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:

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M1 Ultra discussion here:

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M2 discussion here:

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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:

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M4 Family discussion here:

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M5 Family discussion here:

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[poke01]

Specify

There is some law that states phones in EU need to have 5 years of security updates

 

[fastandfurious6]

There is some law that states phones in EU need to have 5 years of security updates

I'd be surprised if common people cared about any of that, bet at least 95% of europeans don't even know what a android security update is or why it's needed

AFAIK almost all phones are available in EU markets, it's major

 

[poke01]

I'd be surprised if common people cared about any of that, bet at least 95% of europeans don't even know what a android security update is or why it's needed

AFAIK almost all phones are available in EU markets, it's major

Yeah most don’t care but when you pay over 1000euros some would consider timely updates to be important

 

[oak8292]

Fully agree and makes sense for real computers but what optimizations are we talking about exactly for phones? Phone CPUs are x100 stronger than needed, even if OS is unoptimized it will still be snappy.

‘Real computers’?

‘x100 stronger than needed’. Who arbitrates what is needed and is this also done for laptops and desktops? Are Apps limited by what some random person decides is too strong?

Literally 99% of phone users in the entire world don't care and don't even know anything about this topic

For 99% of people, Android 11 is as good as Android 18, can't tell the difference

Are we making things up for argument? There are well over a billion iPhone users globally at this point and my guess is that more than a couple of them have bought an iPhone for updates and security. Here is a new article about the latest update which give iPhones back to 5S the certificates they need to continue calling emergency services.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidphelan/2026/01/27/apple-just-released-urgent-updates-for-2-billion-iphones/

 

[MerryCherry]

I don't think iPhones are meaningfully better than Android phones (if you compare like for like).

On the laptop front though, it is a slaughter. No Windows laptop can match the Macbook Air, and very few equal the Macbook Pro.

(Doesn't help that Microsoft is shooting itself in the foot either).

 

[coercitiv]

On the laptop front though, it is a slaughter. No Windows laptop can match the Macbook Air, and very few equal the Macbook Pro.

(Doesn't help that Microsoft is shooting itself in the foot either).

It's still relative. I buy Macs for my wife, but I still can't fully justify them for myself. I need RAM and storage, and once I factor those in the Macbook is twice as expensive as the PC. I'd rather buy twice as often (which I don't, I just buy when need to).

Microsoft is making it really hard for me though. If they don't get their act together the Win laptop I just bought will be my last. In fact I would argue the biggest problem of the PC today is Windows, it's on the verge of actually preventing people from being productive on their own devices.

 

[jdubs03]

It's still relative. I buy Macs for my wife, but I still can't fully justify them for myself. I need RAM and storage, and once I factor those in the Macbook is twice as expensive as the PC. I'd rather buy twice as often (which I don't, I just buy when need to).

With RAM costs what they are now and in the near term. The value proposition is significantly better; as long as they don’t raise prices…

 

[poke01]

Microsoft is making it really hard for me though

even Apple is ruining macOS with bugs and very questionable UI decisions in Tahoe. Their latest update their productivity apps such as Pages, Keynote etc adds advertising and upsell banners. They basically became freemium apps now.

Linux might be the only option for me in the future on laptop too. On desktop it already is my OS.

 

[jdubs03]

even Apple is ruining macOS with bugs and very questionable UI decisions in Tahoe. Their latest update their productivity apps such as Pages, Keynote etc adds advertising and upsell banners. They basically became freemium apps now.

Linux might be the only option for me in the future on laptop too. On desktop it already is my OS.

They do have new heads of design, I assume it'll be refined. I don't mind the idea of liquid glass. Also keep in mind the OS 27 updates are all about improving performance and reducing bugs, ala Snow Leopard.

 

[coercitiv]

Also keep in mind the OS 27 updates are all about improving performance and reducing bugs, ala Snow Leopard.

Microsoft promised the same for 2026, but I actually expect Apple to deliver on the UX front. I have little hope MS will fix the Windows experience, except maybe they'll stop degrading it further.

 

[S'renne]

Microsoft promised the same for 2026, but I actually expect Apple to deliver on the UX front. I have little hope MS will fix the Windows experience, except maybe they'll stop degrading it further.

Apple has a history of fixing their OS so as a current MacOS user I hope they do, unlike Windows who hasn't in recent times

 

[Eug]

unpopular opinion but using latest node / TSMC N3 for phone chips is a total waste

- less than 1% of iphone users use their CPUs more than 50%

- older iphones very popular right now for one main reason: similar to latest but way cheaper. why get latest CPU? just to make UI 4% snappier?

most phones should use 5nm/7nm and leave the best nodes for real machines


I guess it brings free money to Apple & TSMC with no real benefit to consumer

I don’t care so much about cutting edge CPU performance but I care a LOT about battery life.

 

[The Hardcard]

I'd be surprised if common people cared about any of that, bet at least 95% of europeans don't even know what a android security update is or why it's needed

AFAIK almost all phones are available in EU markets, it's major

You make a lot of statements about what people need, want, and care about without any indication that you so much as asked anybody even with earshot. It is reasonable to have opinions about these devices that lead any person to pick Android or Apple.

Objectively, all flagships do everything smartphone buyers use these tools for. Which one is better is purely subjective, regardless of choice. Misconstruing your subjective values as objective truths will always lead to unsubstantiated claims such as the one you persist in making.

Get actual data to back up your claims. I believe you are wrong. The demand for iPhone is hard evidence. You make claims about too much CPU power (which bewilders me to see an Anandtech forum member making this argument, like wow, but hey you be you) and people not caring about updates, but based on what evidence accumulated out in the real world?

“I hate that Apple has a list of advantages so I unilaterally proclaim them all irrelevant “ doesn’t make for useful discussion. Show data that indicates that people don’t care about updates.

As far as compute power, I can use much more. I don’t care if huge numbers of people don’t need it, I freaking need more. My devices regularly get compute hot while I wait to make the next click. Could my software be better optimized? No doubt. But I need the CPU power to chew through the code I actually have to do the tasks I need to do.

I don’t get this. Apple should stop making things better for those of us who need more compute because you don’t have the need? What? Quit being selfish. How does me getting more needed compute hurt anyone else beyond the pain of Apple haters who have to watch Apple being the best at providing it.

Keep using that 2015 Galaxy Note if that’s all you need and stay out of my way.

 

[fkoehler]

The reality is that for 90% of the population, any modern phone already likely has more than enough memory and cpu/gpu for most people's use cases.

I got the wife's hand-me down iphone 7 and 12 in the past years as I always had a company phone. Its a little annoying that some apps are not on iphone, but in the end as I'm not using it as a portable game machine, both have always worked fine with zero issues ever IIRC.

Complaining about advances in tech is a little lol though, especially on a forum like this. If Apple did not invest in tech, others would and more likely than not simply selling as newer/faster/etc would result in the money spigot slowly pump less and less into their bottom line.

Apple could certainly cut with the razor thin aesthetics over power budget 'coolness' although I haven't run into anyone in years who's complained about it as it was before.

At some point, mobiles will return to the Dex and others, and will be phones that are also dockable 'laptops'.

One company I thought I saw is getting ready to ship with the native OS, Linux and Windows. Seems crazy and likely to fail, but speed and memory will be useful in that context.