M1 vs M2: Should You Upgrade to Apple’s Newest Chip?

Apple has launched the 2nd generation of the Apple Silicon chips. The chip – M2 – seems to be a worthy upgrade to the 1st generation – M1 – which was released in 2020. There were major improvements to the M1 in this generation and we want to show you where to look. Hence, this M1 vs M2 comparison.

In this post, we compare the specs of the M1 vs the M2 chip. Take a look at the comparison and let us know what your thoughts are in the comments section.

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READ MORE: M1 vs M1 Pro vs M1 Max: Comparing MacBook Chips

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M1 vs M2: How Do They Compare?

NOTE: This is solely based on specs released by Apple.

Performance

First, we’ll take a look at the CPUs. This is an important aspect that can dictate the performance of a chip. The M2 comes with over 20 billion transistors and that’s 25% more than the M1 – 15 billion transistors.

These transistors enhance every feature of the chip including the memory controller that delivers 100GB/s of unified memory bandwidth. This is 50% more than M1. M2 delivers 18% greater performance at the same power level as the M1.

Graphics Rendering

Here, the next-generation GPU that comes with the M2 features 10-cores which is unlike the M1 which is 8-core. This 10-core GPU delivers a big boost in graphic performance. Hence, at the same power level as the M1, M2 delivers 25% greater GPU performance.

Neural Engine

The neural engine in M2 can process up to 16.8 trillion operations per second. This is over 40% more than the M1.

Availability

The MacBook Air (2022) and an updated MacBook Pro 13-inch will come with the new M2 chip. While the M1 still comes with the MacBook Air and Pro (2020). We expect that going forward, the M2 comes with more and newer notebooks.

M1 vs M2: Summary of Differences

	M2	M1
Transistors	20 Billion	15 Billion
Unified Memory Bandwidth	100GB/s	50GB/s
Total GPU Cores	10-core	8-core
Neural Engine	16.8 Trillion operations/second	10 Trillion operations/second
Availability	MacBook Air (2022), MacBook Pro 13-inch	MacBook Pro (2020), MacBook Air (2020)

The M2 is a considerable upgrade to the M1. Let us know what your thoughts are in the comments section.