After iterating for over a decade in the iPhone and iPad, Apple in 2020 brought its custom silicon chip technology to the Mac, enabling major performance and power efficiency improvements. Since then, Apple silicon has expanded to every Mac model, spurring new designs and capabilities that were previously impossible.

Understanding the distinctions between Apple silicon chips will help you make an informed decision when selecting the right Mac for your needs. There have been two generations of Apple silicon for the Mac, each with four different chip variants. The main differences between the four different chip variants are as follows:

• M1 and M2: Standard Apple silicon chip with a balance of performance and power-efficiency.
• M1 Pro and M2 Pro: Apple silicon chip with additional high-performance CPU cores and twice the memory bandwidth of the M2 chip (200GB/s).
• M1 Max and M2 Max: Doubles the GPU cores and memory bandwidth (400GB/s) of the M1 Pro or ‌M2‌ Pro chips for better graphics performance.
• M1 Ultra and M2 Ultra: Encompasses two M1 Max or ‌M2‌ Max chips for double overall CPU and GPU performance, as well as twice the memory bandwidth (800GB/s).

Apple Silicon Generations

With the introduction of the ‌M2‌ series of chips in 2022, Apple made some key improvements over the initial M1 series from 2020.

The below table provides a comparison between the ‌M1‌ and ‌M2‌ series, highlighting differences in the chips they are based on, node, CPU clock speed, Neural Engines, and more:

The standard ‌M2‌ chip also features several additional changes over its ‌M1‌ predecessor, including:

It is worth noting that all Apple silicon chips other than the ‌M1‌ chip contain media engines for hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW video.

Devices

Each Apple silicon chip is only available in a select number of Apple devices. The standard ‌M1‌ and ‌M2‌ chips are present in a large number of laptop and desktop devices, several ‌iPad‌ models, and even the upcoming Vision Pro headset, owing to their requirement for a balance of performance and efficiency. On the other hand, the ‌M2‌ Ultra, Apple’s most powerful custom silicon chip to date, is only available in the high-end Mac Studio and Mac Pro.

CPU and GPU Cores

CPU cores are individual processing units within a Central Processing Unit (CPU) responsible for executing instructions and performing general-purpose tasks, while GPU cores are specialized units within a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) designed for parallel processing and graphics-intensive tasks.

The number of CPU and GPU cores in an Apple silicon chip impacts the performance and multitasking capabilities of a Mac, with more cores leading to faster and more efficient execution of tasks, especially in intensive workloads. The table below presents a comparison of the core configurations and GPU specifications for the different variants of the ‌M1‌ and ‌M2‌ chips:

Deciding how many CPU cores you need depends on the specific tasks and workflows you intend to perform on your Mac. For example, if you primarily engage in basic tasks like web browsing, document editing, and media consumption, an eight-core chip should suffice. On the other hand, if you work with demanding workloads like software development, opting for a higher core count can provide significant performance benefits. Similarly, graphics-intense workflows like video editing, 3D modeling, or gaming will benefit from additional GPU cores.

Benchmarks

Computer benchmark scores are standardized measurements that evaluate the performance of chips, providing a numerical representation for comparing capabilities and assessing performance against industry standards. The data on this chart is calculated from Geekbench 6 results users uploaded to Geekbench. Geekbench 6 scores are calibrated against a baseline score of 2,500 (which is the score of an Intel Core i7-12700 performing the same task).

The below Geekbench 6 scores show the range from the lowest specification chip in the least powerful Mac to the highest specification chip in the most powerful Mac.

Both the ‌M1‌ and ‌M2‌ chips demonstrate significant performance improvements in single-core and multi-core tasks as you move from the base to the Ultra variants, with the ‌M2‌ chip showcasing even higher performance across the board. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that benchmarks do not tell the whole story. Benchmarks focus on specific tasks and synthetic workloads, and do not always accurately capture real-world usage scenarios and variations.

Unified Memory

Apple silicon chips have a unified memory architecture, meaning that the RAM is tied directly to the processor for maximum speed and efficiency. This means that the chip you choose determines what memory option are available, and it is not upgradable at a later date.

Deciding how much RAM you need depends on your specific tasks and usage patterns. 8GB should be enough for most users, but upgrading to 16GB or 24GB could be sensible for users with more intense multitasking requirements. Amounts of memory beyond 32GB are generally reserved for seriously demanding workflows.

