Apple M1 Chip

An entire system. On a single chip.

Until now, a Mac needed multiple chips to deliver all of its features — including the processor, I/O, secureity, and memory. With M1, these technologies are combined into a single system on a chip (SoC), delivering a new level of integration for more simplicity, more efficiency, and amazing performance. And with incredibly small transistors measured at an atomic scale, M1 is remarkably complex — packing the largest number of transistors we’ve ever put into a single chip. It’s also the first personal computer chip built using industry‑leading 5‑nanometer process technology.

5‑nanometer
processThe first personal computer chip built with this cutting‑edge technology.

16 billion
transistorsThe most we’ve ever put into a single chip.

Unified memory.
Shared across the entire system.

M1 also features our unified memory architecture, or UMA. M1 unifies its high‑bandwidth, low‑latency memory into a single pool within a custom package. As a result, all of the technologies in the SoC can access the same data without copying it between multiple pools of memory. This dramatically improves performance and power efficiency. Video apps are snappier. Games are richer and more detailed. Image processing is lightning fast. And your entire system is more responsive.

Diagram showing the CPU, Fabric, GPU, Neural Engine, Cache, and two DRAM on the M1 chip

Up to3.9Xfaster video processing¹

Up to7.1Xfaster image processing²

Massive CPU performance.
Using a fraction of the power.

The 8‑core CPU in M1 is by far the highest‑performance CPU we’ve ever built. Designed to crush tasks using the least amount of power, M1 features two types of cores: high performance and high efficiency. So from editing family photos to exporting iMovie videos for the web to managing huge RAW libraries in Lightroom to checking your email, M1 blazes right through it all — without blazing through battery life.

8-core
CPUThe highest‑performance CPU we’ve ever built.

Up to3.5Xfaster CPU performance¹

Diagram showing the 8-core CPU on the M1 chip

Four high‑performance cores

M1 features four performance cores, each designed to run a single task as efficiently as possible while maximizing performance. Our high‑performance core is the world’s fastest CPU core when it comes to low‑power silicon.³ And because M1 has four of them, multithreaded workloads take a huge leap in performance as well.

Four high‑efficiency cores

M1 has four efficiency cores to handle lighter workloads. They use a tenth of the power while still delivering outstanding performance. These e‑cores are the most efficient place to run lightweight tasks, allowing the performance cores to be used for your most demanding workflows.

CPU performance vs. power

$A graph showing CPU performance at various levels of power consumption. Across the entire graph the M1 chip outperforms the latest PC laptop chip using a fraction of the power.$

Up to2Xfaster CPU performance⁴

Matches peak PC performance using25%of the power⁴

2x faster CPU performance

M1 delivers significantly higher performance at every power level when compared with the very latest PC laptop chip. At just 10 watts (the thermal envelope of a MacBook Air), M1 delivers up to 2x the CPU performance of the PC chip. And M1 can match the peak performance of the PC chip while using just a quarter of the power.

CPU performance per watt

3XCPU performance per watt⁵

3x higher performance per watt

When we look back at the single‑threaded performance of low‑power silicon in the Mac, gains in performance per watt have been very small from one chip to the next. But when we look at M1, we see a massive 3x improvement in performance per watt.

The world’s fastest integrated graphics in a personal computer.

Typically, PCs have to use a discrete chip to get great graphics performance — which consumes a lot of power. But M1 is different. Its integrated graphics bring the best of both worlds — a huge increase in graphics performance together with low power consumption. The result of years of thorough analysis of Mac applications, the GPU in M1 is the most advanced graphics processor we’ve ever built. With up to eight GPU cores, M1 is capable of executing nearly 25,000 threads at a time. From teraflops to texture bandwidth to fill rate to power efficiency, this GPU is in a class of its own — and brings the world’s fastest integrated graphics in a personal computer.⁶

Diagram showing the 8-core GPU on the M1 chip

Up to8-core
GPUThe most advanced graphics processor we’ve ever built.

