Apple today announced the M2 chip, the second-generation Apple silicon chip for the Mac, offering improved efficiency and performance, as well as support for up to 24GB of memory.
M2 is built using second-generation 5nm technology with 20 billion transistors, 25 percent more than the M1 chip. M2 features a 18 percent faster CPU, a 35 percent more powerful GPU, and a 40 percent faster Neural Engine compared to the M1 chip.
The M2 supports up to 24GB of LPDDR5 unified memory and features four performance and four efficiency cores. The chip supports 100GB/s of unified memory bandwidth, up 50 percent from the M1.
We’ll have to wait for the independent benchmarks, but considering the M1 still runs circles around the competition – especially in the laptop space – I think it’s safe to say the M2 will be running those same circles at least a little bit faster. The M2 can be found in the brand new MacBook Air, which Apple also announced today.
Thom Holwerda,
Yes, this is so important!
Benchmark-wise the M1 it wins some and looses some (here’s the m1-max)
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-M1-Max-32-Core-GPU-GPU-Benchmarks-and-Specs.579797.0.html
It depends, the M1 is great at efficiency compared to x86 chips. It has some wins and some losses, but I think the pattern that’s coming out is that the M1 does best when only the CPU or only the GPU are being loaded, however when they’re loaded at the same time performance suffers quite drastically as borne out in the gaming benchmarks.
The performance uptick is quite nice, specially given the form factor. Apple is managing to go fanless where AMD/Intel still need larger active cooling solution. And the battery is impressive.
The uptick in costs not so nice. Ridiculous the amount of money Apple is charging for a configuration with only 8GB of RAM (and tiny SSD).
With the total and complete lack of extensibility. Disposable.
It’s basically a tablet with integrated keyboard.
It will be interesting to see on how long can Apple keep up with their own chip design. Somehow i feel that with each new generation it will be harder for them to keep up with the competition. For example M2 already doesn’t look like as such a leap as M1 was. In addition you are very much limited and tied to Apple when choosing such hardware. We’ll see.
An 18% increase in single thread performance is a fairly good improvement.
M2 seems to be more like an M1.5 though. And it still in a SoC class of its own in that power/performance envelope. So it seems more like the competition has to keep up with Apple than the other way around.
Personally i feel that it’s currently more about the manufacturing design node and having (exclusive) access to it. Apple is currently in a good position in this regard. My remark was hence from some future point of view. Where competition will be on the same manufacturing design node. Lets say for Apple and the competition to both use 3 nm process at the same time. Then things should get interesting. And this is bound to happen. One company using 5 nm process and the other 7 nm process. This is not a level playing field.
The M2 is on the same 5nm as the M1 (and AMD’s zen 4 I believe). Apple cores’ still have an edge over the competition in terms of microarchitecture at the same node size.
FWIW there is no such thing as “level” playing field when it comes to business and commercial products. Apple is significantly larger than Intel or AMD now, so they can afford to be TSMC’s risk partner, and unless TSMC screws up significantly, Apple will probably have the edge in terms of node access for a while.
I think Apple bet correctly, and they have managed to put together an incredibly competitive SoC group. I still think it’s going to be a matter of AMD and Intel playing catch up in that space to Apple from now on, than vice versa.
You made some good points but i still feel that what we are currently experiencing is the battle for the access to manufacturing design node. Hence yes comparing M2 to Zen 4 should already be an interesting comparison. With lets say M3. There i am sure that Apple is desperate to reach 3 nm before the competition. And i have just read M2 Pro will be in 3 nm. That chip should cope with Zen 4 much better. In comparison to M2 just announced. At some point this will change. Likely in less then 5 years. That is for Apple to not be a year ahead in regards to access to latest manufacturing design node. Then things should become interesting.
@ Geck
Apple is not “desperate” to reach 3nm. That is TSMC’s responsibility.
