The ARM era with Apple Silicon chips has officially kicked off on Apple’s latest Mac lineup. While the M1 chip is already dominating many areas and making big rivals like Intel and AMD nervous, new info about an upgraded version called the M1X, expected to power the upcoming 16-inch MacBook Pro next year, has surprised many with its insane performance.
Specifically, a well-known Twitter leaker named LeaksApplePro, who has accurately predicted many Apple product details before, recently shared some initial info about the new Apple M1X chip.
The M1X chip is rumored to debut in the next-generation 16-inch MacBook Pro. It will feature 12 cores total, with 8 high-performance cores and 4 efficiency cores. The leaker also quoted their source saying, “If you think the M1 chip is fast, that’s because you haven’t tried the M1X yet,” suggesting the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1X will outperform the already powerful M1 chip by a wide margin. Also, M1X is not confirmed as the official name yet.
If LeaksApplePro’s info is accurate, the new M1X chip will be a serious threat to Intel and AMD. The M1 chip was just Apple’s first step in switching to ARM architecture and has received positive feedback from the community. Moving forward, with stronger MacBook models like the 16-inch Pro, iMac, and Mac Pro, Apple could leave competitors far behind in performance. This period will also see developers optimizing their apps for ARM platforms.
It’s still unclear when Apple will release the next Macs running ARM chips. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts new Mac designs will launch in the second half of next year, not at the rumored March event. Regardless, Apple Silicon chips have huge potential and will play a key role in Apple’s transition over at least the next two years.
