Everything You Need to Know about Apple Next-gen Processors

APPLE M1X: Everything You Need to Know about Apple Next-gen Processors

The Apple M1X processor is rumored to be the second Apple Silicon processor to launch, following on from the original M1 chip.

Reports suggest the Apple M1X chip will be housed inside the upcoming MacBook Pro 2021, although Apple is yet to confirm the existence of this laptop.

A name hasn’t been fixed for the chip that will succeed the Apple M1, but Twitter account LeaksApplePro has suggested it could be called the Apple M1X. Other sources have reported it could be called the Apple M2 instead.

What is the Apple M1X?

While the name is up in the air, it’s widely accepted that Apple will soon reveal an Apple Silicon processor that’s even more powerful than the impressive M1 found inside the MacBook Air and iMac 2021.

In fact, if rumors are accurate, Apple could leapfrog the likes of AMD and Intel in offering the absolute best CPU performance for a laptop in the same category as the MacBook Pro. Apple is also expected to launch an even more powerful chip than the M1X for the Mac Pro, although this is expected to launch in 2022. 

Release date

The Apple M1X chip is expected to debut inside the MacBook Pro 2021, but it’s unknown when this laptop will launch.

The likes of Jon Prosser had suggested the MacBook Pro would be unveiled at WWDC 2021, but the laptop did not make an appearance during the event.

Recent reports from Digitimes (via MacRumours) have instead indicated that the MacBook Pro won’t be entering ‘volume production’ until Q4 2021 at the earliest. This means we could still be several months away from an official reveal for the M1X chip.

However, we are reasonably confident that an Apple laptop featuring the M1X will launch before the end of 2021. 

Price

The Apple M1X chip will only be available in certain Apple Macs. So far, only the MacBook Pro is expected to feature it, but we wouldn’t rule it out for a future iMac or iMac Pro configuration. 

The cheapest Apple M1X system is expected to be the rumored 14-inch MacBook Pro, but it’s anybody’s guess in regards to how much it will cost. The cheapest 16-inch MacBook Pro currently costs £2399, so we expect it to cost less than that.

Specs

The Apple M1X is expected to be considerably more powerful than the existing M1 chip, but how will the specs compare?

Bloomberg reports the M1X will have a total of 10 cores, made up of 8 high-performance cores and 2 energy-efficient cores. This suggests Apple is prioritizing performance over battery life compared to the M1, which sees 4 high-performance cores and 4 energy-efficient cores.

	Apple M1	Untitled Apple Chip
High-performance cores	4	8
Energy-efficient cores	4	2
Graphics cores	7/8	16/32

The M1X looks to have serious firepower when it comes to graphics power, with 16 and 32 graphics core variants rumored. The M1 has a maximum of 8 GPU cores, yet still flaunted an impressive graphics performance on the MacBook Air. 

YouTube channel Dave2D has estimated the graphics power of the 32 graphics core variation to be around the same level as the Nvidia RTX 3070, which is currently Nvidia’s second most powerful laptop GPU. This would be incredibly impressive if accurate, as the M1X will be an SoC (system on chip) rather than a discrete graphics card like Nvidia’s GeForce range. 

While we can’t be sure whether these specs are accurate right now, it does seem like the M1X will become one of the most powerful mobile processors when it launches, while also featuring the graphical grunt to compete with high-end discrete mobile GPUs from AMD and Nvidia. 

For more news and rumors about the Apple M1X chip, make sure to keep this page bookmarked and keep an eye on Trusted Reviews.