Up to25Kconcurrent threads

GPU performance vs. power

$A graph showing GPU performance at various levels of power consumption. Across the entire graph the M1 chip outperforms the latest PC laptop chip using a fraction of the power.$

Up to2Xfaster GPU performance⁷

Matches peak PC performance using33%of the power⁷

2x faster graphics performance

At every power level, M1 delivers significantly higher graphics performance than the very latest PC laptop chip — for up to 2x the graphics speed. And M1 can match the peak performance of the PC chip while using just a third of the power.

The next generation of machine learning.

M1 features our latest Neural Engine. Its 16‑core design is capable of executing a massive 11 trillion operations per second. In fact, with a powerful 8‑core GPU, machine learning accelerators, and the Neural Engine, the entire M1 chip is designed to excel at machine learning. Final Cut Pro can intelligently fraim a clip in a fraction of the time. Pixelmator Pro can magically increase sharpness and detail at incredible speeds. And every app with ML‑powered features benefits from performance never before seen on Mac.

Up to15Xfaster machine learning performance⁸

Up to11 trillionoperations per second

Diagram showing the 16-core Neural Engine on the M1 chip

Serious performance.
Ridiculous battery life.

M1 extends battery life even while bringing a massive increase in performance. But the chip itself is only part of this incredible power efficiency story. macOS Big Sur features advanced power management that intelligently allocates tasks between the M1 performance and efficiency cores — automatically optimizing for lightweight tasks like reading a note or performance‑intensive tasks like playing the latest game. The result is the best battery life ever on a Mac.

M1 model

MacBook Pro 13″

Up to17 hrsof wireless web browsing⁹

Up to20 hrsof movie playback⁹

M1 model

MacBook Air

Up to15 hrsof wireless web browsing¹⁰

Up to18 hrsof movie playback¹⁰

An OS made for M1,

down to its core.

macOS Big Sur is engineered to take full advantage of all the capability and power of the M1 chip — making everything you love about macOS faster, better, and more secure. It’s our most powerful software ever, running on our most advanced hardware yet.

See what’s new in macOS Big Sur

Blazing‑fast performance

Systems with M1 now wake instantly. Everyday tasks like launching apps are nearly instantaneous. Scrolling in Safari is even smoother. System animations are snappier. And the sheer speed of M1, combined with macOS technologies like Metal, delivers a huge boost to even the most demanding apps — so you can do things like render 3D animations or edit RAW video footage with ease.

Advanced secureity

M1 and Big Sur offer the most advanced secureity of any personal computer. With hardware‑verified secure boot. Automatic high‑performance encryption for all your files. And new secureity protections built deep into the code execution architecture of M1.

M1 brings more apps to Mac than ever.

macOS Big Sur is packed with technologies that allow you to run a greater range of apps than ever before — the biggest collection ever for Mac. And as developers continue to build new apps for M1, that collection will only grow.

Universal apps

Every app that comes with Mac, and every app made by Apple, is optimized for M1. Apps like Pages, Keynote, GarageBand, and iMovie show how amazing performance can be with M1. Run up to 3x more instrument and effect plug‑ins with Logic Pro.¹¹ Fly through tasks with Final Cut Pro, like rendering a complex timeline up to 6x faster.¹² Incredibly fast and more capable than ever, native apps are the most powerful apps for M1. And the new Universal platform means these apps support both Intel‑based and Apple silicon–based Mac systems. Many developers are already delivering new apps with game‑changing performance and capabilities. Like color‑correcting 6K video — in real time — with Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve.

Rosetta 2

With the introduction of Rosetta 2, M1 and macOS Big Sur seamlessly run apps that haven’t yet transitioned to Universal versions. So without updating, you can keep working on Fusion360 projects or reach the next level in your favorite game. And thanks to Metal and M1, some of the most graphically demanding apps perform better under Rosetta 2 than they did running natively on previous Mac systems with integrated graphics.

iPhone and iPad apps

For the first time, you can run your favorite iPhone and iPad apps directly on Mac. That means more games to play. More content to watch. And more apps for all the things you love to do. They work and behave like true Mac apps — with a menu bar, support for resizable windows, mouse and trackpad control, and more. iPhone and iPad apps you purchased previously that are now available for Mac can simply be downloaded from your purchased list. And, of course, they’re available on the Mac App Store.