Right now Apple leads in several aspects: they have indeed the edge in node. They have a much better micro-architecture (The M1/M2 are basically the widest most speculative cores out there), they have the better PDN (basically they have decoupled the data and power metal layers on the opposite faces of the silicon die), and they have the edge in packaging (CoWoS for gluing tiles and memory on package).
We are used to the desktop/server CPU guys as being the ones pushing the envelope in microarchitecture performance. And the mobile/embedded players as being being in performance in order to push power/area efficiency.
We’re witnessing the same change of the guard so to speak when the microprocessor guys took over the mini/mainframe/super processor guys. SoCs are taking over. And now it is Apple leading the microarchitecture game, with intel and AMD trying to catch up.
AMD has a handicap that they have to use TSMC as well, but they have to spend more effort in optimizing their designs for area due to their business model (Apple has a bit more relaxed constraints).
javiercero1,
Apple’s is doing well on power efficiency and I think ARM will continue to hold an edge over x86 for this metric. That is a win for apple, but at the same time apple does not hold the title for either fastest MT or ST CPU (or GPU for that matter).
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html
I’m not saying the M1 CPUs aren’t good, I think they are, but it’s very tiresome to hear the “apple is winning because I say so” refrain. No that’s not the way it works and that’s not reasonable to anyone but fanboys. For everyone else clear data, benchmarks, and transparent methodologies are king.
You ever notice the extent to which apple’s marketing goes out of it’s way to make sure no one outside of apple can independently verify their claims?
“Performance measured using select industry-standard benchmarks. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of MacBook Pro….”
They do this all the time! If anyone else did this, you’d rightfully call out bullshit. Yet because it’s apple you are going to criticize me for pointing it out rather than criticize them over their objective lack of transparency. We’ll see how well the M2 actually performs when it can be independently tested but until then we should just treat it as promotional marketing material put out as red meat for the media to amplify and nothing more.
@ Alfam
you know so little that you don’t know how little you know.
I work for a competitor of Apple. My assessment comes from a place of intellectual honestly, plus having had access to fairly sophisticated competitive analysis.
javiercero1,
Nobody gives a crap. Put up verifiable data, that’s all that matters.
@ Alfman
It’s bizarre how attached you are to being the arbiter regarding microarchitectural matters, while having a subpar comprehension of what is being talked about. LOL.
So once again, it’s a case of you knowing so little that you don’t know what I am talking about.
javiercero1,
Take a look in the mirror you hypocrite. We’re all anonymous here, none of us have any authority over another. not you and not I. It bothers the hell out of you when you are asked to provide verifiable data, but I am still in the right to do so. None of us is above the need to provide data & sources. Your insistence to turn everything into an attack on my intelligence doesn’t contribute anything to the discussion. Ad hominem attacks should be beneath everyone here. I would suggest that asking for independently verifiable data is not evidence of “subpar comprehension”, but rather of higher standards.
I think comparing zen 4 vs M1/M2 will be a lot more interesting because we’ll get to see them at the same node. My gut feeling is that AMD is way ahead on APU and Apple is going to win performance per watt but still fail at several key benchmarks, but apple will solidly win on content creation workloads overall.
Looks like Apple knows M2 and Zen 4 will be close. As i have just read they are doing M2 Pro in 3nm latter this year. It’s impressive and they are using some interesting design choices. But still it must be said that nm are the real “breakthrough”. Currently working in their advantage. Partially likely due to them abusing their market position. To get access to next generation design nodes before the competition. But this can’t last forever.
Geck,
You’re right about the importance of access to node sizes. TSMC probably played the biggest role in the gains of AMD and Apple against intel a couple years ago and access to best node sizes is no doubt at the forefront of the CPU battles.
You seem confident that access will always be restored but I don’t think there’s a fundamental reason that it has to be. The world’s supply channels have been really messed up. Downstream product backlogs and prices have been skyrocketing.
