Apple unveiled M2, the first of a new generation of Apple silicon developed particularly for Mac computers. M2, which is built on second-generation 5-nanometer technology, improves on M1’s industry-leading performance per watt with an 18% faster CPU, a 35% more powerful GPU, and a 40% faster Neural Engine. 1 It also has a 50% greater memory bandwidth than the M1, as well as up to 24GB of rapid unified memory. M2 adds all of this to the fully redesigned MacBook Air and updated 13-inch MacBook Pro, as well as new unique technologies and increased efficiency.
Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Technologies, Johny Srouji, remarked, “M2 kicks off the second generation of M-series CPUs and goes beyond the extraordinary characteristics of M1.” “M2 boasts a faster CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine thanks to our constant focus on power-efficient performance. Along with increased memory capacity and new features like ProRes acceleration, M2 maintains Apple’s rapid pace of innovation in Mac silicon.”
More memory, more transistors
M2’s system-on-a-chip (SoC) architecture uses improved, second-generation 5-nanometer technology and has 20 billion transistors, which is 25% more than M1. The extra transistors boost features across the board, including the memory controller, which now offers 100GB/s of unified memory bandwidth, which is 50% faster than M1. M2 can also manage larger and more sophisticated applications thanks to up to 24GB of rapid unified memory.
More Power-Efficient Performance in a Shorter Time
The new CPU has quicker performance cores and a bigger cache, as well as vastly improved efficiency cores for even more performance advantages. They give 18% more multithreaded performance than M1, allowing M2 to tear through CPU-intensive tasks like producing music with layers of effects or applying complicated treatments to photographs while using very little electricity. The CPU in the M2 gives roughly double the performance at the same power level as the newest 10-core PC laptop chip.
M2 also uses a fraction of the power of a PC processor while delivering the same peak performance. In comparison to the most recent 12-core PC laptop processor, M2 delivers over 90% of the peak performance of the 12-core processor while utilising just one-fourth of the power. As a result, M2 is found in bulkier, hotter, noisier devices with shorter battery life.
Apple’s next-generation GPU, with up to 10 cores – two more than M1, is also included in M2. The 10-core GPU, when combined with a bigger cache and increased memory bandwidth, provides a significant gain in graphics performance, with up to 25% higher graphics performance at the same power level and up to 35% better performance at full power.
When compared to the integrated graphics of the current PC laptop processor, the GPU in the M2 delivers 2.3x quicker performance at the same power level and equals peak performance with a sixth of the power. Even while playing graphics-intensive games or processing huge RAW photos, M2’s better performance per watt allows PCs to have outstanding battery life and operate cool and silently.
Apple’s Customization Technologies of the Future
M2 brings Apple’s most cutting-edge bespoke technology to the Mac, allowing additional features, improved security, and more:
- The Neural Engine can handle 15.8 trillion operations per second, which is more than twice as fast as M1.
- A higher-bandwidth video decoder is included in the media engine, which supports 8K H.264 and HEVC video.
- Apple’s strong ProRes video engine supports multiple streams of 4K and 8K video playback.
- Apple’s new Secure Enclave offers industry-leading security.
- A new image signal processor (ISP) reduces picture noise more effectively.
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