New MacBook Pro with Apple Silicon 'M1' unveiled

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

At the One More Thing event on November 10, Apple announced three long-awaited Mac products that use its own processors.

One of them is the new 13-inch MacBook Pro, which uses the Apple Silicon M1 chip to deliver up to 2.8 times the CPU performance and up to five times the GPU compared to the previous model, as well as the longest MacBook ever to run for up to 20 hours.

The Apple M1 is a proprietary processor that Apple has developed for the Mac. The Apple M1 is Apple's proprietary processor for the Mac. It has many iPhone-like features, including low power consumption and high power efficiency derived from the A series of iPhones and iPads, 16 billion transistors (the largest of any Apple processor), an integrated memory architecture, the Neural Engine for machine learning, and a high-performance ISP (image signal processor).

Even with the growth in numbers on the catalog specs, the performance in real-world apps is still a concern due to the significant architectural change from the previous Intel processors, but here are some examples that Apple shows.

When compared to the previous generation, the M1-powered 13-inch MacBook Pro can:

• Build code in Xcode up to 2.8x faster.

• Render a complex 3D title in Final Cut Pro up to 5.9x faster.

• Fluidly design intricate game scenes in Unity Editor up to 3.5x faster.

• Perform ML tasks in Create ML up to 11x faster.

• Separate out beats, instrumentals, and vocal tracks from a recording in real time in djay Pro AI, thanks to the amazing performance of the Neural Engine. 

• Play back full-quality, 8K ProRes video in DaVinci Resolve without dropping a single frame.

• Compile four times as much code on a single charge, thanks to the game-changing performance per watt of the M1 chip.

The main specifications of the new 13-inch MacBook Pro are as follows

• Retina display; 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology, 2560-by-1600 native resolution, 500 nits brightness, Wide color (P3), True Tone technology

• Apple M1 chip; 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

• 8GB unified memory, configurable up to 16GB

• 256GB SSD or 512GB SSD, configurable up to 2TB

• Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports

• 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 wireless networking

• 720p FaceTime HD camera

• Stereo speakers with high dynamic range, Studio-quality three-mic array, 3.5 mm headphone jack

Size and Weight

• Height: 0.61 inch (1.56 cm)

• Width: 11.97 inches (30.41 cm)

• Depth: 8.36 inches (21.24 cm)

• Weight: 3.0 pounds (1.4 kg)

Prices are $1,299 for the smallest configuration with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD, and $1,499 for the higher configuration with 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD, and $200 more for the 16GB RAM option.

Apple also announced the MacBook Air and Mac mini with the M1 chip.

Related Articles (Japanese):

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

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.