{"id":1429,"date":"2022-03-13T14:51:15","date_gmt":"2022-03-13T14:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/13\/apples-chips-are-on-the-table\/"},"modified":"2022-03-13T14:51:16","modified_gmt":"2022-03-13T14:51:16","slug":"apples-chips-are-on-the-table","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/13\/apples-chips-are-on-the-table\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple\u2019s chips are on the table"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/22972996\/apple-silicon-arm-double-size-mac-m1-pro-max-ultra-a15<\/a>
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Apple\u2019s transition to its own processors is nearly complete. The company\u2019s recent spring event saw the debut of the Mac Studio and its M1 Ultra<\/a> processor \u2014 its most powerful piece of silicon yet. But it also revealed what the future of Apple\u2019s computers could look like. <\/p>\n

For the first time, all of Apple\u2019s chips are on the table.<\/p>\n

The first crucial takeaway is that Apple is now a force to be reckoned with when it comes to chips (if it wasn\u2019t already). The incredibly positive reception for the first wave of M1 computers, along with the similar success of its M1 Pro and M1 Max-powered MacBook Pro<\/a> laptops last year, established the company\u2019s bona fides<\/a>. But the M1 Ultra saw Apple take its biggest swing yet, with what it boasts is the \u201cworld\u2019s most powerful chip for a personal computer.\u201d <\/p>\n

These chips are already becoming selling points for computers. Buying a Mac isn\u2019t just about getting Apple\u2019s software or aesthetic design anymore \u2014 it\u2019s about getting the kind of performance and battery life no one else is offering. <\/p>\n

Apple fired shots at Intel\u2019s top-tier processor, the Core i9-12900K, claiming a 90 percent improvement from its M1 Ultra in multi-threaded performance at the same power level and the ability to match Intel\u2019s best numbers while using 100W less power. The company took a similar victory lap over Nvidia\u2019s RTX 3090 GPU<\/a>, which Apple claims to beat out in performance while drawing 200W less power. (Obviously, we\u2019ll be looking to test those numbers for ourselves in the coming days and weeks). The Apple Silicon transition isn\u2019t an experiment anymore \u2014 it\u2019s Apple\u2019s future and one that PC manufacturers will have to pay attention to going forward. <\/p>\n

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How many times can Apple double it?<\/em><\/figcaption>Image: Apple<\/cite><\/p>\n

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Next, there\u2019s the way that Apple is building out its chips. Right now, Apple has four different models of its Arm-based M1 chips, which blur the line between product form factors in a way that we don\u2019t usually see from semiconductors. Apple has been taking a different approach \u2014 instead of building chips for specific devices, Apple has effectively built just one really good chip: its A-series processor. And all it\u2019s been doing has been scaling it up, seemingly without limit. From a phone, to a laptop, to what\u2019s allegedly the most powerful desktop, Apple\u2019s secret sauce seems to be nothing more than doubling the size of each of its chips<\/a> and throwing in more cooling<\/a> at each step. But it\u2019s remarkable because no company has ever managed to do that before \u2014 and because it allows Apple to create an entire portfolio of computers from $430<\/a> to $8,000<\/a> (and counting) around a single point in its silicon architecture roadmap. <\/p>\n

The M1 in a MacBook Air or iPad is the same chip as in Apple\u2019s iMac and Mac Mini desktops, running at roughly the same speeds and efficiency. The M1 Max from a MacBook Pro laptop makes the jump to a desk with the Mac Studio. And even the company\u2019s ultra-powerful M1 Ultra isn\u2019t a purely desktop-focused design, given that it\u2019s effectively just two M1 Max processors in a trench coat. Devices are differentiated on specific features or form factor, not necessarily just how powerful they are. <\/p>\n

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The M1 MacBook Air turned the industry\u2019s head when we saw what Arm was capable of.<\/em><\/figcaption>Photo by Vjeran Pavic \/ The Verge<\/cite><\/p>\n

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Beefier MacBook Pros exist by throwing more cores and cooling at the same problems.<\/em><\/figcaption>Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales \/ The Verge<\/cite><\/p>\n

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It\u2019s that scaling pattern that we\u2019re likely to see with Apple\u2019s upcoming Mac Pro, too, which Bloomberg\u2019s<\/em> Mark Gurman reports<\/a> will come later this year with up to 40 CPU cores and 128 graphics cores on a chip (the equivalent of four M1 Max processors combined together, or two M1 Ultra chips). It\u2019s yet another doubling \u2014 presumably adding in even more cooling to compensate. <\/p>\n

In the same vein that Apple is distinguishing the Mac Studio from the Macbook Pro with different form factors, ports, and feature sets, we\u2019ll likely see a similar shift to help the new Mac Pro stand out from the Mac Studio. The current Mac Pro is Apple\u2019s most powerful (and most expensive) product, and it\u2019s one that fits a very different niche than some of its other computers \u2014 and one with no small share of missteps by the company over the years as Apple misjudged<\/a> what power users need from their hardware. <\/p>\n

An M1-powered Mac Pro would likely need more than just another doubling of the M1\u2019s core count to satisfy professionals; it needs scalability, modularity, and customization. Things like PCIe cards, user-accessible memory slots, and compatibility with discrete graphics cards and external hardware accelerators \u2014 the same factors that made the recent 2019 refresh a success (and whose lack damned the 2016 \u201ctrash can\u201d model<\/a> almost immediately). None of Apple\u2019s Arm-based designs have offered any of those things, and it\u2019s still an open question whether Apple is interested in offering them on any level. <\/p>\n

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No RAM slots on this M1 Ultra \u2014 those black squares are baked-in memory.<\/em><\/figcaption>Image: Apple<\/cite><\/p>\n

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The sheer power of Apple\u2019s CPU and GPU cores might mean that it can beat an RTX 3090 today; a 128-core GPU in a Mac Pro would offer an even bigger cushion for a longer amount of time. But without user-upgradable parts, Apple would be forcing a future Mac Pro buyer to anticipate all their needs from the start. We\u2019ll have to wait for a more official announcement to see if Apple can evade the trap of leaning too heavily on non-upgradable systems again or not, though. <\/p>\n

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