Apple began transitioning away from Intel chips last year with the introduction of the home-brewed M1 chip that powers the MacBook Air, fifth-generation iPad Pro, 2021 24-inch iMac, and Mac Mini. Last month, the company announced even more powerful versions of the M1 — the M1 Pro and M1 Max. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger is eager to win back Apple’s business, but that could prove to be an uphill task.
Next Mac processors to feature two dies, third-gen could come with four
The Information reports (via iMore) that Apple’s third-generation Mac chips are codenamed Ibiza, Lobos, and Palma and they are expected to handily outdo comparative Intel processors.
These chips will be based on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)’s 3nm manufacturing process, its next major node. The current batch of M1 chips has been made using the 5nm tech. Manufacturing will reportedly begin in 2023.
The third-gen processors may flaunt up to 40 CPU cores per chip. The maxed-out variants will likely power the MacBook Pro and Mac desktops and the other variants may fuel future iPads and MacBook Air.
The chips that Apple will introduce next year will continue using the 5nm process, albeit an enhanced version. Thus, they are unlikely to offer considerable gains in performance and energy efficiency. This also applies to the iPhone 14 series.
The M1 Pro and M1 Max are 70 percent faster than the M1 and are meant for high-end Macs. They include up to 10 CPU cores, compared to 8 in the M1. The M1 Pro and Max come with 16 and 32 graphics cores, respectively, up from M1’s seven or eight. As a result, M1 Pro’s GPU is two times faster than M1, and Max’s is four times faster.
The M1 Pro supports 32GB of memory, and Max has up to 64GB. The M1, on the other hand, offers 8GB or 16GB.
