“One More Thing”— Apple Event
Apple organized three main events in the past two months, which is a massive achievement for the tech giant as it shows its commitment and continuous progress in the field of technology and innovation. Apple delivered several useful and innovative products this year, from upgrading operating systems, Siri redesign, introducing Apple watch series 6, and cheaper Apple watch, Air tags, iPad Air 4, Apple One, HomePod Mini. This year Apple also launched iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Mini. There is just “One More Thing” which is left and that is the MAC. In WWDC 2020 event, Apple announced the release of its first Mac with Apple silicon by the end of this year. As promised, Apple announced it on 10th November 2020.
Apple and its team have been working for quite some time to release its next generation of Mac. For this purpose, they shifted from Intel to Apple silicon based on ARM architecture. The goal was to have better performance, custom technologies, and to achieve power efficiency. To transition the Mac line on these chips, the tech giant is working on developing a family of chips. The first chip designed for this purpose is M1.
M1 Architecture
M1 is a breakthrough chip for Mac. It delivers powerful performance with low power consumption. Till now, Mac needed multiple chips to perform several functions related to processing, I/O, security, and memory but M1 single-handedly carries out all these tasks. It is built by using 5-nanometer process technology. It has 16 billion transistors and features an 8-core CPU that delivers the best performance per watt. It has an 8-core GPU that is a class of its own. M1 is believed to have the world’s fastest integrated graphics. M1 is packed with powerful custom technologies and is capable of executing 11 trillion operations per second. Its design makes it excel in machine learning like never before. It also features the latest generation secure enclave which delivers the best security.
macOS Big Sur
The amazing user experience of Apple products is dependent on both hardware and software. To get the best experience of Mac, apart from M1, the type of operating system also holds a significant role. Apple has designed the OS for its silicon for the first time and is proud to present macOS Big Sur. By developing both hardware and software for Mac for the first time, Apple has created a product that it has never launched before. Mac instantly wakes up from sleep just like an iPhone and iPad. It is 1.5 times speedier in running JavaScript and 1.9 times more responsive. Big Sur also features advanced power management and intelligently optimizes and allocates tasks (light and performance-intensive) between M1’s performance efficiency cores. macOS Big Sur provides the most secure version of OS for the Mac.
MacBook Air
MacBook Air is the best-selling 13-inch notebook. The use of the M1 chip in this notebook increases its CPU performance up to 3.5X and GPU performance up to 5X than the previous generation notebooks. It gives up to 18 hours of battery life. It is fan-less, hence no noise is produced. The backlit keyboard is completely magical as it can perform several functions with preprogrammed shortcuts, which means you can do so much with just a tap. Force Touch trackpad provides precise control over swipe, zoom, and pinch. MacBook Air also features Touch ID and offers up to 16 GB memory and 2TB SSD storage. MacBook Air has a three- microphone array that focuses on the user’s voice instead of the surroundings with an HD camera making the facetime experience extremely dreamlike and magical. MacBook Air offers two thunderbolts. All these amazing features are available in thin and lightweight MacBook Air which is priced at $999.
Mac Mini
Mac Mini delivers the Mac desktop experience in its 7.7-inch-square design. Mac Mini is packed with great speed and power due to the presence of the M1 chip. The 8-core CPU gives 3X faster performance than the previous generation which is great news for developers working on Xcode or any other software or a musician working on software like a logic pro. The 8-core GPU gives Up to 6X faster graphic performance which means gamers will be able to play graphically demanding games that they wouldn’t have dreamed of playing before on Mac Mini. Mac Mini is 5X faster than the top-selling PC desktops. Due to the neural engine, it gives 15X faster machine learning performance than the previous generation. Mac Mini offers 16GB memory and up to 2 TB SSD. It features two thunderbolts/USB 4 ports, two USB-A ports, HDMI 2.0, Wi-Fi 6, and Gigabit Ethernet. Unlike MacBook Air, it has a fan that has no sound. This compact innovation is up for grab at $699 only.
MacBook Pro
With the M1 chip, the 13-inch MacBook Pro becomes way more powerful and way more Pro. The 8-core CPU works 2.8X faster than the previous versions while the 8-core GPU provides up to 5X faster graphics performance. With a 16-core Neural engine, machine learning has improved to an amazing new level. It provides 11x faster ML performance. M1 and macOS Big Sur have made the entire system of MacBook Pro faster, it wakes instantly from sleep. MacBook Pro has an efficient cooling system comprising of a soundless fan which keeps the MacBook cool even while working on performance intensive tasks. It gives up to 20 hours of battery life. It features 16 GB of superfast unified memory and up to 2 TB SSD storage. MacBook Pro comes with a 720p HD pro camera and pro mic, making the facetime experience incredible. The backlit keyboard provides a comfortable and quiet typing experience and makes work easier by giving shortcuts. The availability of Touch ID gives fast authentication for secure logins. It features two thunderbolt/ USB 4 ports. This amazing product starts at $1299.
