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Within this, the M2 is based around an 8-core central processing unit (CPU), which consists of 4 “performance cores” for more intense processing and 4 “efficiency cores” for low power tasks.Īdditionally, the CPU cluster features 16 MB of shared L2 cache for the performance cores, up from 12 MB on M1, and 4 MB shared for the efficiency cores.Īpple claims that the 10-core GPU then complements the CPU cluster compared to the 8-core GPU offering in M1, a 16-core Neural Engine, and 24 GB of total unified memory capacity (~50% more than M1). Screenshot used courtesy of Apple įrom a high level, the M2 is a highly integrated SoC built on a heterogeneous architecture, leveraging several hardware accelerator blocks to boost performance. This increase in transistor count results in improvements such as more on-chip memory, more shared L2 cache, and more graphics processing unit (GPU) cores compared to the M1 architecture. However, a key difference is that M2 leverages a higher transistor count at the 5 nm node and a larger die size to integrate more functionality into the system-on-a-chip (SoC).Īccording to Apple at its WWDC 2022 event , the M2 features a total of 20 billion transistors, a number which is roughly 25% greater than the M1. In this article, we’ll look at what is known about M2, its architecture, performance, and how it improves on M1.įrom what we currently know, the Apple M2 processor is very similar architecturally to the M1. Yesterday, Apple announced the release of its next MacBook Air, a device that will be the first to feature its new, second-generation processor family: the M2. Now Apple is doubling down on its in-house silicon efforts.
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Fast forward almost two years later and what has ensued has been the M1 family of processors, which arguably offers some of the best performance of anything on the market.Īpple M1 vs M2 processors. When Apple first announced that it’d be switching from Intel’s silicon to its own in-house silicon for the future of its Mac processors, people raised a lot of questions.
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