Recently, Apple announced its latest Apple Silicon M1 chip that is going to power the latest Mac PCs. Apple is finally ditching Intel’s hardware and swapping it out by manufacturing its own Mac exclusive SoCs. Ever since the announcement of the new M1 chip, the tech world has been buzzing. Some are praising Apple for finally leaping into making its own SoC for Mac PC while some are worried about the future of Intel processors.
Even though Apple has started manufacturing its own SoC, it is still offering its last generation of MacBook Pro and Air powered by Intel’s 10th Gen processors which were launched six months ago. Considering Apple has devices powered by both its own SoC and a third-party Intel’s SoC it is a must that we compare them. Today we will be comparing the latest M1 chip powered Apple MacBook Pro 13 with the Intel-powered MacBook Pro 13.
Let’s discuss what makes the M1 chip so compelling that the tech world is worrying about Intel and what lies in the future for both companies:
Performance:
The new M1 chip has made some big waves in the tech world. The most huge and compelling claim that Apple has made is that the new M1 chip will bring 3.5x faster processing power than its Intel-powered predecessors. This is a huge claim but Apple seems to be delivering that speed and performance. Running Apple’s native applications is a breeze they load fast, they run faster, and get the task done at immense speeds. The M1 Chip has 8 cores. Geekbench also showed some great performance comparisons as M1 had a higher single-core and multicore performance number than the Intel chips.
Single-Core Performance:
M1 sits at 1,718 and the 10th gen i7 sits at 1,578
Multicore Performance:
M1 chip sits at 7,534 and the 10th gen i7 sits at 6,102
These numbers on paper are a good difference and it sure is visible while using too but Intel’s performance is not bad at all. Its performance is also good and applications will also run smoothly on it. M1 Chip has 8 cores and Intel’s i7 has 8 cores too. But due to the complete control and integration of Apple’s software over its M1 chip, the performance does get an edge over the i7’s performance.
Due to the M1’s high-performance cores, coding and compiling programs is also faster than the Intel processors. The difference is very minute but as times are progressing speed is becoming the most important factor for consumers.
Graphics:
Software:Well, performance and battery for sure are great key factors but the software side of things are also as much as important as other factors. We will divide the software into two parts:
• Operating System:
Apple’s MacBook runs on OSX out of the box and both M1-powered and Intel-powered MacBook Pro 13 are no exception to this. Both M1-powered and Intel-powered MacBook Pro 13 handle the operating system pretty darn well. However, the ARM architecture of the M1 chip brings a mixed bag of software experience for its users. Windows do not fully support CPUs that are based on the ARM architecture. Windows did try to develop an ARM-focused OS the Windows RT but that project became old news and no one again remembered that project that could have shaped the future of ARM-based PC SoCs. So, if you are planning to buy a Mac PC and want to have the dual-boot option then an M1-powered Mac PC might get you in a tough position. For this functionality, you better stick to an Intel-powered MacBook.
• Applications:
Let’s start with the good part. With Apple powering MacBook with ARM-architecture M1 chip, the applications that were only available on iPhone and iPad will also become available on MacBook. This will bring great functionality to the users who are immersed in the Apple ecosystem.
This functionality is not available on Intel-powered MacBooks as they use x86-x64 architecture which is not supported by applications made for iPhones and iPads. On the bad side of things, the ARM architecture of M1 chips does not support running MacBook applications as mostly all of them are built according to the architecture of the Intel-powered MacBook. This gives an edge to the Intel-powered MacBook as they already have access to a wide range of applications and have to face no problem while running them.
To tackle this Apple has introduced its Rosetta 2 program that translates all the Intel-supported applications to run on M1 powered MacBook. The implementation Apple has done is remarkable the performance is spectacular however you might run into some errors and problems here and there. Although if you are a professional and want the best experience possible you should go for an Intel-powered MacBook Pro 13.
Hardware and Design:
For the design, Apple has not changed anything. It has gone for the design that was introduced in its last generation of MacBook. The MacBook Pro 13 both the M1 chip one and the Intel one have the same screen, the same scissor keyboard, same 720p camera module, touch bar, and build quality. There is only one visible thing that is different in them and it’s that the M1 powered MacBook Pro 13 has 3 USB Type-C/Thunderbolt ports and the Intel-powered MacBook Pro 13 has 4 USB Type-C/Thunderbolt ports. It is not that much of a difference but if you need more than 3 ports you might have to settle for a dongle.
The new M1-powered MacBook Pro 13 also has Wi-Fi 6 other than its Intel-powered predecessors which use Wi-Fi this will give you an edge on the connectivity and make your device useful as more Wi-Fi 6 supported routers are hitting the market.
The RAM and storage are also integrated into the processor chip of M1. This makes the M1-powered MacBook Pro 13 limited to upgrading RAM and storage. The most RAM and storage offered in M1 powered MacBook Pro 13 is 16GB RAM and 512GB storage. In Intel-powered MacBook Pro 13, you have to option to upgrade RAM and storage later on. You can also buy 32GB of RAM and 2TB of storage.
Battery Life:
Other than performance the other major claims Apple made about its new M1 chip is its battery life, saying that the new MacBook Pro 13 can run on a single full charge for up to 17 hours with wireless web browsing and 20+ hours for video playback. These are huge claims by Apple as their latest Intel-powered MacBook Pro 13 was a champ at maximizing usage of 10+ hours which is a pretty long time too. But consumers want more and it seems like Apple has given more to them with its new M1 chip.
According to Apple, the 8 cores of the M1 chip are divided into 4 cores for performance and 4 cores for efficiency. These dedicated cores help the M1 chip to achieve its fast performance and great battery life. If you are looking for a laptop with a performance that is leading right now and longer battery life, the latest M1 chip-powered Apple MacBook Pro 13 will surely satisfy you.
The Final Verdict:
Being tested by many people, M1 is far from being just good. The M1 chip’s performance is best in class, the performance is so remarkable that it might even be better than Intel’s processors. Apple’s native application runs smoothly on M1 and multitasking is a breeze. M1 does live up to its promise in real life, as most tasks run just as smoothly as it would run on an Intel CPU-powered PC. Moreover, battery life has been pretty remarkable too.
The latest M1 chip is still pretty new considering it’s the first effort at a PC SoC by Apple. Apple has not always been great at introducing new stuff to the masses. For example, the butterfly keyboard on older generations of MacBook, the first Apple Watch’s software required a complete redesign and other mishaps. Apple does sure know how to bring innovation but it also sure does suffer from bad first attempts.
The new M1-powered MacBook Pro 13 starts at $1,299 rather than the Intel-powered MacBook Pro 13 which starts at $1,799 making the first one more likable considering its great performance and great price tag. But if you are a professional and do not need any hiccups that might hinder your rent-paying work then you better opt for the Intel-powered MacBook Pro 13.
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