Apple's iPhone processor evolution hints at how powerful the 'M2' will be
We don't know how powerful or power-efficient Apple's rumored "M2" chip will be, but past Apple Silicon generational leaps could provide a hint, a new report claims.
M2 chip illustration
Apple is largely expected to debut an "M2" Mac chip later in 2022. Though there are some rumors concerning the upgrades it'll bring to the Mac, a MacWorld writer believes it's possible to get a clearer idea at how much of an upgrade the "M2" will be by examining Apple's A-series chips.
The report starts with the premise that the M2 chip will be akin to what the M1 as the A15 Bionic was to the A14 Bionic. From there, he extrapolates how the "M2" could look based on a similar jump.
"The M1 is based on the basic architecture of the A14, scaled up with double the number of high-performance CPU cores (four instead of two) and double the GPU cores (eight instead of four)," he wrote. "It is, for lack of a better explanation, the 'A14X' that otherwise would've been in the iPad Pro."
Basically, the argument is that the next-generation chip will sport double the number of high-performance cores and double the GPU cores.
"In trying to predict the M2's features and performance, we will operate on the assumption that it will follow a similar pattern, only this time with the A15: the same architecture with twice the high-performance cores and GPU cores," Cross continued.
Using the A14 and A15 as a base, MacWorld then extrapolated how much of a performance jump the new "M2" could bring to the Mac. According to benchmark estimates, it could be a significant jump.
As the piece points out, a score over 14,000 for the "M2 Max" could put it well ahead of Intel's latest and greatest Alder Lake Core i9. Of course, the "M2 Max" will also likely be much more power efficient.
Additionally, the extrapolated data also shows significant gains in graphics performance, including a 10,409 score on 3DMark, up from 7,781 on the M1.
MacWorld notes that it didn't account for any performance gains from improved manufacturing processes, since there isn't a way to extrapolate or quantify what that could look like.
Of course, the estimates are just rough predictions. Because of that, the estimated scores and gains should be taken with a hefty grain of salt.
Whether or not the performance on the "M2" looks anything like the extrapolated data remains to be seen, as the architectures are not identical, nor are the intended use cases.
Read on AppleInsider
M2 chip illustration
Apple is largely expected to debut an "M2" Mac chip later in 2022. Though there are some rumors concerning the upgrades it'll bring to the Mac, a MacWorld writer believes it's possible to get a clearer idea at how much of an upgrade the "M2" will be by examining Apple's A-series chips.
The report starts with the premise that the M2 chip will be akin to what the M1 as the A15 Bionic was to the A14 Bionic. From there, he extrapolates how the "M2" could look based on a similar jump.
"The M1 is based on the basic architecture of the A14, scaled up with double the number of high-performance CPU cores (four instead of two) and double the GPU cores (eight instead of four)," he wrote. "It is, for lack of a better explanation, the 'A14X' that otherwise would've been in the iPad Pro."
Basically, the argument is that the next-generation chip will sport double the number of high-performance cores and double the GPU cores.
"In trying to predict the M2's features and performance, we will operate on the assumption that it will follow a similar pattern, only this time with the A15: the same architecture with twice the high-performance cores and GPU cores," Cross continued.
Using the A14 and A15 as a base, MacWorld then extrapolated how much of a performance jump the new "M2" could bring to the Mac. According to benchmark estimates, it could be a significant jump.
As the piece points out, a score over 14,000 for the "M2 Max" could put it well ahead of Intel's latest and greatest Alder Lake Core i9. Of course, the "M2 Max" will also likely be much more power efficient.
Additionally, the extrapolated data also shows significant gains in graphics performance, including a 10,409 score on 3DMark, up from 7,781 on the M1.
MacWorld notes that it didn't account for any performance gains from improved manufacturing processes, since there isn't a way to extrapolate or quantify what that could look like.
Of course, the estimates are just rough predictions. Because of that, the estimated scores and gains should be taken with a hefty grain of salt.
Whether or not the performance on the "M2" looks anything like the extrapolated data remains to be seen, as the architectures are not identical, nor are the intended use cases.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
I'm skeptical it will be ARMv9, and I think it's very possible Apple will never use ARMv9, simply because they might have no need to.
I think the MacWorld article is pretty reasonable and if it's wrong, the most likely way to be wrong is for the M2 to be based on the A16 rather than the A15.
Probably Apple will not update the M1 Pro/Max until the 3nm process in late 2023.
The other thing that I’d quibble with is the assumptions he makes about Apple’s ability to compete with high-end desktop GPUs — I mean, that remains to be seen. I don’t think it’s coincidental that Apple announced a ray-tracing Metal API at WWDC 2020, with development active and ongoing. You might want to wait until Apple releases an actual Pro desktop M1 graphics configuration before you start making assumptions about how far behind the competition they are…
if the A16 isn’t out until September, it will be difficult for the M2 to be based on it as we’re expecting at least one Mac before that. I’d love to see that though, but I don’t think the timing will allow it. Apple needs to work on these chips long before it’s ready. And then there’s the n 4 process step.
Watch the video and then come back with your response.
Ugh, that video was painful. Rene Ritchie is so annoying.
Huh? Apple licensed ARMv8 ISA and extended it as they needed. They don’t own ARM anything for that. Companies with an architectural license are completely free to extended the ISA as long as it remains backwards compatible - with the originally licensed version. Most of what ARMv9 offers, Apple has already implemented in their own designs, so there’s really no need to “upgrade”.
The base M-series SoCs are basically the same as the “X” variant of the A-series and these can be produced relatively cheap enough for a yearly update, especially since they’re used by the iPad Pros plus all consumer level Macs. The “pro” M-series SoCs are a different beast and are probably very expensive to produce, so Apple will want to stretch out their run a couple of years to bring down costs.
October release on A16 equivalent.
But it’s a nice opinion. Not a fact.
Why don’t we wait for this to become a fact,
before we blurry the line between entertainment and information.