Apple intros the M1 Pro and M1 Max 5nm computer SoCs

Apple unveiled its highly anticipated new computer SoCs, the Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max, at the Unleashed event in Cupertino on Monday. These chips, built on an advanced 5nm process and boasting up to 57 billion transistors, will be the processing options for the revamped MacBook Pro 14 and MacBook Pro 16. Key features include a standard 8P+2E CPU configuration, GPUs with 14- to 32-cores, 16 to 64GB of unified RAM, and a 16-core Neural Engine for AI/ML processing. Apple touts these new SoCs as its most powerful chips to date, offering up to 70% faster CPU performance than the M1 and up to 4x GPU performance compared to the M1.

Apple’s SVP of Hardware Technologies, Johny Srouji, praised the new SoCs for their significant gains in CPU and GPU performance, six times the memory bandwidth, a new media engine with ProRes accelerators, and other advanced technologies. The industry-leading power efficiency of these chips allows the MacBook Pro 16 to play back 21 hours of continuous video on a single charge.

Apple presented various charts, graphics, and comparisons to support its performance claims, but real-world tests by third parties will provide a clearer picture. The GPU performance charts provided by Apple show promising results against Intel iGPUs and AMD Radeon RX 5600M mobile GPUs.

In addition to impressive CPU and GPU specs, Apple has included AI/ML accelerators and media accelerators in the new SoCs. The dedicated acceleration for ProRes video codec will benefit video professionals with faster transcoding speeds.

Apple’s transition from Intel is halfway through, and the company is confident that its M1, M1 Pro, and M1 Max chips lead the industry in performance, custom technologies, and power efficiency.

New MacBook Pro 14 and 16 laptops

The new MacBook Pro 14 and 16 laptops, equipped with the new SoCs, will be available starting next week. These fifth-generation MacBook Pros feature Liquid Retina XDR displays with Mini LED technology, a notch for a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, and the best audio system in a notebook. Users can enjoy up to 21 hours of battery life, fast charging capabilities, a quiet cooling system, expanded connectivity options, and physical function keys replacing the Touch Bar.

Learn more about the 2021 MacBook Pros with Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max configurations here.