MacBook Pro and MacBook Air with Apple M1 chip compared to models with Intel chips

This article is based on an article from the Japanese edition of Engadget and was created using the translation tool Deepl.

Apple has announced the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, which feature its own SoC "M1" chip. In this article, we compare the specifications of these two models to existing models.

Both 13-inch display models look no different from previous products that have used Intel's chips in their appearance. The dimensions and weight are also the same.

However, Apple claims that the use of the Apple Silicon "M1" chip has dramatically improved performance for power consumption, with the M1 chip delivering approximately 2.8 times and the 8-core GPU inside the chip delivering up to 5 times the performance of its predecessor.

Both the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air are likely to be almost equal in performance if they have the same M1 chip, but the MacBook Air is a fanless design, so if you're looking for quietness over performance, you may want to choose the Air.

Note, however, that the MacBook Air comes in two types of M1 chips, one with seven and one with eight GPU cores, and the models aren't differentiated by standard storage capacity alone. The difference in the number of GPU cores results in a price difference of 5,000 yen and a slight difference in performance, even with the options in the same configuration. The purchase page on Apple's site lists "8-core CPU and 7-core GPU" or "8-core CPU and 8-core GPU" as the first selection, so don't make a mistake.

On the other hand, although the MacBook Pro with the M1 chip will be available in two models with different storage capacities, both M1 chips have an integrated 8-core GPU, so if you choose the same amount of storage, you'll get the exact same configuration for the same price.

Related Articles (Japanese):

Apple Silicon MacBook Air Announced. Fanless design with several times the performance and the first M1 chip

New MacBook Pro with Apple Silicon 'M1' unveiled

The new Mac mini, with up to three times the CPU performance and up to six times the graphics with Apple's silicon M1

Next macOS 'Big Sur' to be released on November 13, unleashing the power of the M1 chip-powered Mac

M1 Chip-equipped Macs, 'Universal' and 'Rosetta 2' expand the range of apps that work

Comparing the Apple Silicon M1-powered MacBook Pro / Air with Intel models, note the number of GPU cores in the Air

Apple Silicon Mac mini vs Intel Core Mac mini specs comparison. Affordability and high throughput

This article is based on an article from the Japanese edition of Engadget and was created using the translation tool Deepl. The Japanese edition of Engadget does not guarantee the accuracy or reliability of this article.