Discussion Apple Silicon SoC thread

[Eug]

M1
5 nm
Unified memory architecture - LP-DDR4
16 billion transistors

8-core CPU

4 high-performance cores
192 KB instruction cache
128 KB data cache
Shared 12 MB L2 cache

4 high-efficiency cores
128 KB instruction cache
64 KB data cache
Shared 4 MB L2 cache
(Apple claims the 4 high-effiency cores alone perform like a dual-core Intel MacBook Air)

8-core iGPU (but there is a 7-core variant, likely with one inactive core)
128 execution units
Up to 24576 concurrent threads
2.6 Teraflops
82 Gigatexels/s
41 gigapixels/s

16-core neural engine
Secure Enclave
USB 4

Products:
$999 ($899 edu) 13" MacBook Air (fanless) - 18 hour video playback battery life
$699 Mac mini (with fan)
$1299 ($1199 edu) 13" MacBook Pro (with fan) - 20 hour video playback battery life

Memory options 8 GB and 16 GB. No 32 GB option (unless you go Intel).

It should be noted that the M1 chip in these three Macs is the same (aside from GPU core number). Basically, Apple is taking the same approach which these chips as they do the iPhones and iPads. Just one SKU (excluding the X variants), which is the same across all iDevices (aside from maybe slight clock speed differences occasionally).

EDIT:



M1 Pro 8-core CPU (6+2), 14-core GPU
M1 Pro 10-core CPU (8+2), 14-core GPU
M1 Pro 10-core CPU (8+2), 16-core GPU
M1 Max 10-core CPU (8+2), 24-core GPU
M1 Max 10-core CPU (8+2), 32-core GPU

M1 Pro and M1 Max discussion here:

Page 78 - Discussion - Apple Silicon SoC thread

Page 78 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

forums.anandtech.com

M1 Ultra discussion here:

Page 109 - Discussion - Apple Silicon SoC thread

Page 109 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

forums.anandtech.com

M2 discussion here:

Page 127 - Discussion - Apple Silicon SoC thread

Page 127 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

forums.anandtech.com

Second Generation 5 nm
Unified memory architecture - LPDDR5, up to 24 GB and 100 GB/s
20 billion transistors

8-core CPU

4 high-performance cores
192 KB instruction cache
128 KB data cache
Shared 16 MB L2 cache

4 high-efficiency cores
128 KB instruction cache
64 KB data cache
Shared 4 MB L2 cache

10-core iGPU (but there is an 8-core variant)
3.6 Teraflops

16-core neural engine
Secure Enclave
USB 4

Hardware acceleration for 8K h.264, h.264, ProRes

M3 Family discussion here:

Page 215 - Discussion - Apple Silicon SoC thread

Page 215 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

forums.anandtech.com

M4 Family discussion here:

Page 263 - Discussion - Apple Silicon SoC thread

Page 263 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

forums.anandtech.com

 

[Eug]

 

[Doug S]

Do we have even the slightest confidence that this means what the poster thinks it means? ie that the model is actually running on the CPU rather than on ANE?

If the claims are true the only way they seem to me possible is if on A19 they are being run on SME, whereas on A18 they were being run on NEON.
At which point (if true) you kinda lose ALL confidence that the people creating or running these benchmarks have the faintest clue what they are doing...

A18 had SME also, why would only A19 show those huge gains?

Though I already have very little confidence in any AI related benchmarks. There are so many gotchas about what datatypes are used, where on the SoC it is running, which platforms it is or is not optimized for, etc.

 

[mvprod123]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1977376249086407108

 

[Eug]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1977376249086407108

1. Heh, Vision Pro again. I don't know a single person who actually cares about Vision Pro, but I guess it will serve as a useful prototype for their Apple augmented reality glasses project development.

2. I know Apple has done this before, but I always found it a bit odd that Apple would release the base MacBook Pro before the higher end MacBook Pros. However, I guess it makes sense since that base MacBook Pro may be a bigger seller in terms of volume. A tonne of people who buy the MacBook Pro buy it for the upgraded features over the Air (eg. ports*, screen, battery life, and previously display support*), but don't actually care that much about the upgraded performance in the higher end models. For example, the non-Pro MacBook Pro is extremely popular with business professionals.

---

*Speaking of ports and display support, in case you're thinking of buying a new M5 MacBook Pro: I just ordered an LG 6K 31.5" monitor, but then learned that Apple has a bug with LG panel based 6K 6144x3456 displays (Dell, Kuycon, and ?LG) that prevents Thunderbolt 4 / DisplayPort 1.4 Macs from using DSC, meaning that 6K is provided at 4:2:2 not 4:4:4, causing text to look like ass. Works fine over TB4/DP1.4 with DSC on 6K 6016x3384 displays (eg. Apple Pro Display XDR, Asus). It's not a bandwidth issue considering the negligible difference in bandwidth between 6144x3456 and 6016x3384, but an Apple compatibility glitch.

Using Thunderbolt 5 / Display 2.1 would bypass the issue, but I'm guessing the new M5 MacBook Pro won't get TB5/DP2.1. Same goes for the M5 MacBook Air next year. This concerns me as I have an M4 Mac mini with TB4/DP1.4. The good news for us M4 Mac mini and for M4 MacBook Pro owners is that HDMI 2.1 should work fine. The M4 MacBook Air doesn't even have an HDMI port, but would full HDMI 2.1 bandwidth work through an HDMI dongle?

 

[ashFTW]

Heh, Vision Pro again. I don't know a single person who actually cares about Vision Pro, but I guess it will serve as a useful prototype for their Apple augmented reality glasses project development.

I love mine but I’m not looking to upgrade.

 

[name99]

A18 had SME also, why would only A19 show those huge gains?

Though I already have very little confidence in any AI related benchmarks. There are so many gotchas about what datatypes are used, where on the SoC it is running, which platforms it is or is not optimized for, etc.

Because an incompetent organization, one that's essentially purely Android focussed, would not think to set the compiler flags appropriately until Android also provided SME?

 

[mvprod123]

M5 To Reportedly Be Announced This Week, But New Update Says The Chipset Will Be Fabricated On TSMC’s 3nm ‘N3E’ Process, Not N3P

A small update concerning the M5 before its official announcement is that the Apple Silicon will be made on TSMC’s older 3nm ‘N3E’ process

wccftech.com

This is surprising, but it could be true, considering that Apple has not increased the P-core clock speed. It also explains why the M5 Pro/Max/Ultra has been postponed until 2026.

 

[poke01]

M5 To Reportedly Be Announced This Week, But New Update Says The Chipset Will Be Fabricated On TSMC’s 3nm ‘N3E’ Process, Not N3P

A small update concerning the M5 before its official announcement is that the Apple Silicon will be made on TSMC’s older 3nm ‘N3E’ process

wccftech.com

This is surprising, but it could be true, considering that Apple has not increased the P-core clock speed. It also explains why the M5 Pro/Max/Ultra has been postponed until 2026.

M5 has a different identifier and codename. It’s most likely is based on N3P.

 

[adroc_thurston]

M5 has a different identifier and codename. It’s most likely is based on N3P.

They're always based on whatever's the latest node available.

 

[Eug]

New Pro Display XDR coming. Maybe a hint for a new Mac Pro too?

Upgraded Pro Display XDR with webcam hinted at in macOS 26.1 beta 3 | AppleInsider

Apple could finally be nearing an update to its 2019 Pro Display XDR, and while rumors are basically non-existent, new code in macOS Tahoe suggests a built-in webcam could be coming.

appleinsider.com