It will disrupt. Intel and AMD chips aren’t on their first initial CPU release. Apple is with the M1. The future of CPU offerings from Apple looks very bright. An exciting time for computing, I’m looking forward to it.
It will disrupt. Intel and AMD chips aren’t on their first initial CPU release. Apple is with the M1.
Apple has been designing their own ARM-based SoC for more than 10 years now. They've been outperforming the ARM processors in Android phones and tablets the entire time.
They were first to ship 64-bit ARM processors in phones and tablets.
This is a strange argument, because the M1 is not Apple's first release. I believe that was the A5[0]
To be sure, the chart comparing Apple CPU performance over time in comparison to Intel is damning for Intel (and a reminder that this argument makes no sense.)
That doesn't mean it won't disrupt, but for it to disrupt, any last reason someone previously would not consider an Apple computer has to be removed.
* Absolute performance for high-end multiple CPU core workstations doing massive parallel processing
* AAA demanding games being played at 4K with ray-tracing and 60+ fps
* Freedom to repair and upgrade your own computer
* Absolutely no doubt that your software of choice will work as expected without troublesome workarounds
To be sure, lots of users don't care about anything on the list above, or for their rendering, gaming and software needs, they get what they need from an Apple computer. But the M1 does not change that.
Until about 3 years ago, Intel had the fastest laptop and desktop CPUs, and they were available regardless of your preferred OS. So few were choosing Windows or Linux merely because of hardware superiority. Now AMD is a better bet than Intel for Windows, and Apple Silicon is a better bet than Intel for MacOS.
And some people may have been on the fence before but are perfectly suited to switching to MacOS, and will happily do so to take advantage of the power and battery life of the M1.
M1 is not a first. It's a scaled up evolution of their mobile CPU offering that started all the way back in 2013. Their Bionic line present on iPads was already quoted as being faster than some laptops.
And in 2016 they were already making ARM CPUs with Big and Little cores on the same package just like the M1. [1]
Apple has been designing their own ARM-based SoC for more than 10 years now. They've been outperforming the ARM processors in Android phones and tablets the entire time.
They were first to ship 64-bit ARM processors in phones and tablets.
This ain't their first processor rodeo.