Apple raised many eyebrows this summer when it announced it would stop using Intel processors. The Mac computers would instead migrate to their own processors based on the Arm Instruction Set Architecture (ISA). Intel and AMD have been dominant in the PC laptop and desktop market for decades. Intel has been the sole supplier of processors to Apple’s Mac range for over 15 years. However, Apple has a long history with Arm.
Arm specialized in building energy-efficient processors that only consumed a few watts of power. This meant they were perfect for smartphones and tablets. From the very first iPhone to the present day, Apple has used Arm-based processors on its mobile devices. With that wealth of experience and expertise, the Cupertino company concluded that it could build processors that were energy efficient, but also offer competitive performance. Therefore, it decided to expand the reach of its smartphone and tablet processors and enter the PC market.
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And so the Apple M1 processor was born. It is the SoC found in the new MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro and Mac Mini. It is also the first of a line of processors where Apple will completely replace Intel in every Mac model. This transition will take about two years, and the three new M1-based devices are just the beginning.
But is the M1’s performance competitive, or has Apple made a mistake? Let’s find out!
Apple M1 specifications: at a glance
Credit: Gary Sims / Android Authority
The Apple M1 is a SoC. That means it has a CPU, a GPU, a Neural Engine and I / O (like Thunderbolt). It has 16 billion transistors and is manufactured using a 5nm process.
The M1 has four performance cores, each designed to perform a single task as efficiently as possible with maximum performance. Four efficiency cores can handle lighter tasks. There is also an integrated eight-core GPU. According to Apple, the M1 offers up to 3.5x faster CPU performance, compared to the 1.2 GHz Intel Core i7-1060NG7 of the previous generation MacBook Air.
If you want more information about the Apple M1, you might find my Apple M1 and New Macs Video helpful.
Apple M1 benchmarks
Credit: Gary Sims / Android Authority
To test the performance of the Apple M1, I use a MacBook Air with the 8-Core CPU / 8-Core GPU variant of the processor, along with 8 GB RAM and 512 GB storage.
According to the official Geekbench results, the MacBook Air scores 1,690 for the Single Core test with the M1. That means the new MacBook Air delivers better single-core performance than any existing Intel Mac. Not just any Intel MacBook Air, but any Intel-based Mac.
The new MacBook Air delivers better single-core performance than any existing Intel Mac.
For multi-core, the M1-based MacBook Air scores 7,304. With only eight cores, this won’t be earth-shattering. The late 2019 Mac Pro has a 28-core Intel Xeon processor, so the simple 8-core MacBook Air won’t beat it. However, it beats any other Intel-based Mac that isn’t Mac Pro. The only exceptions are the very high-quality 27-inch iMacs from 2019 and 2020. Very impressive for Apple’s first laptop processor!
Cinebench is a real-world test that evaluates a computer’s processor by only running CPU rendering tasks and measuring its performance. Cinebench R23 gives the M1-based MacBook Air a score of 1,515 for single-core performance. That’s higher than the Intel Core i7-7700K, higher than the Intel Core i7-1060NG7, better than AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990, and just below the 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1165G7.
Credit: Gary Sims / Android Authority
As with Geekbench, the multi-core score won’t be revolutionary. It scores 7,326, which is interestingly better than the Intel Core i7-7700K and the Intel Core i7-1060NG7 (from the previous generation MacBook Air). But there are plenty of processors with 16, 24, 32 or more cores. These of course score higher.
Speed test G PC
Speed Test G is our custom performance testing system that takes the best parts of traditional speed tests and combines them with the benefits of benchmarks. It mainly runs on Android (although there is a version for iOS) and measures performance by launching a series of apps that perform both single-core and multi-core tasks. Just like in real life, not everything is single-core, but not everything is multi-core either.
Speed Test G PC, a new version of Speed Test G – this time for desktops and laptops – gives the MacBook Air a run time of 56 seconds. That’s faster than the 2019 MBP 16-inch with the i9-9980HK and faster than the 2019 MBP 13-inch with the i7-8569U.
Thermal limitation
The MacBook Air has no fan or active cooling. This makes it a perfect candidate for testing the thermal properties of the M1 chip. Does the processor slow down as it warms up? If so, how many?
After a night in the office, the MacBook Air had a surface temperature of around 20 ° C. I then ran several programs to maximize the CPU and GPU. This included Speed Test G PC and the Unity benchmark of the mobile version of Speed Test G (but built for the M1 on macOS). It was also connected to the mains and generated heating as a byproduct of charging. When the processor started to warm up, the bottom of the laptop got warm (due to the passive cooling), especially in the center back. This heat slowly spread out from that center.
Apple has managed to jump straight into the laptop and small desktop market at a competitive level.
After an hour of heavy use, the temperature at the bottom of the device reached 41 ° C. In addition, the battery stopped charging (although it was not full or even close to the smart battery level of 80%). This was due to the heat. There is probably software that detects the thermal situation and stops charging to make sure the device doesn’t get too hot. After the load on the processor was reduced, the laptop started to charge again.
While the laptop was nice and warm, I ran the Cinebench R23 multi-core test again. The result was a 7,110, down from 7,336 – less than 5%.
This means that the processor, like any processor, generates heat under heavy load, but the passive cooling can disperse that heat efficiently. The overall impact on performance is minimal.
Apple M1 tested: the verdict
Credit: Gary Sims / Android Authority
Apple has managed to jump straight into the laptop and small desktop market at a competitive level. The M1 is fast. Is it the fastest chip in the world? No, but it was not designed for that. Is this the fastest processor ever used in a Mac laptop? Absolutely. Will it handle your workload? Almost certainly.
Opinion: Don’t be fooled by performance, Apple’s M1 silicon is all about platform control
It also means that Apple has successfully taken the first steps to replace Intel processors in its Mac lineup. The next iteration of processors – the ones that will be used by the iMac – will be very interesting, as Apple will try to loosen Intel and AMD’s grip on the terrain that has traditionally been their stronghold. Can Apple? If the M1 is a measure of the company’s potential, the answer is a resounding yes.