Final Thoughts

Overall, if you are new to Apple silicon and are still not sure which chip to buy, use the following rationale:

• Buy M1 or M2 if… you need a good balance of price, performance, and battery life and have normal day-to-day computing requirements.
• Buy M1 Pro or M2 Pro if… you need a performance-focused chip for slightly more intense workflows.
• Buy M1 Max or M2 Max if… you need additional graphics performance for working with images, videos, graphic design, or games.
• Buy M1 Ultra or M2 Ultra if… you need the best possible overall performance for extremely intense professional workflows.

It is generally not worth upgrading from any of the individual ‌M1‌ chips to their direct successors and it may be better to wait for Apple to launch the M3 series of chips. Apple has not yet released any M3-series chips, but the company is rumored to launch the ‌M3‌ chip toward the end of 2023. It is expected to be Apple’s first chip based on TSMC’s 3nm process, a significantly smaller node, which should lead to major performance and efficiency improvements over the ‌M1‌ and ‌M2‌ chips that are currently on offer.

This article, "Apple Silicon Buyer's Guide: All the Differences Explained" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Benefits of OLED technology for iPad Pro displays would include increased brightness, higher contrast ratio, greater color accuracy, and lower power consumption compared to existing models with LCD panels. Apple already uses OLED displays for the latest iPhone and Apple Watch models, excluding the lower-end iPhone SE.

iPad Pro models released in 2017 and later support ProMotion, allowing for a variable refresh rate between 24Hz and 120Hz. The switch to OLED would likely allow for the refresh rate to drop down even further to 10Hz or lower to save battery life. iPhone 14 Pro models can reach as low as 1Hz while in always-on display mode.

Apple will reportedly be using very thin hybrid OLED displays with a combination of flexible and rigid materials, which could allow for the iPad Pro to have a slightly thinner design. The panels will be costly to manufacture, according to Ross Young of Display Supply Chain Consultants, so the next iPad Pro models will likely be more expensive.

The current iPad Pro models were released in October 2022 and feature Apple’s M2 chip, support for faster Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity, and hover functionality for the second-generation Apple Pencil. iPad Pro updates are often around a year and a half apart, so an early 2024 launch for the next models would make sense.

iPad Pro display sizes are expected to see a slight increase from 11 and 12.9 inches currently to 11.1 and 13 inches with the next models.

Omdia expects the first MacBook Pro with an OLED display to be released in 2027.

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The luxury $60,000 record player is the first non-Apple hardware project Ive is known to have been involved in since he and four other colleagues left the company in 2019 to found the design firm LoveFrom.

The premium piece of audio technology features many of the classic hallmarks of an Ive-approved product, right down to the smoothed off aluminum edges, circular elements, and neutral, minimalist aesthetic.

Speaking to Fast Company, Ive said he had owned multiple Linn products over the years, explaining that “music has always been profoundly important to me.” He continued:

“So you can imagine, I think the first consequential music player that I designed was the first iPod, and that began a journey of multiple generations of iPod, and multiple AirPods and music accessories. I feel really fortunate to have gone the full circle… so many years on from my first visit to the factory.”

Ive describes the LP12-50 as “a very gentle and modest project for us that was really motivated by our love and respect for Linn.” Indeed, according to Fast Company, LoveFrom completed the work pro bono, and has no contract or other financial arrangement with the company.

“There’s a substantial percentage of our work which we do purely for the love of doing it,” Ive told the website, which noted that the design firm relies on its longer-term contracts with the likes of Airbnb and Ferrari to make money.

Since leaving Apple to found LoveFrom, Ive and fellow designer Marc Newson have designed a typeface, an emblem for the coronation of King Charles III, and a red clown nose for British charity Comic Relief.

Apple said in 2019 that Ive would continue to be involved in design at Apple and that it would be one of LoveFrom’s primary clients. For example, Ive was reportedly involved in the creation of the 2021 iMac. It’s unknown whether LoveFrom has worked with Apple since, and the design firm tends to keep a low profile.

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This guide highlights everything new in the third beta of ‌iOS 17‌.

Deleted Photos

In the Recently Deleted album, Apple has made tweaks to the interface. Rather than separate Delete and Recover buttons, there’s now a small three-dot menu icon at the bottom of the display that can be tapped to bring up the recover and delete options.

With no images selected, options include Delete All and Recover All, but with images selected, there is an option to recover or delete specific images. When dealing with Live Photos, if you select one or more ‌Live Photos‌ and tap the management icon, there is a new Save as Video option.

If you are deleting or recovering images of a person, you can choose the “Feature This Person Less” option.

