, the company has attached integrated graphics into the M1 chip with eight cores. The latest chipset is based on the fastest, 5nm process node, and carries 16 billion transistors and a massive 16 core neural engine for greater machine learning performance. In short, it is definitely the most powerful chip ever developed by Apple, as claimed by the company.
Moreover, the new Macs also receive the all new and much-awaited, MacOS Big Sur. The new operating system comes with a new design and some new features that make proper use of the integration of Apple’s own chipset. Some of these features include an instant wake from sleep and the ability to launch iPhone and iPad apps on the Macs. macOS Big Sur will be available from November 12.
The first Mac to be powered by the new M1 architecture is an all-new 13 inch Macbook Air. Straight off, Apple says that M1, combined with new MacOS Big Sur, is nearly 3 times faster than the previous generation Air. Ouch Intel, that hurt. The new Macbook Air has huge upgrade in the battery, with a life of up to 18 hours. It will be available in two variants, i.e. one with 8‑core CPU, 7‑core GPU, and 16‑core Neural Engine and 256GB storage, and the other one with 8-Core CPU and 8-Core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine and 512GB Storage. Both the variants will have 8GB of RAM. It costs $999 and $899 for education and will be available to order starting today, with shipping starting next week.
Another device that has received the brand new Apple chipset is the Mac Mini. The new Apple desktop PC device is said to provide 60% more energy efficiency with the M1 chip. According to Apple, the new Mac Mini is five times faster than top-end desktops in the market. It has been priced at $699 and will be available to order starting today.
