Apple boss Tim Cook said last year that all new machines would only run on chips. He soon realized that he was serious about his own processors when the company booked most of the 5nm process’s production capacity from chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC).
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In practice, this means that in the coming year, TSMC will devote 80 percent of its production capacity to Apple alone, at least in terms of the 5nm process. The remaining 20 percent will then have to be fought by other companies – especially Qualcomm, MediaTek and Broadcom. At the same time, they are among the main suppliers of chips for smartphones and tablets.
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The new chips are powerful yet economical.
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Currently, Apple offers only three computers that are equipped with the M1 chip. The individual models differ from each other only in the number of graphics cores – there can be seven or eight – and the size of storage and RAM. The performance is therefore very similar for each model.
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However, according to Bloomberg, work on new processors is already in full swing. The current version of the Apple M1 has eight CPU cores, but according to Bloomberg, Apple is working on a more powerful variant, which will have 12 CPU cores. And there are even plans for 16-core and 32-core chips.
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Apple M1 chip
Photo: manufacturer’s archive
The benefits are undeniable
With more cores, processors will be able to offer significantly higher performance. At the same time, the Apple M1 chip is already more powerful than 98% of laptops sold last year. Another advantage is low power consumption and absolute silence, as the M1 chip, despite its higher power, can do without an active fan.
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The question mark hangs over when the first computers with the new chips will go on sale. However, according to Bloomberg, the 12-core variant is planned for this year. Perhaps the only downside is that all the innovations, like the current machines, will have customized applications. The same programs that ran on older machines with the delicious apple logo are not compatible with the new architecture.
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One of the new machines that uses the Apple M1 chip is the MacBook Air – the lightest and thinnest laptop with the delicious apple logo. Even with its 13-inch screen, it looks just like its predecessor, but it should be up to three times more powerful.
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Battery life has also been significantly extended. When surfing the web, the laptop does without charging for up to 15 hours, and when watching video, even up to 18 hours.
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MacBook Air (2020)
Photo: manufacturer’s archive
MacBook Air (2020)
Photo: manufacturer’s archive
For demanding
The MacBook Pro 13 laptop is designed for the demanding. The main benefits are the same as with the MacBook Air – ie increased performance, longer life and quiet cooling. In this case, however, we will already find a fan inside the laptop.
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The latest machine introduced is the Mac Mini. It has historically been used more as a cheap and small computer, but thanks to a huge increase in performance, it is to be transformed into a real workstation, which will not cause problems even monitors with 4K resolution. Editors working with visual material will also be able to use the novelty without any problems.
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