Apple said in 2020 that it would switch its whole Mac portfolio to Apple Silicon in two years. Later in the month, the M1 CPU and three computers were revealed, followed by a revamped iMac in 2021.
Apple’s initial “System on a Chip” architecture for the Mac is featured in the M-series processors, which combine numerous separate components such as the CPU, GPU, and RAM.
Apple has made it easier for Apple Silicon to run on Macs with macOS Big Sur, Mac Catalyst, and many other developer platforms. This is based on more than a decade of experience building the A-series CPUs, which gave Apple a lot of knowledge about how processors are built.
Because Intel refused to design CPUs for the iPhone, Apple had to create its own proprietary processors. As a result, Apple created unique CPUs for the iPhone as a result, assuring a total vertical connection with the system.
In October 2021, Apple unveiled the M1 Pro and M1 Max in a big presentation. They’re the high-end chipsets found in the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros.
The cheapest 14-inch MacBook Pro with such an M1 Pro and 32GB of RAM costs $2,399, which is $900 more expensive than the most expensive regular setup of the 13-inch MacBook Pro, including an M1 and 16GB of RAM. The Mac Studio has a base price of $1,999.
When compared to identical Intel models, these CPUs deliver up to 3.7x computational power, 13x GPU effectiveness, and 11x machine learning ability. The M1 Pro and M1 Max’s efficiency allows them to get up to 21 hours of use out of their batteries in various combinations.
Apple’s main reason for leaving Intel was to improve performance and efficiency. However, there were other factors at play, such as all of the unique technologies built into Apple silicon to make the Mac even better and stand out from the competition.
macOS includes tools to assist both programmers and Apple users in making the switch from Intel to Apple silicon. All Apple software run directly on Apple silicon and is compatible with M1 Macs.
Apple has stated that it will continue to promote Intel Macs after the company’s Mac product portfolio has entirely transitioned to Apple silicon. Apple has made millions of Intel Macs over the years, and it is well aware that many of its customers keep their Macs for many years. Apple will finally discontinue manufacturing Intel Macs, but this will take many years.