Apple has officially announced its first processor designed specifically for the Mac, dubbed the M1. The M1 chip features an eight-core design alongside a powerful Neural Engine and GPU, offering dramatic efficiency and performance improvements for the Mac.
Apple has announced three machines that use the M1:
MacBook Air
MacBook Pro 13-inch
Mac mini
The MacBook Air is Apple’s most popular and, in many cases, most cost-effective optionThe M1 improves on its predecessor with eight CPU cores (up from four), and an 18-hour battery life (up from 12.)
The 13-inch MacBook Pro is also seeing a long-overdue upgrade with not only the M1, but also Apple’s revised Magic Keyboard. The big advantage to the M1 MacBook Pro is a reported 20 hours of battery life—literally double what was possible on the Intel-based Mac.
Finally, there’s the Mac mini which hasn’t seen an update since 2018. It’s now gained two additional cores, while ditching the Intel UHD integrated graphics chip.
These are relatively low-end models, designed either with portability or light desktop computing in mind. If you want something more powerful, like a decked-out 15-inch MacBook Pro or Mac Pro, your Intel for the time being.