At the start of his conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook recalled that tonight’s conference was the firm’s third big event since September. After reviewing all the products and announcements made during the first two keynotes, Tim Cook launched the “One More Thing” conference which primarily concerns Macs and more specifically the new M1 processor.
A chip developed for Macs
Apple has lifted the veil on its new processor designed specifically for Macs. From now on, PCs will have their own chip, dubbed M1, like the A chips for iPhones. With this new processor, Apple is making many promises.Based on Apple’s ARM architecture, the M1 system on a chip (SoC) integrates both the CPU and GPU, including the neural engine, RAM and security enclave. An all-in-one chip that embeds 8 CPU cores and up to 8 GPUs. Engraved in 5 nm, the chip integrates 16 billion transistors.
Technical features that make Apple’s new processor for Macs up to twice the power of a traditional PC chip while consuming three times less power.
MacBook Air 13”
The first computer from the American firm to take advantage of the M1 is the MacBook Air. A logical choice on Apple’s part, this line of laptops is indeed the brand’s most popular due to its entry-level status.
Thanks to the Apple home chip, the new MacBook Air will be able to deliver performance 3 times higher than that of the brand’s previous models with an Intel processor. The machine will be both faster and perform well when running heavy software.
The integration of an M1 chip will allow the MacBook Air to be much quieter since it will not have a fan, now unnecessary. Apple also promises a nice battery life of 18 hours, or 6 more hours compared to previous models. Finally, the computer has Touch ID and again displays on a Retina display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600.
And the good news is, despite the integration of a new in-house chip, Apple is keeping the line’s prices. The new MacBook Air shows an increase of only 10 $ compared to the model presented last March. A reduced price increase for five-star performance. The MacBook Air with M1 processor starts at $ 999 and will be on sale from November 17. Pre-orders are already open.
A new Mac mini
The mini version of the Mac is also entitled to a revision including the new in-house processor. Apple announces three times better CPU performance than the model equipped with an Intel processor and six times better graphics performance.
Equipped with a fan, the new Mac mini will be able to maintain its performance even during intensive and prolonged use. The box has an HDMI 2.0 port, two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, two USB-A ports, as well as a mini jack port.
The new Mac mini has a starting price of 699$ and pre order starts today.
MacBook Pro
And the latest to get a review is none other than the Pro version of Apple laptops. Once again, the promises made by Apple are particularly enticing. The new MacBook Pro would thus be 2.8x faster than the previous version and 5x times fast in graphics performance.
The laptop is said to have a battery life of 20 hours, a record for a MacBook pre-orders are open – the new MacBook Pro equipped with an M1 chip is on sale at the starting price of $ 1,299.
