Apple's M1 is just the beginning. What comes next for the Mac will likely change the way we think about computers forever.

Jason Aten, Premium
Dec. 9, 2020, 01:00 PM


apple m1 chip
Apple's successors to M1 could force competitors to get better.
  • Apple's M1-powered Macs have impressed many and convinced users that the tech giant's in-house processors can compete with Intel's chips.
  • What comes next for Apple's other products, including its higher-priced iMac and Mac Pro, could drastically change the playing field, says tech columnist Jason Aten.
  • A recent report from Bloomberg hinted that the company might consider increasing the number of cores in its M-series chips to scale up their performance.
  • The result will likely fix the compromise users often have to make between high performance, battery life, and computer size.
  • "Sure, you can deliver something that bumps up the low end, but the expectations are pretty low on an entry-level MacBook Air," Aten writes. "The challenge is whether you can deliver the same increase in something where the expectations are much higher. Assuming the reports are true, it seems pretty clear that Apple thinks it can."
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Apple's M1-powered Macs have made quite an impression. The first installment in Apple's promise to transition its entire lineup to its own silicon has earned rave reviews from journalists and users.

In many ways, they answered every expectation people had about Apple's in-house processor designs, and whether they'd actually be able to compete with Intel's chips.

The short version: They absolutely can.

They really only left one question remaining - what comes next? More specifically, what does Apple plan to do with the remaining Macs in its lineup? After all, the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini that Apple introduced last month represent the three most entry-level Macs the company makes. There's a big difference between a $999 MacBook Air and a $4,000 iMac or $50,000 Mac Pro, right?

A report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman gives us a look at the answer:

"For its next generation chip targeting MacBook Pro and iMac models, Apple is working on designs with as many as 16 power cores and four efficiency cores … For higher-end desktop computers, planned for later in 2021 and a new half-sized Mac Pro planned to launch by 2022, Apple is testing a chip design with as many as 32 high-performance cores."

It's not entirely clear from the report whether the power cores in these new designs will be the same as the M1, or if Apple is actually working on the next generation. The latter would imply a different design, perhaps something called an M2. 

Either way, this isn't a surprise. The report mostly confirms what most people expected Apple would do to scale the M1 from something that powers its most affordable devices to something that's capable of handling the type of workload users expect from ultra-high-performance desktop computers.

It is, however, the first time there's been reporting to confirm what many people assumed would be Apple's approach. Scaling up the performance of the M-series chips by increasing the number of cores makes sense, especially considering the die size of the M1 is estimated at 120nm2

The 28-core Intel Xeon that you can get in that top-of-the line, $50,000 Mac Pro, for comparison, has a die size of around 698mm2. I'm not suggesting the two processors are comparable. My point is that there's a lot of room to grow. Or, to put it another way, there's a lot of room for more cores.

Maybe more important than how Apple plans to get there is the fact that it's completely changed the way we think about computers. That's because the company isn't making incremental steps. These aren't 15% increases in speed or power

I've been using an M1 MacBook Air for several weeks now, and it isn't just incrementally faster than what it replaces - it's ridiculously faster.

That's the only way to explain it because not only is it faster, it doesn't have a fan, doesn't get warm, and lasts all day on a single battery charge. 

That, by the way, isn't normal. Computers aren't supposed to be able to do that, and it defies everything we've come to understand and expect about a laptop.

Which is sort of the point. Apple isn't just building something faster - it's building something different. Apple's M1 processor, and whatever follows, will force every other computer manufacturer to change the way they think about computers and force other PC manufacturers to adapt. 

As Gurman notes in his Bloomberg report:

"While Intel gets less than 10% of its revenue from furnishing Apple with Mac chips, the rest of its PC business is liable to face turbulence if the iPhone maker is able to deliver demonstrably better-performing computers."

Here's why this matters:

Until now, every computer has been an exercise in compromise.

You could buy an ultra-portable laptop that's easy to take with you, but that usually means it won't be the most powerful option available. Of course, if most of what you do on a computer involves email, using a web browser, or watching videos, that will work just fine. 

If you need something more powerful, there are plenty of options available - they just won't be nearly as slim and lightweight and won't last more than a few hours on battery power. Either way, every computer you've been able to buy until now has been a compromise. On an axis of performance, battery life, and size, you get to pick two. 

Essentially, what Apple has said is that it shouldn't be that way. Apple has proven that those compromises are no longer a given. 

In reality, this shift has been happening for longer than most people recognized. The iPad Pro from 2018, which included an A12X processor, was faster than many laptops, and the iPad has never had a fan to keep it cool. For that matter, neither has any iPhone, which is where Apple cut its teeth designing high-efficiency, high-performance silicon.

And if you've used an M1 Mac or a recent iPad Pro or iPad Air, they don't feel like a compromise. For the things you want them to do, they're simply better. For the experience a Mac user expects, these are better. Like a smartphone, they're responsive and capable. They just work.

Which is why it's staggering to think about what those next computers might be able to do.

Sure, you can deliver something that bumps up the low end, but the expectations are pretty low on an entry-level MacBook Air. The challenge is whether you can deliver the same increase in something where the expectations are much higher.

Assuming the reports are true, it seems pretty clear that Apple thinks it can. And Apple has a lot at stake. It exceeded the expectations of most people, even those who were initially skeptical of Apple's claims. That means that expectations will be higher moving forward, and Apple isn't the type of company that's likely to release something that can't live up to them. It has too much on the line. It's crossed the proverbial "point of no return" and staked its reputation on this shift. 

That shift is an indictment of the way computers have long been designed and built, largely because it represented small, incremental changes year after year. If nothing else, it could help to steer the industry away from its current trajectory, which has always been determined by Intel's product roadmap. The problem has been, Intel can't even keep up with its product roadmap

Ultimately, this change in the way we think of computers will force Intel and AMD and Nvidia to get better. PC manufacturers can no longer simply point at Intel as an explanation for why they're still producing computers that require compromise. At least, not when their customers are pointing at Apple's M1 Macs - and whatever comes after them - and asking, "If they can do it, why can't you?"

Read the original article on Business Insider

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