You may have heard about Apple's new "M1 Chip"
If you're fortunate enough to own a 2021 MacBook, iMac or iPad Pro, you have your very own M1 Chip at your disposal.
The M1 Chip is a "system on a chip" - an integrated circuit that contains all of a devices electronic systems. The CPU, GPU, RAM, USB Controller and many other functions, are all contained in this one little chip. The M1 is an alternative to multi-core CPUs. Instead of having a few general-purpose cores and memory, the M1 utilises a variety of specialised chips.
The result:
> Incredible power efficiency - cool, quiet devices with tremendous battery life.
> Outstanding performance - significantly faster and smoother than Intel processors.
> Cheaper than an Intel Mac - no need to buy the expensive kit from other companies.
The benefit of having these pieces living together in one neat silicone package, is the increased efficiency of computations, and faster processing. This, in contrast with a traditional motherboard setup, in which the CPU sits in the middle, and sends its memory data through copper traces to other chips scattered around the board.
Companies Like AMD and Intel rely on this traditional setup because their business model is predicated on selling various specialised chips to computer manufacturers like HP and Dell, that will then have to run on Microsoft Windows. But for Apple, they have full control over their products and developers - they don't have to source IP (Intellectual Property) from other vendors.
Apple have ticked all three boxes here - technological innovation, a quality consumer product, and business success. The M1 was a huge leap for Apple, and it's paying off so far. We look forward to seeing the M2 chip, which should be released later this year. But also to see what AMD, Intel and Nvidia come up with. The market is as competitive as ever, and a competitive market produces the fastest progress.
Thanks for reading!
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