Note that i am not complaining all that much. It was first AMD who benefited from going to TSMC tremendously. Now Apple by i guess not letting the competition to gain access to the latest design node. Apple being Apple and taking credit for it. But still we are talking about a year at best. And in the future likely less than that. Hence for people like me that use GNU/Linux. We can’t install it on Apple hardware. That much is true. Hence we must look for hardware elsewhere. For me personally hence it doesn’t make all that much difference if i can get 3 nm chips in 2022 or 2023. Due to massive investments and progress being made we are now i guess on a nm hype train and lets enjoy it until it lasts. As currently we do get more transistors and better power efficiency. Likely faster then ever.
@ Geck
FWIW Apple has been doing their SoCs with TSMC for longer than AMD has been doing their CPUs with them.
This is not some sort of non-profit highschool league teaching kids about fair play. If you can’t afford to pay for the latest node/design tools, that is your problem. Not Apple’s/Intel’s/AMD’s/etc.
Apple made the correct bet with regards to TSMC and they collaborate closely with them as the risk customer for these nodes. Which means Apple has a very good internal group for silicon/fab stuff and also pays a lot of money to TSMC to invest into the process, and contracting initial capacity.
But it is not just design node, Apple has a very very good design group; which has produced an excellent/well balanced architecture, they have made the right choices in terms of node roadmaps, and they also have made pushed the envelope in packaging. So it is the sum of the whole.
Until I get some verifiable numbers from a genuinely independent test authority, this is all fanboy marketing rubbish.
Regardless, I do not like where this is going, because it’s basically moving more and more into a monolithic chip which means you can’t repair it anyway. Soon these things will become a chip stuck on a board with a bunch of tracks running to connectors and not much else. Good luck affording that spare, and even worse it’s a model the EV industry is following.
btw., I was involved with a design recently that if it comes to fruition will see the electronic controls of a refrigerator moved into 3D printable circuits on the back of the main titanium skin door panel, no circuit boards at all! You have a square meter of unused space onto which you can directly print all the polymer electronics you like. I’m not sure a refrigerator is the ultimate target of this technology, but you can foresee the implications for something like a car, boat or aircraft!
cpcf,
I know right!
I agree with that too. There are a lot of us who think x86 needs more competition. So it’s good to see ARM is now meaningfully competing in the race, but at the same time it is so very disappointing that it is pushing us towards more closed and proprietary technology stacks. As much as I wish apple could be a better role model for open computing, they just aren’t; openness goes against their DNA
@Alfman.
Yep, it’s the reality of the situation. Apple apparatchiks laud the boutique alternative nature of the platform, but it’s as closed as it can possible be and that is far from the beautiful alternative the apparatchiks paint it to be. In effect Apple is to MS what Mussolini’s Black Brigade was to Hitler’s Dirlewanger.
While I most commonly use MS which is really not any better, I use all common platforms, I do admire the efforts of genuine open source, both in hardware and software.
Most of the benchmarking we get to read is so heavily spun and biased it has become a specialist career just to detangle the real truth from the alternative truth. But in fairness to computing, much of this applies to many industries, including politics, diplomacy, transport, energy, pharmaceuticals and environment, it’s a very dark place institutions, corporations and society is heading. They should hang their collective heads in shame!
The real world impact and cost of those who fake it until they make it is now too high, whether they flog Bitcoin or EVs, sooner or later someone has to call them into account!
cpcf,
I’ve been noticing this too. I just don’t see a reason for technology to be religious or divisive. I like simple pragmatism: a computer’s a computer, a phones a phone, everyone can use what’s best for them and life is simple. But no, we can’t have that, people are petty want to promote a condescending us-v-them mentality for everything. Any difference of opinion must be because the others are too stupid and wrong to have a point. We also have technology classism now…
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/single-iphone-owners-dont-want-to-date-someone-with-an-android-phone-2017-02-07
And you’re right it’s not just tech, it’s happening in many industries and it’s especially troubling in politics where people’s lack of critical thinking is becoming very dangerous. The “maga” crowd did away with a fact based understanding of reality and are openly embracing their reality distortion field. It’s insanity.