The processors manufactured by Apple — Apple Silicon — are a genuine engineering marvel.
They deliver exceptionally powerful performance combined with remarkably low energy consumption, and are truly revolutionizing the world of processors.
So what is the secret behind Apple processors?
The answer lies in a combination of many factors. Given the character limit, I'll cover them briefly 😃:
**SoC – System on a Chip** is a single electronic board onto which various components are soldered to create a self-contained system. Apple Silicon is not merely a processor — it is a CPU, GPU, RAM, storage controller, and machine-learning processing unit all on a single chip.
In Windows PCs, data must travel back and forth between these components via the motherboard, resulting in energy loss and reduced efficiency.
**Unified Memory** – In Windows PCs, the CPU accesses the system's RAM to perform operations, while the graphics card uses its own dedicated vRAM. This means that performing operations on the same piece of data requires transferring it back and forth between the two memory pools.
Apple Silicon, by contrast, features a single pool of RAM on the chip itself, with the CPU and GPU operating in parallel on the same memory.
This design enables a dramatic improvement in performance and response time, and Apple made a point of highlighting it prominently at the processor's launch. It represents a genuine breakthrough and a highly significant innovation in the chip industry.
**Architecture** – Apple processors are based on ARM, the same architecture used to manufacture processors for mobile phones.
This was a bold move, it should be noted, because ARM places its primary focus on energy efficiency and a low thermal footprint — important metrics for mobile devices — rather than on the performance levels demanded by a full desktop operating system.
In practice, this meant redesigning the processor itself and adapting the operating system and software to work with it. Apple met the challenge successfully, delivering the performance of an advanced laptop despite the use of ARM.
To this one should add the use of a 5 nm manufacturing process, and starting with the M3 series — 3 nm. I'll explain lithography and its significance another time.
**Metal API** – Apple Silicon makes use of an API developed by Apple to improve communication between graphics software and the GPU.
In a Windows PC, when an application such as a video game sends data to be processed by the GPU, it must first pass through the CPU and undergo "translation" before being sent to the GPU. Metal API, by contrast, enables direct communication between the video game and the GPU, saving both processing time and energy.
**Dedicated processing cores** – On Apple's chip, dedicated sections can be found for specific tasks, such as exporting video in certain formats. This means that in benchmarks involving video export, the chip will score relatively high compared to a processor that lacks a dedicated engine for this purpose — even if that processor is generally more powerful overall.
This is a clever move that highlights Apple's strengths in the world of computer graphics, in contrast to gaming — a domain where it still cannot compete with gaming PCs equipped with thousands of processing cores.
**Operating system** – Compared to Windows, macOS is a "lean" and efficient operating system, lacking many of the networking and compatibility capabilities of Windows. This makes it considerably more efficient and faster than the comparatively bloated Windows.
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Apple's secret strength is a drive for innovation combined with full control over the entire production chain. Had Apple not been the manufacturer of every link in that chain — from the various hardware components all the way through to the operating system and software — this move would not have been feasible. And that is precisely why none of its competitors were able to execute a similar move before it.
Next time — an explanation of the Pro and Max variants of Apple Silicon.
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