Intel returns to Apple M1 with questionable references

Apple finally proved the rumor right last year by releasing its custom M1 processor in the new MacBook and Mac Mini. Early performance tests showed the Apple M1 was crushing the competition in most ways that matter, but now Intel has banded together and released a slideshow (because of course it did) that compares the M1 to Intel’s latest Core laptop processor.

The Apple M1 takes advantage of all the experience Apple has had in making ARM chips for smartphones and tablets, but the performance has been boosted significantly. There are eight processor cores in the M1, four high performance Firestorms, and four energy efficient Icestorm cores. These designs are all fully customized – no Qualcomm-renamed ARM Cortex benchmark designs. There is also an 8-core GPU designed by Apple. The M1 is said to have excellent overall performance and uses about a third of the power of Intel processors.

Intel abandoned ARM years ago, and it may regret it. Either way, the company has released performance tests to show that its i7-1185G7 chip has more raw power than the M1. Some of the numbers look good for Intel. Most numbers from Chrome, Office, Photoshop, and other tests show Intel in the lead, but it’s important to note that several of these tests use Intel’s hardware acceleration technology.

Intel also provided a preview of gaming performance, but here the numbers were nicer for Apple. The M1 has had some wins with games like Hitman and Borderlands 3, but this slide is really there to show how many games don’t work on the M1. There’s an equally suspicious battery life test – while all previous tests used a MacBook Pro M1, the battery life test jumps to a MacBook Air M1, which only beat the computer. Intel laptop within minutes. The MacBook Pro M1 is widely known to last for hours on Intel computers.

The slideshow also includes a discussion of form factors and variety, which is more valid than the benchmark argument, in my opinion. The MacBook is limited by Apple’s vision, but there are PCs of all different shapes and sizes, and some of them have touch screens. Apple still refuses to add this feature to its laptops.

Intel still has things to say, but that list could decrease as Apple releases improved M1 chips. This was only his first shot at ARM computers, and it seems to be going pretty well. Intel could envision much tougher competition in the years to come.

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