Apple launches three new Macs, including a Macbook Air on steroids

Apple launches three new Macs, including a Macbook Air on steroids

The new hardware from the Californians is powered by a proprietary chip called the Apple M1.

As with iPhones and iPads, Apple is now installing its own chips in its Mac computers.

On Tuesday, the company unveiled the first models of the new generation of hardware.

Is there a new iPhone chip in Mac?

Until a certain point. A System-on-a-Chip (SoC), to be precise. A proprietary development Apple M1 called.

It’s an upgraded version of Apple’s A14 Bionic mobile processor, which powers this year’s iPhone models (iPhone 12, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max, 12 Mini) and is also installed in the iPad Air (4th generation).

Apple Silicon is based on the ARM architecture and contains several additional chips that are produced in-house or sourced from Apple’s partner TSMC (Taiwan).

What Macs will come out with the Apple M1 and how much do they cost?

Apple on Tuesday introduced the first three Macs with the new Apple M1 processor. According to the announcement, they can now be reserved.

• macBook Air (13.3 inches), from 1079 francs
• Macbook Pro (13.3 inches), from 1,399 francs
• Mac Mini, from 779 francs

According to Apple’s website, they will be available from November 17.

macBook Air
(13.3 inches, 1079 Fr.)

Apple’s first laptop with the M1 processor is a new Macbook Air. It should be up to 3.5 times faster than the previous generation, especially when it comes to image processing.

Graphics performance is even five times higher. And it also leaves behind the “fastest Windows laptop in its class,” according to the 45-minute presentation.

• The 13.3-inch (2560 x 1600 pixel) LCD screen can display the DCI-P3 color space.
• The new MacBook Air allows up to 15 hours of wireless Internet browsing and up to 18 hours of video playback.
• The laptop has a Touch ID fingerprint scanner, a Force Touch trackpad, a jack connector, and two Thunderbolt / USB 3.1 Gen2 (USB-C) ports to connect the computer and the charger.
• SSD storage is twice as fast and Apple promises you will get up to 6 more hours (compared to the old MacBook Air).

• The new Apple MacBook Air no longer needs an active fan and, according to Apple, it offers up to 5 times the performance in terms of graphics performance.

Macbook Pro
(13.3 inches, from 1399 Fr.)

The first Macbook Pro with the Apple M1 processor has a 13.3-inch screen (2560 x 1600 pixels).

• The Macbook Pro has a fingerprint scanner (Touch ID), a Force Touch trackpad, a jack connector and two Thunderbolt / USB 3.1 Gen2 (USB-C) ports to connect the computer and the charger.
• The battery should allow 17 hours of web browsing or 18 hours of video playback under continuous load.

Mac Mini
(from 779 Fr.)

A new Mac Mini has been introduced as the third computer with the new Apple M1 processor. This is a mini desktop PC without a screen.

• The new Mac Mini has, among other things, two Thunderbolt / USB 3.1 (USB-C) ports, two USB-A ports, Gigabit Ethernet, a jack connector and HDMI 2.0. Also on board are AC WLAN and Bluetooth 5.0.

What can the Apple M1 do?

Apple is developing not just one processor, but a whole family of processors. The first generation is called Apple M1, it is produced by the 5nm process, it is not only extremely energy efficient, but also offers enough power for desktop applications. Main memory (RAM) is also integrated into the new system on chip (SoC).

• The Apple M1 contains 8 CPU cores, divided into 4 energy efficient cores and 4 high performance cores. The high-performance core is the fastest on the market.
• The graphics processor (GPU) built into the SoC also has 8 cores that can process almost 25,000 threads. It is much faster than previous laptops.
• Thunderbolt 4 and USB-C are supported.

When will the new Mac operating system arrive?

Apple announced the release date of the new Mac operating system macOS 11 Big Sur on Tuesday night. The software update will be available on November 12.

macOS Big Sur has been completely redesigned under the hood to also work with the new Apple Silicon Macs. Also, the user interface is getting closer to the iPhone iOS software. Everything is more colorful and modern.

Environmental Protection?

During the presentation, Apple pointed out the comparatively environmentally friendly production. The case is made entirely of recycled aluminum, and the new Macs also use much less electricity.

sources