The November Apple Event has already started, which will be the brand’s last event this year. This is expected to be a historic event as it is the official launch of the new Macs with the company’s own processors with ARM architecture. This transition from Intel to Apple Silicon will mark a milestone for the brand and we are currently seeing how the company is announcing it. In this post you will find all the news in real time.
First part of the event
As in the three previous Apple events, all of them thematic one hundred percent, we see a beautiful transition of the company logo until landing at Apple Park, with a soundtrack included. A never seen door of Apple Park opens and Tim Cook enters the scene and welcomes everyone to this new event. It is confirmed that this event will be very focused on Mac after having reviewed the products presented in the previous two events.
First Apple Silicon chip for Mac
We already have the official name of the Mac chips and it has already been announced that it will be called M1 , which we intuit that successive generations will follow. With a size of 5 nanometers and ARM architecture, it is present in this first processor that largely draws on the technology used for the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch chips. It is composed of 8 cores with 16 billion transitors. This new proprietary Apple processor combines the CPU, GPU, DRAM and cache all in one when before it was all separately.
To give you an idea of the power of this new processor it can be compared to the dual-core MacBook Air. Right now each of the cores of this M1 can offer a power greater than that of each of these MacBook Air. This is something that is undoubtedly surprising you and that is achieved, among other things, by a better performance of the CPU per watt.
If you compare this new processor with the latest laptop PC with a chip surely Intel (although they have not detailed the brand), M1 surpasses it x2. Maximum performance is achieved with 1/4 of the total energy use making it much more efficient.
Obviously an integrated graphics is included that was something very similar to what was included in Intel processors but much faster. Obviously they cannot be compared to dedicated graphics cards. It includes a 16-core neural motor. Added to this, how could it be otherwise, support with Thunderbolt and USB4 is included. And when it comes to optimization, the M1 processor is fully integrated with macOS Big Sur, being very similar to the integration of iPhone or iPad with class ‘A’ processors.
Integration of M1 with Big Sur
As previously discussed, Big Sur has been specially designed with the new M1 chip in mind. When developing applications, an almost immediate process is achieved that is achieved thanks to the M1 processor. Also, Safari can move much faster being 1.5 times faster when running Java Script. All applications have been optimized right now for the M1 chip pending the rest of the third party developers. For example, Photoshop will not be available until early 2021. This shows that many developers began their integration work since its presentation at WWDC 2020.
Being a processor designed by Apple itself, all the applications that can be run on iOS can also be moved to macOS . This causes the ecosystem to end up closing in the best possible way. And if you’re wondering what will happen to Intel-based Mac applications, they will be able to run on ARM through Rosetta 2.
New MacBook Air with M1 chip
We already saw a 2020 MacBook Air, but it was at the beginning of the year and it had 10th generation Intel processors. The new equipment presented by Apple incorporates the same design as this one, but with the substantial change of incorporating the M1 chip. This works wonders on this computer, making it 3.5% faster than the previous one, even with a graphics 5 times higher. To give you an idea, it is 3 times faster than 98% of Windows PCs that were sold last year.
It has inside an SSD storage up to 2 times faster, which can be configured with up to 2 TB of memory. Regarding its RAM, it should be noted that it supports a maximum of 16 GB. The negative part is that to make it lighter they have dispensed with a fan inside, which also helps make it quieter. Likewise, as the processor promises not to consume too much energy and to be extremely efficient, there should not be, a priori, heating problems.
One of the most important aspects for many users is undoubtedly autonomy. In this case the MacBook Air gets up to 15 hours of web browsing and 18 hours of video playback. This marks an important difference from the previous model where the battery could not reach the end of the day. With this renewed hardware these problems are over. In addition, the processor has been specially optimized for video calls in order to consume less power and improve image quality with processing.
Along with this processor, up to 16 GB of RAM can be included. We think this is a more than fair amount for the tasks this new computer is focused on. Obviously, among other features, Touch ID or WiFi 6 remains.
You can now reserve this new MacBook Air that can only be purchased in its version with M1 without having the option to purchase the previous version that integrated an Intel processor. The price starts from 1,129 euros and deliveries will begin to take place from next Tuesday.
Mac mini, also with M1
The first Mac with Apple processors was actually a Mac mini, which served as a transition kit for developers. That one was equipped with an A12Z Bionic chip identical to that of the iPad Pro, but this one already comes with the M1. Its design remains the same, being extremely compact and ideal for use with monitors. The highlight of this comes with the CPU 3 times faster than the Mac mini that was launched at the beginning of this 2020. Although in its size it is a tenth smaller than the comparable PCs in its price range, this ends up being 5 times faster than them, including a 6 times faster GPU.
In its back we find Ethernet connectors, USB type C, USB type A, Thunderbolt and HDMI 2.0. In its internal storage we can find an SSD of up to 2 TB so that nobody runs out of memory. In terms of RAM , the fact of including capacities of up to 16 GB stands out.
Regarding price and availability, it should be noted that it is possible to buy it from 749 euros and the reservations have already started, so buyers will receive it next week.
MacBook Pro joins the party
Apple has not forgotten the professional sector at this event and that is why it has presented the new 13 ″ MacBook Pro with an M1 processor. The design as in the previous cases has not changed the least with respect to the previous generation. There is only a slight difference in the microphones as this time two more have been included in the chassis to ensure studio sound.
The true protagonist is undoubtedly the processor obviously. According to the data provided by the company, an eight-core CPU is offered that has a performance 2.8 times higher than the previous generation with Intel. With regard to the GPU the increase is 5 times. If you compare it with Windows laptops you can find that it is 3 times more powerful and faster.
Regarding its functionalities, they have not changed. A mechanical scissor keyboard called Magic Keyboard is integrated as well as a Touch Bar feature on the top that allows you to have absolute control over certain content. If autonomy is a very important aspect for you, you should know that there has been a considerable increase in this aspect since it offers up to 17 hours of autonomy when browsing the web and up to 20 when viewing videos.
Something that many users have been demanding without a doubt was an improvement in the FaceTime camera and in the end we have it. Apple has integrated camera that allows to have a resolution of HD video. Regarding the rest of the features, it is worth noting the possibility of integrating an SSD of up to 2 TB and a maximum RAM of 16 GB .
The price of this new 13 ″ MacBook Pro starts from 1,449 euros and the reservation period starts from today and deliveries will begin next Tuesday. In the Apple Store Online, in addition to the two new models with M1 chip, you can buy the version with Intel processors.