Apple unveiled the next evolution of its M1 custom chip architecture, the M1 Pro and M1 Max, delivering up to six times the performance of the M1.
The M1 challenged the PC industry when Apple first unveiled it. The custom silicon was able to best most Intel chips, while using a fraction of the energy. Apple has now expanded it’s M1 lineup of chips with the M1 Pro and M1 Max, both which significantly improve on the original’s performance, while still offering best-in-class efficiency.
M1 Pro offers up to 200GB/s of memory bandwidth with support for up to 32GB of unified memory. M1 Max delivers up to 400GB/s of memory bandwidth — 2x that of M1 Pro and nearly 6x that of M1 — and support for up to 64GB of unified memory. And while the latest PC laptops top out at 16GB of graphics memory, having this huge amount of memory enables graphics-intensive workflows previously unimaginable on a notebook.
Apple M1 Pro M1 Max CPU Performance – Credit Apple
Both chips have a 10-core architecture, with 8 high-performance cores and 2 high-efficiency cores. While the M1 Pro has a 16-core GPU, the M1 Max ups that to 32 cores. The M1 Pro can be configured with 32 GB of RAM, while the M1 Max can go to 64 GB.
“M1 has transformed our most popular systems with incredible performance, custom technologies, and industry-leading power efficiency. No one has ever applied a system-on-a-chip design to a pro system until today with M1 Pro and M1 Max,” said Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Technologies. “With massive gains in CPU and GPU performance, up to six times the memory bandwidth, a new media engine with ProRes accelerators, and other advanced technologies, M1 Pro and M1 Max take Apple silicon even further, and are unlike anything else in a pro notebook.”
Intel’s soon-to-be CEO is already taking shots at Apple, as the new M1 Macs offer significant advantages over Intel-based machines.
Intel made headlines Wednesday when it announced Intel alum and VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger would replace Bob Swan as CEO. The change comes at a time when Intel is facing pressure and challenges on all sides. Intel is clearly hoping that Gelsinger has the expertise and experience to turn things around.
While Gelsinger isn’t slated to take over the reigns at Intel until February 15, that hasn’t stopped him from challenging Intel to beat Apple in the processor race.
According to The Oregonian, Gelsinger made his comments at an all-hands meeting on Thursday.
We have to deliver better products to the PC ecosystem than any possible thing that a lifestyle company in Cupertino. We have to be that good, in the future.
Only time will tell if Intel can live up to Gelsinger’s aspirations. Either way, he’s definitely giving the company something to shoot for.
Qualcomm has announced it is acquiring Nuvia, a chip company formed by ex-Apple employees, for $1.4 billion.
Qualcomm is the maker of a popular line of processors used in phones and tablets. While Qualcomm’s chips are based on Arm designs, like Apple’s custom silicon, Apple consistently takes top marks in performance benchmarks. It appears Qualcomm’s planned acquisition of Nuvia may be an effort to change that.
Nuvia primarily designs chips for servers, but the company appears to have much wider ambitions. Nuvia’s website speaks of “an opportunity to reimagine silicon design to create a new class of processor that delivers the step-function performance and energy efficiency improvements needed to power the next era of computing.” These plans are likely at the heart of Qualcomm’s interest.
“5G, the convergence of computing and mobile architectures, and the expansion of mobile technologies into other industries are significant opportunities for Qualcomm,” said Cristiano Amon, President and CEO-Elect, Qualcomm Incorporated. “The NUVIA team are proven innovators, and like Qualcomm, have a strong heritage in creating leading technology and products. I am very excited to have them join our team. Together, we are very well positioned to redefine computing and enable our ecosystem of partners to drive innovation and deliver a new class of products and experiences for the 5G era.”
“Creating high performance, low-power processors and highly integrated, complex SoCs are part of our DNA,” said Jim Thompson, Chief Technology Officer of Qualcomm. “Adding NUVIA’s deep understanding of high-performance design and integrating NUVIA CPUs with Snapdragon – together with our industry-leading graphics and AI – will take computing performance to a new level and drive new capabilities for products that serve multiple industries.”
