Apple held its ‘One More Thing’ hardware virtual event this morning, finally introducing its in-house M1 silicon chip, MacBook Air, Pro and Mac mini desktop.
During the event, Apple offered more details about its two-year transition from Intel to its own processors and revealed the very first computers integrated with the M1 chip.
The Apple M1 ARM Processor
Apple is making the switch to a 5nm chip named the M1, made with an octa-core processor which the company says has the fastest CPU cores of any processor ever made.
Apple silicon is at the heart of the iPhone, iPad and Apple watch and will now be used in Apple’s new range of Macbooks and new Mac.
“M1 has been optimised for our most popular, low-power systems, where small size and power efficiency are incredibly important,” said John Ternus, VP of Hardware Engineering at Apple.
The M1 has an eight-core integrated graphics processing unit and Apple claims it can provide faster and better performance than the latest PC laptop chip on the market.
“Today, the Mac is stronger than ever. It continues to lead the industry in customer satisfaction.
The MacBook Air
Apple’s ‘One More Thing’ event focussed exclusively on its Mac range, with CEO Tim Cook revealing the company’s Mac division is performing strongly.
“More customers than ever are choosing the Mac, in fact the Mac business grew by over 30% last quarter and the Mac is having the best year ever,” Cook said during the live stream.
“Today, over 50% of buyers are new to the Mac.”
The first product Apple unveiled is the $US999 (A$1599) new MacBook Air, equipped with the M1 chip.
Apple says the Air has better battery performance than its predecessor, with up to 18 hours video playback, and general advanced performance with draining apps such as Adobe Lightroom.
The MacBook Air will be available in Australia from November 17.
Mac Mini Desktop
The M1 chip is also coming to the Mac mini desktop and Apple says this PC has three times the performance as the previous mode, which had a quad-core CPU.
The Mac mini will have 8GB Ram, 256-2TB of storage, will weigh in at 1.2kg and is 1.4 inches x 7.7 x 7.7. inches.
It will be priced at $1099 and is set to be available in Australia from November 17.
MacBook Pro
Apple’s new 13-inch MacBook Pro will be shipped with the M1 chip.
Specs-wise, the new MacBook pro has 2x Thunderbolt USB-C ports, Touch ID, a Touch Bar and will have MacOS Big Sur integrated.
Apple says this model has the longest battery life of any Mac on the market, with up to 20 hours video playback.
It starts at $1999 and will be available November 17.
