Apple Unveils Self-Developed 'M1' Chipset for Mac
8 Cores with Up to 3.5x CPU Performance Improvement
13-Inch MacBook Air, Pro, and Mac Mini Released
[Asia Economy Reporter Jinju Han] Apple has unveiled its self-designed Apple Silicon chipset 'M1'. Apple also introduced the 13-inch MacBook Pro and the new MacBook Air equipped with the M1, which significantly improve speed and battery performance.
On the 10th (local time), Apple held the 'One More Thing' event at Apple Park in California, USA, where it revealed the Apple Silicon chipset 'M1' along with the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said, "With the launch of the new Mac series equipped with Apple's M1 chipset, we are witnessing a huge transformation, and today is a truly historic day for Mac and Apple," adding, "The M1 is the most powerful chipset we have ever made, offering amazing performance, battery life, and access to more software and apps than ever before."
The M1 chipset, designed by Apple specifically for Mac, consists of 8 cores and provides up to 3.5 times faster CPU, up to 6 times improved GPU, and 15 times faster machine learning capabilities. Compared to previous chipsets, battery performance has nearly doubled. It also enables running iPhone and iPad apps directly on the Mac.
The new MacBook Air features a 13-inch display and is equipped with the M1 chipset, maintaining its thin and light advantages while greatly improving performance. The 8-core CPU delivers 3.5 times faster CPU performance than the previous generation, and the GPU with up to 8 cores is 5 times faster in graphics. Machine learning speed is also improved, allowing tasks such as facial recognition and object detection to be performed in a shorter time.
Battery life is the longest ever in a MacBook Air product. It supports up to 15 hours of web surfing and up to 18 hours of video playback. Compared to products equipped with previous Intel chipsets, it can play and edit 4K video in Final Cut Pro without frame loss. The built-in camera quality has been improved. The domestic price starts from 1,290,000 KRW.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro has also seen a significant performance improvement over its predecessor. The 8-core CPU is 2.8 times faster than the previous MacBook Pro. The GPU is 5 times faster, and machine learning tasks are 11 times faster. Efficiency has increased, allowing up to 20 hours of video playback and 17 hours of wireless web browsing on a single charge, which is double the previous usage time.
Apple introduced the 13-inch MacBook Pro as having three times better performance compared to existing Windows laptops. It is equipped with studio-quality microphones and improved built-in camera quality. It also features two USB-C ports supporting USB 4 and Thunderbolt 4. The price of the 13-inch MacBook Pro starts from 1,690,000 KRW.
Apple also unveiled the new Mac Mini, a compact desktop computer. The design remains the same as the previous model, but the chipset has been upgraded to the M1, significantly improving performance. It offers 3 times faster CPU performance and 6 times enhanced GPU compared to the previous Mac Mini. Apple stated, "It is 5 times faster than a typical PC desktop." The price starts from 890,000 KRW.
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