Apple has revealed a new processor called the M1 Pro, which is confirmed to feature inside the new MacBook Pro laptops.
Previously rumoured to be called the M1X, the M1 Pro processor will feature up to 10 CPU cores and 16 GPU cores.
Keep scrolling down for everything you need to know about the new Apple M1 chip.
What is the Apple M1 Pro?
The Apple M1 Pro is a new processor that’s built with Apple Silicon. It’s designed to be the ‘pro’ variant of the standard M1 chip, offering a powerful integrated graphics performance to blast through tasks such as 8K video rendering and 3D animation.
The M1 Pro isn’t the most powerful Apple Silicon processor currently available, with the M1 Max packing more transistors and GPU cores for a faster performance. But the M1 Max also demands a significantly higher fee.
The Apple M1 Pro chip is currently only available in the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops, but it’s rumoured to become available in the Mac Mini and iMac in 2022.
Release date
Apple has confirmed that M1 Pro chip will be available inside the MacBook Pro from next week on 26 October.
The new processor was revealed during the ‘Unleashed’ Apple Event on 18th October.
Price
The M1 Pro will be available in both the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro has a £1899/$1999 starting price, but that will give you a less powerful M1 Pro chip that features just 8 CPU cores and 14 GPU cores. Fortunately, you can get the full-fat M1 Pro chip (10-core CPU and 16-core GPU) by spending an extra £300.
Meanwhile, the 16-inch MacBook Pro comes with the full-fat M1 Pro chip with its starting price of £2399/$2499.
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Specs
The M1 Pro chip has up to 10 CPU cores made up of 8 high-performance cores and 2 power-efficient cores. This clearly shows that Apple is prioritising performance over battery life.
Apple claims the M1 Pro offers 70% faster processing speeds than the M1 chip, making it more suitable for those who need a high-end performance.
The M1 Pro also features an impressive 16-core GPU, which Apple claims to be 1.7x faster at rendering 8K video than AMD’s Radeon Pro 5600M GPU found inside the 2019 MacBook Pro.
Despite offering far more power than the standard M1 chip, Apple has confirmed that it will use the same first-generation Apple Silicon architecture with a 5nm node. This means the M1 Pro should be viewed as a more powerful configuration option for Macs rather than a sequel to the M1.
The Trusted Take
It may not be called M1X as we expected, but the M1 Pro chip still looks fantastic. The bump to GPU cores and high-performance CPU cores will no doubt result in a superb performance that will rival the best mobile processors on offer from AMD and Intel.
What’s more, Apple has launched an even more powerful processor called the M1 Max. While we can’t make any final judgements until we get to benchmark these processors for ourselves, it certainly looks Apple made the right decision when cutting Intel off for its Mac range.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.