Apple has today announced the first Apple Silicon processor for the Mac titled the "M1" chip. The M1 is optimized for Mac systems that prioritize small size and power efficiency.
The M1 chip has an eight-core CPU, with four high-performance cores, in what Apple calls "the world's fastest CPU core." The other four cores are high-efficiency cores that use one-tenth of the power while still delivering high performance. Apple says that M1 delivers the best CPU performance per watt.
The M1 has integrated graphics with GPU containing up to eight cores, and with 2.6 teraflops of throughput, Apple says the M1 contains the world's fastest integrated graphics. The chip also contains a six-core neural engine that can process 11 trillion operations per second, as well as Apple's Secure Enclave and a high-performance storage controller.
The M1 chip can reportedly deliver up to 3.5 times faster CPU performance, up to six times faster GPU performance, and up to 15 times faster machine learning, all while enabling a battery life up to two times longer than previous-generation Macs.
The M1 is also built on the same five-nanometer process as the A14 Bionic chip, and supports Thunderbolt 3 and USB 4.
Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon.
In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis.
In his Powe...
Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio.
Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014.
Q.ai has...
Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models.
"All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro.
There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
"Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today.
"I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...
I can't wait to see how some of the claims stack up in in testing.
Geekbench 5 of an unreleased Mac with an A14X (which means it was likely an M1) benched higher on single and multi core than the 8-core i9 in the 16" MBP.