Mental Wellbeing

Apple has made minor design refinements to the Mental Wellbeing section of the Health app, giving it a more streamlined look and color scheme. The colors for various emotions have been changed, and the buttons and background now match mood choice.

Very unpleasant is a lighter purple with more blue and less red, neutral is more of a blue green shade than before, slightly pleasant is a brighter green with more yellow, pleasant is yellow instead of green, and very pleasant is orange.

There’s also an option to turn on reminders to log moods on a scheduled basis. Times include in the middle of the day and at the end of the day, with a customized schedule available.

Apple Music Song Credits

In the Apple Music app, there’s now an option to view song credits by tapping on the three-dot icon next to a song that is playing, searched for, or in a playlist. Credits show all of the performing artists, composition artists, and those who were involved in production and engineering.

This section also houses the option to see the full lyrics, which has been removed from the standard dropdown menu, plus it offers information on the audio quality available such as Lossless or Dolby Atmos.

Home App

There’s now a splash screen that lets you know what’s new with the Home app. For lights that support multiple colors and tones, there are now pre-selected options at the bottom of the interface for quickly changing the color. The color options also show up in Control Center when accessing a specific light.

iOS 17 Public Beta

It’s likely that the third developer beta of ‌iOS 17‌ is the same beta that will be provided to public beta testers, and we could see a public beta in the near future.

Apple promised a public beta in July, and now that are well into July, it could be coming at any time.

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Registered developers are able to download the tvOS 17 update by opting in to the beta through the Settings app on the Apple TV. A registered developer account is required.

tvOS updates don’t typically garner as much attention as updates to iOS and macOS, and are never as feature rich, but tvOS 17 brings FaceTime to the TV for the first time. The ‌Apple TV‌ 4K can connect to an iPhone or iPad that serves as the camera, with the ‌FaceTime‌ interface showing up on the TV’s screen.

All of the ‌FaceTime‌ features are available, including Center Stage to keep you front and center, plus there are new gesture-based reactions that let you use your hands to generate on-screen effects. For example, if you make a heart with your hands, the screen will display hearts.

Split View for ‌Apple TV‌ lets users watch television with friends and family using SharePlay, and there are controls for transferring calls between the TV and an ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌ as needed. Third-party apps like Zoom will also be able to take advantage of this functionality, so those apps will also work on the TV screen.

Control Center on ‌Apple TV‌ has been revamped and it is easier for users to access key settings and information, plus there is a new feature that allows the ‌iPhone‌ to locate a Siri Remote that’s been misplaced.

tvOS also features a range of new aerial screen savers, adds support for third-party VPN apps, introduces Dolby Vision 8.1 on compatible devices, and more. Details can be found in our Apple TV roundup.

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Information shared in April by display analyst Ross Young suggested that an Apple Watch Ultra with microLED display would launch in the second half of 2025 at the earliest, rather than late 2024 as was originally rumored.

Now, Trendforce believes it has been postponed for a second time and is unlikely to emerge before the first quarter of 2026, because of problems relating to high manufacturing costs which need to be solved before Apple can proceed to mass production.

Apple has reportedly invested more than $1 billion on in-house microLED development over the past decade to reduce its dependence on Samsung Display and tighten control over the supply of key components in the display panel sector.

The ‌Apple Watch Ultra‌ is expected to be the first Apple device to adopt a microLED display. The current ‌Apple Watch Ultra‌ uses standard OLED technology, whereas MicroLED offers many of the benefits of OLED along with some improvements.

Compared to LED displays, microLED is much more energy efficient and it would likely notably increase battery life on the ‌Apple Watch Ultra‌ and other devices that adopt the technology in the future. Unlike OLED, there’s much less risk of screen burn-in, and microLEDs have a longer potential lifetime.

MicroLED displays also provide contrast improvements and faster response times because of the pixel-level individual lights, plus the color is better and brighter. In a nutshell, it’s a next-generation technology superior to OLED and miniLED.

Apple is already testing microLED displays for the Apple Watch, and the displays are said to feature brighter, more vibrant colors and a look like content is “painted on top of the glass.” Apple is planning to bring the technology to the iPhone and other devices in the future.

As with all early rumors about devices that are a year or two or more out, they can be unreliable in terms of launch timing, as Apple often has to push back its release dates due to delays in design, component sourcing, manufacturing, and more.

