Apple is rumored to have an M1X MacBook Pro nearing release, with the announcement expected to come in October or November. Apple launched the first of its Apple Silicon Mac computers last year using the M1 chip and the next generation of this technology is anticipated to bring even higher performance and support greater memory and storage capacity.
Apple's M1 chip is more than just a central processor. Known as a system-on-a-chip (SoC), it also takes care of graphics, includes a neural engine for artificial intelligence, bundles memory, and other special functions in a single piece of silicon. This integration provides an inherent boost in speed and efficiency that's hard to beat. However, when sufficient energy is available, separate components can still overpower Apple's first-generation chip. For example, a Mac Pro tower can easily outpace a low-power M1 system in heavy processing tasks.
It's certain that Apple will be building a more powerful version of its M1 SoC that includes more cores, potentially running at a higher clock speed, and incorporating the latest technology, fine-tuned to work seamlessly with macOS, as described in leaks from Bloomberg. The end goal is to completely replace Intel CPUs within two years and that intention was shared by Apple in June of 2020. That means the arrival of a more powerful Apple chip is imminent, possibly in October. Rumors suggest the M1X will be the first of these new SoCs and that it will power a new MacBook Pro, most likely becoming a replacement of the 16-inch Intel model that Apple is currently still selling on its website. While that system hasn't been updated since 2019, it is quite powerful and includes a dedicated AMD graphics card.
Apple's Powerful M1X MacBook Pro
If the rumored M1X MacBook Pro takes the place of Apple's Intel-based, 16-inch MacBook Pro, it will fill the high-end slot that currently starts at $2,399. Compared to the $1,299 M1 MacBook Pro, customers will be expecting a significant leap in performance and capabilities. In particular, Apple's new laptop will need to support more than 16 gigabytes of memory and have a much more powerful graphics processor. The multi-core performance of the M1 was limited by the number of cores and lack of hyper-threading, a powerful Intel system can still blast through some intensive and graphically challenging tasks faster. Those are the areas the M1X will need to improve upon.
Beating the 2019 Intel-based, 16-inch MacBook Pro might not prove too difficult, but the real question is how it will fare against similarly priced laptops that use the latest Intel or AMD CPUs, and Nvidia or AMD GPUs. While Apple fans are loyal, when trying to win over professionals it's more important to get the job done than to worry about which tool was used. It isn't entirely clear whether Apple is ready to compete at that level. On the other hand, if it is planning to replace the Intel Mac Pro in 2022 or 2023, it must have plenty of performance strategies in place already.
In the next few weeks, Apple might unveil a new 16-inch MacBook Pro. A larger, faster laptop that can handle challenging, professional work, such as 3D modeling, rendering, high-resolution multi-layer video compositing, and scientific number crunching. Apple's new M1X MacBook Pro isn't official yet, but all signs point to this being the next Mac and the first to feature next-generation Apple Silicon.
Source: Bloomberg