While Intel and the rest of the industry have been in a state of shock since Apple unveiled its M1 laptop chip last month, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is not standing still. According to a leaker, the Santa Clara, California-headquartered semiconductor company has two Apple M1 competitor chips in prototype stages that are apparently “almost ready”.
Chips
How to know if your Mac has an Apple Silicon or an Intel processor
Learn how to identify Apple silicon Macs and determine whether your computer is running an Intel processor or Apple's in-house chip, such as M1, M2, M3, M4, or one of its variants.
TSMC may build A15 chips for 2021 iPhones, Macs using its next-gen 5nm+ and 4nm process
Apple is reportedly planning to manufacture next year's iPhone, iPad and Mac chips on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) 5nm+ and 4nm process technologies. By comparison, the current A14 chips in the latest iPhones and the M1 chips in the new MacBook Air, Mac mini and 13-inch MacBook Pro are being fabbed on TSMC's five-nanometer process.
Apple discontinues Intel-based MacBook Air, other models still available with Intel chips
With its new M1 laptop chip and related hardware updates to the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini, Apple has now stopped selling MacBook Air configurations with Intel processors in order to focus exclusively on the new models that are powered by the M1 chip. As for the Mac mini and MacBook Pro, some Intel-based configurations continue to be offered by Apple.
Apple’s new M1 laptop chip is limited to 16GB of RAM, doesn’t support external GPUs
The new M1 laptop chip in Apple's refreshed Mac mini, as well as in the 13-inch MacBook Air and Pro models, maxes out at 32 gigabytes of RAM. Also, it doesn't support external GPUs (eGPU) via Thunderbolt like its Intel-based counterpart does. Here's what's going on...
Here’s why the baseline $999 MacBook Air comes with seven GPU cores instead of eight
The baseline $999 model of Apple's refreshed MacBook Air notebook, powered by its new M1 laptop chip, comes with seven graphics cores instead of eight. That's because Apple is salvaging some weaker chips by disabling one core, a process known as binning.
Apple is reportedly already developing A15 chips for iPhone 13, iMacs, MacBooks & more
Tucked away as a side-note in today’s report by The China Times newspaper outlining the first Apple Silicon products is a mention of Apple’s next-generation A15 system-on-a-chip.
A redesigned iMac with desktop-class Apple A14T chip should drop in the first half of 2021
According to a new report published this morning in Chinese-language newspaper The China Times, Apple will release its first iMac all-in-one desktop featuring the company's in-house designed A14T chip, code-named Mt. Jade, in the first half of next year.
Apple seeks tax breaks from the US government to support domestic chip production
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has been churning out Apple's custom chips in its facilities in Taiwan, but Apple may be looking to boost domestic chip production.
Comparison: iPhone 11 Pro vs iPhone 12 Pro vs iPhone 12 Pro Max
Apple on Tuesday announced its brand-new iPhone lineup for 2020, which included the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max in addition to the smaller and less-expensive iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 options. For now, we’ll focus on the flagship models.
In this piece, we’ll help those who already own last year’s iPhone 11 Pro decide whether or not they should upgrade to this year’s iPhone 12 Pro or 12 Pro Max by comparing each handset’s technical specifications to the other.
Rumor: The next Apple TV and HomePod mini to double as UWB base stations
According to a prominent leaker, the next Apple TV and a smaller $99 HomePod model will double as ultra-wide band (UWB) base stations capable of tracking the user's location as they walk around the house. This is going to require Apple's A1 chip for spatial awareness that will allegedly be built into the next Apple TV and the HomePod mini. In addition, the feature will require an U1-enabled device like one of the iPhone 11 or Apple Watch Series 6 models.
Bad quality assurance of Skylake reportedly accelerated Apple’s plans to ditch Intel
According to an ex-Intel engineer, bad quality assurance of Intel's Skylake chips has reinforced the notion within Apple that the company should hasten its long-expected switch to its own in-house designed desktop chips based on its custom sic lion in iOS devices.