Apple has announced two new iterations to its famous M1 silicone called the M1 Pro, and the M1 Max at their online event held on Monday. The new silicone is significantly more powerful in terms of both GPU and CPU performance.
The M1 Max features 10 CPU cores and up to 16 GPU cores. This makes the M1 Pro up to four times faster in GPU performance than the M1 and up to 70% better CPU performance. The M1 Max goes as high as 13 times in terms of GPU performance.
The new Max and Pro processors are designed for its higher-end Macbook Pro models, which were still sticking to Intel’s chips up until now. Both CPUs are also built on a 5nm process, and Apple promises massive gains here.Â
The new Macbook Pros are available for ordering starting Monday on Apple’s website and the Apple Store app. They’ll be available in Apple Stores as well as authorised retailers starting October 26. The new 14-inch model starts at $1, 999 while the 16-inch model will start at $2,499. MacOS Monterey will also be available as a free software update on Monday, October 25.
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New silicon going Pro to Max
While the basic architecture remains the same, the new chips support more RAM with configurations up to 64GB. The new M1 Pro has 33.7 billion transistors, about twice the number that the M1 had. The M1 Max, on the other hand, has 57 billion transistors making it the largest Apple chip made so far.Â
Apple has upped their game for the M1 Pro. The new chip supports up to 200GB/s of memory bandwidth with up to 32GB of RAM. The M1 Pro has a 10 core CPU and 16 Core GPU along with 2048 execution units.Â
The even more powerful M1 Max has the same 10 core CPU configuration: eight performance cores and two efficiency cores. The new memory bandwidth is also doubled, coming in at 400GB/s and support for up 64GB of RAM. The M1 Pro gets a 256-bit memory interface, while the M1 Max doubles this with a 512-bit memory interface.Â
According to Apple, the new M1 Pro can run up to two Apple ProRes XDR Displays while the M1 Max can support up to three XDR Displays along with a 4K TV.
The new 14 and 16-inch Macbooks
Apple has also announced two new Macbook Pros, coming in at 14 and 16 inches. These new Macbooks will feature more ports, the touch bar is gone, and there’s a notch on top of the display to accommodate a new and improved 1080p webcam.Â
The 14-inch Macbook Pro gets a 14.2-inch display running at 3024×1964 resolution, while the 16.2-inch Macbook Pro’s display runs at 3456×2234. Both screens use LED backlighting and slimmer bezels. They also support Apple’s ProMotion feature with refresh rates going up to 120Hz
.Each Macbook Pro now gets three Thunderbolt 4 ports, a full-size SD card slot, an HDMI port and a headphone jack. The new Macbooks are now thicker and heavier than their outgoing counterparts as well. These ports are a welcome addition to the Pro lineup after they were removed in the 2016 redesign.Â
The new Macbooks also delivers better battery life thanks to the new silicone. The 14-inch model offers up to 17 hours of video playback, seven more hours than the previous generation. The new 16-inch model goes as high as 21 hours. Photographers can also get up to two times more battery life when working with Adobe Lightroom Classic. The new Macbooks also don’t lose performance whether they’re plugged in or not.
| Specs | 14-inch Macbook Pro | 16-inch Macbook Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 3024×1964 ProRes, 120Hz 1000 nits sustained brightness | 3456×2234 ProRes, 120Hz 1000 nits sustained brightness |
| Ports | 3 Thunderbolt 4 ports MagSafe 3 1x HDMI Port 1x SD Card slot Headphone jack | 3 Thunderbolt 4 ports Magsafe 1x HDMI Port 1x SD Card slot Headphone jack |
| Battery Life | Up to 17-hours of video playback | Up to 20 hours of video playback |
| Price | Starts at $1, 999 | Starts at $2, 499 |
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