With Apple’s recent switch to its own custom silicon, the race is on to provide high performance processor solutions to the industry, solutions that go beyond what Intel can offer. Qualcomm acquisition of Nuvia is a big step in that direction.
Apple may have just released its first M1 Macs, based on its custom silicon, but the company is setting its sights on nothing less than the performance crown.
Apple made headlines when it announced it was transitioning away from Intel to its own custom silicon, based on the same kind of ARM chips it has used in iPhones and iPads for years. The company was hoping custom silicon would improve its products’ battery life, as well as overall speed and performance. The transition comes at a time when Intel has experienced increasing issues meeting demand and innovating, especially in the high-performance, low-profile designs Apple is known for.
The M1 Macs were unveiled at Apple’s One More Thing event in November, and the initial results didn’t disappoint. The MacBook Air, considered an entry-level laptop, easily bested the fastest MacBook Pros based on Intel’s chips.
According to Bloomberg, Apple is just getting started in the performance game, with plans to unveil a 32-core version of its custom silicon. To put that in perspective, the MacBook Air is running an eight-core processor that has four high-performance and four energy-efficient cores. That means, theoretically, the new processors could be several times faster than a machine that already beats the fastest Intel chips Apple is using in its high-end laptops.
Jean-Louis Gassée, the founder of Be, Inc., made the case in July that Apple’s custom silicon would have profound impacts on the industry and Intel, far beyond the 10% of Intel’s business that Apple represents:
Specifically, what are Dell, HP, Asus, and others going to do if Apple offers materially better laptops and desktops and Microsoft continues to improve Windows on ARM Surface devices? In order to compete, PC manufacturers will have to follow suit, they’ll ‘go AR’ because, all defensive rhetoric aside, Apple and Microsoft will have made the x86 architecture feel like what it actually is: old.
Given that Apple is expected to begin rolling out its 32-core processors in desktop Macs starting in 2021, with the Mac Pro possibly debuting in 2022, Gassée’s prediction may be coming true sooner rather than later.
Apple has announced a “One More Thing” event, scheduled for November 10, where the company is expected to unveil its new Macs.
“One more thing” was a favorite phrase Steve Jobs used to announce some of the company’s biggest products. Even after this death, the company has continued to use the catchphrase in some of its biggest announcements. The MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, FaceTime, Apple Watch, Apple Music and the iPhone X were all unveiled as “one more thing.”
At WWDC, the company announced it was transitioning the Mac platform to its own custom silicon and away from Intel’s chips. Apple has a long history of using its own silicon, based on ARM’s designs, in its iPhone and iPad line of devices. In recent years, those devices have rivaled the performance of traditional computers, but without the heat and energy consumption.
When Apple announced the transition, it said the first new Macs would be available before the end of the year. So it’s a good bet the company’s “One More Thing” event will finally unveil the new computers. Many experts expect a revived 12-inch MacBook or a new 13-inch MacBook Pro to be the first device released. Either way, the world will finally know next week.
TSMC has reported its earnings and things are looking good for the semiconductor manufacturer.
TSMC is currently benefiting from multiple industry trends. The global pandemic has increased demand for datacenters as companies are turning to the cloud to continue running.
Similarly, US officials have placed greater emphasis on in-country semiconductor manufacturing, as the pandemic showed the dangers of relying solely on overseas manufacturing. Capitalizing on that, TSMC announced its plans to build a semiconductor factory in Arizona
While not immediately benefiting TSMC, another factor that should help it in the long run is Apple’s decision to move Macs from Intel chips to custom silicon. TSMC already makes the custom silicon in Apple’s iPhones and iPads. It stands to reason TSMC will likely handle the chip manufacturing for Apple’s Macs as well.
As a result of these various factors, according to Bloomberg, TSMC “reported sales of NT$120.88 billion ($4.1 billion) for June on Friday. That likely means TSMC’s revenue grew about 29% to NT$310.7 billion last quarter, based on previously reported figures, beating the NT$308.8 billion analysts expect on average.”
It’s likely TSMC will continue to rise, both in the short and long-term. These various factors will also help offset lost business from Huawei, as the US has greatly restricted TSMC’s second-largest customer.