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1. Redesigned Apps – Apple has overhauled almost all of the stock watchOS apps with a new design language that takes up more of the screen and offers more information at a glance. The Activity app, for example, has new views that show in-depth information on calories burned, workout minutes, and more. The Heart Rate app has a pulsating heart and your current BPM, and the Weather app makes it easier to see the temperature and other conditions you care about. Photos, Podcasts, News, Music, Mail, Calendar, App Store, and tons more apps got updates.
2. Smart Stack – Widgets are a major focus in ‌watchOS 10‌, with Apple offering a new “Smart Stack” of widgets that can be accessed by turning the Digital Crown. The Smart Stack displays widgets that are relevant to your day, and you can customize what’s there too. The Smart Stack gives quick access to everything from Activity and Calendar to Reminders, the Music app, Shortcuts, Wallet, and Workout.
3. Control Center – In addition to Smart Stack for quick access to the functions you need most, Apple made it easier to get to the Control Center. Just press on the Side Button to open up Control Center in an app or at the Home Screen.
4. Watch Faces – There are two new watch faces, including Palette and Snoopy. Palette shifts through different colors throughout the day with a customizable color palette, and Snoopy features characters from the popular Peanuts cartoon like Snoopy and Woodstock. Snoopy is one of Apple’s most sophisticated watch faces to date, with Snoopy and Woodstock interacting with the hands of the watch and animating in different positions based on the time of day, weather, and other factors.
5. Mood Tracking – Both ‌watchOS 10‌ and ‌iOS 17‌ support a new mood tracking feature. On the Apple Watch, you can open up the Mindfulness app and choose the “State of Mind” option to log how you’re feeling either at a specific moment during the day or for the overall day. You can scroll to select a mood like Pleasant, Neutral, or Unpleasant, and then you can narrow down the emotion you’re feeling with Apple providing suggestions. From there, you can select what’s impacting your mood, like relationship, work, community, friends, hobbies, and more. Information is aggregated in the Health app so you can see your mood over time and what influences how you feel.

There are also new Workout app features for hikers and cyclists, along with quite a few other additions. To see a full rundown of what’s available in ‌watchOS 10‌, we have a dedicated watchOS 10 roundup.

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Registered developers are able to download the tvOS 16.6 update by downloading a profile on the Apple TV using Xcode.

tvOS updates are usually minor, focusing on internal bug fixes and improvements rather than notable outward-facing changes. There is no word as of yet what’s included in the tvOS 16.6 update, but we’ll update this article if we find anything new.

Apple shares some information on tvOS releases in its tvOS support document, which is updated after each tvOS launch.

Though we don’t often know what’s new in tvOS during the beta testing process, we let MacRumors readers know when new updates are available so those who are developers can download it upon release.

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In the latest edition of his “Power On” newsletter, Gurman explained that Apple is planning to launch two Apple Watch Series 9 models and a second-generation Apple Watch Ultra alongside the iPhone 15 lineup this fall.

Substantial updates to the Mac lineup will launch starting later this year or in early 2024, encompassing new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with the M3 Pro and ‌M3‌ Max chips, a refreshed 13-inch MacBook Pro with the ‌M3‌ chip, two new MacBook Air models, and new 24-inch iMac models. In addition, Apple is said to be “conducting early work” on an all-new ‌iMac‌ model with a display larger than 30 inches in size.

Gurman reiterated that an updated iPad Air to replace the current M1-based device and two new iPad Pro models with OLED displays are on the way for 2024. Third-generation AirPods Pro, a refreshed Apple TV with improved specifications, and other “home equipment” such as smart displays are also in early development. A new generation of Apple’s Vision Pro headset is unlikely to arrive until 2025, he added.

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In a research note shared with MacRumors, the analysts said Apple’s decision not to launch a new iPhone SE next year could indicate that the company’s rumored in-house 5G modem will not be ready any time soon, which would benefit Apple’s existing iPhone modem supplier Qualcomm. Apple has reportedly been planning its own modem since at least 2018, and acquired the majority of Intel’s smartphone modem business in 2019.

In April, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said mass production of Apple’s modem would begin in 2025 at the earliest, suggesting that even iPhone 16 models launching later next year will continue to use Qualcomm modems.

Kuo had previously claimed that the next iPhone SE would have a similar design as the standard iPhone 14 model released last year, suggesting that the device would have been equipped with a 6.1-inch OLED display and Face ID. It’s not entirely clear if Apple will move forward with launching this device with a Qualcomm modem at some point.

The current iPhone SE was released in March 2022 with a 4.7-inch LCD display, Touch ID, 5G, a 12-megapixel rear camera, and the A15 Bionic chip. Priced starting at $429 in the U.S., it is one of Apple’s more affordable iPhone models. The first-generation and second-generation iPhone SE were released in 2016 and 2020, respectively.

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