Celebrating Five Years of Apple Silicon
Today marks the fifth anniversary of Apple’s transition from Intel chips to its own silicon for Mac computers. The first of these, the M1 chip, was introduced on November 10, 2020. It made its debut in devices such as the MacBook Air, Mac mini, and the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
M1’s Impressive Kick-Off
The M1 chip was groundbreaking at launch, boasting the “world’s fastest CPU core” and spectacular performance per watt. Since then, Apple has unveiled five generations of silicon, with the latest, the M5 chip, revealed last month in the 14-inch MacBook Pro.
Performance Comparison
Here’s a look at the specifications of the M5 compared to the M1:
- CPU/GPU performance: 6x faster
- AI performance: 6x faster
- AI video processing: 7.7x faster
- 3D rendering: 6.8x faster
- Gaming performance: 2.6x faster
- Code compiling: 2.1x faster
Geekbench Scores
The Geekbench comparison scores highlight significant advancements:
- M1 single-core – 2,320
- M5 single-core – 4,263
- M1 multi-core – 8,175
- M5 multi-core – 17,862
- M1 Metal – 33,041
- M5 Metal – 75,637
Advancements in Technology
Over the past five years, performance enhancements for both CPU and GPU have been remarkable, with improvements in AI and gaming as well. Notable upgrades include hardware-accelerated ray tracing and a continually advancing Neural Engine.
End of Intel Era
Apple offered Intel-based Macs alongside its silicon models for three years, officially retiring its last Intel Mac in June 2023. Consequently, all Apple devices now feature Apple chips, and support for Intel Mac software is winding down.
Future Developments
Looking ahead, Apple silicon technology is set to evolve further. TSMC, Apple’s supplier, is developing 2nm chips expected by 2026, promising a 10-15% speed enhancement and a 25-30% power reduction. 1.4nm chips may follow by 2028, offering even greater efficiency.
