

What could make the difference is whether Apple can get third-party app developers on board to build ARM-based versions of their apps - usually a costly process that app developers don't really want to undertake. Since then, we haven't seen any massive shifts from laptop or computer makers to ARM-based SoCs.
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Lacking app support was a major issue with Microsoft's Surface Pro X from 2019, which was otherwise an excellent laptop/tablet hybrid with good performance and excellent battery life - if a little overpriced. Hence, laptops and computers running on an ARM-based SoC weren't suitable for people who often use third-party apps and software, no matter how much better the battery life. The problem with ARM architecture has always been the lack of support for third-party computer apps, as those are usually designed to run on Intel's or AMD's architecture (and have been for decades). The result, Srouji claims, is "improved performance and power efficiency." If SoCs are so great, why aren't they used more often?Īlmost all mainstream phone SoCs are based on the ARM processor architecture, which is more power efficient and tailored to ultra-portable devices compared to Intel's (or the other CPU maker, AMD's) architecture that's rooted in - and potentially hamstrung by - decades of mobile computer processor design. One example given by Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies, Johny Srouji, showed that incorporating RAM into an SoC's single pool, "all of technologies in the SoC can access the same data without copying it between multiple pools of memory."Įssentially, each component with the M1 SoC can pull data from a single source, rather than each individual components pulling data from a chain of different components. Indeed, the new laptops have supposedly hours more battery life than their predecessors than ran on more typical processors.Īnother supposed benefit of the M1 chip is stronger and faster performance. The battery in the center, especially, is larger than previous generations of Mac laptops:Īll this leads to Apple's big claims for the new MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 SoC. Below is Apple's visual of how extra battery capacity can fit in an M1-powered laptop. With all the major components integrated into a single chip, taking up less space in a device than a typical laptop, you also get more space for batteries. With typical laptops being so small, the distance that power has to travel between components may seem irrelevant, but it makes a surprisingly big difference in how much overall power draw they need. Having all the components bunched up into a single chip means power has less distance to travel. The main benefits of an SoC includes power efficiency, which primarily leads to better battery life. What are the benefits of an SoC like the M1? But, the integration isn't as extensive as it is on a true SoC system.

With that said, typical modern systems with individual components have some level of integration, mostly in the CPU.

Apple's M1 is more similar to processors in smartphones than it is to a computer chipĪpple's new M1 is a "system-on-a-chip" (SoC) which is to say that the majority of the components that a computer needs to run are integrated into one chip rather than having several individual chips spread throughout a logic board (basically a circuit board that hosts all the chips).Ī typical system has various individual components separate from each other. Here's what you need to know about Apple's new M1 chip and how it's different.Īpple's latest MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini are available to preorder now, and they'll be fully released starting on November 18. The M1 marks Apple's departure from Intel and the way that laptops typically and traditionally work under the hood. The star of the show was the M1 system-on-a-chip (SoC) - Apple's own home-gown SoC that supposedly comes with big performance while exceeding battery life numbers beyond Windows-based laptops, and even Apple's own laptops. By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from InsiderĪs well as other partner offers and accept ourĪpple kicked down the door and laid down some big claims with its new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini computers during an event that took place on November 10.
