MacBook Air and MacBook Pro M1 Chips Have Same 8-Core CPUs, No Upgrades Available

Tuesday November 10, 2020 11:12 am PST by Juli Clover

The newly announced MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models that Apple announced today are equipped with the same 8-core M1 chip that also offers an integrated GPU, with Apple offering no CPU upgrades.

macbook air m1 models
There is, however, a GPU upgrade available for the ‌MacBook Air‌. By default, the ‌MacBook Air‌ ships with an ‌M1‌ chip with a 7-core GPU, while the ‌MacBook Pro‌ has the same ‌M1‌ chip with an 8-core GPU.

If you choose the $1,249 ‌MacBook Air‌ model with a 512GB SSD, it upgrades to an 8-core GPU instead of the default 7-core GPU, but there is no custom configuration option to choose the lower tier model with the upgraded 8-core GPU option.

Both the ‌MacBook Air‌ and the ‌MacBook Pro‌ can be customized with more RAM and more storage space. The Mac mini also has the same ‌M1‌ chip with 8-core GPU as the ‌MacBook Pro‌ with no GPU/CPU upgrade option available. The new models are available today and will start shipping out next week.

Related Roundups: MacBook Air, Mac mini

Buyer's Guide: MacBook Air (Neutral), Mac Mini (Caution)

Related Forums: MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac mini

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Top Rated Comments

ilikewhey

74 months ago

for me its pretty obvious i'm getting the air, no touch bar please.

Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)

macsound1

74 months ago

I don't really understand why the pro is more expensive and needs a fan. Higher frequency?

$300 buys you a fan to prevent thermal throttling.

Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)

kalafalas

74 months ago

They don’t mention clock speeds though. I imagine since the pro is actively cooled it is clocked higher and can maintain higher clock speeds under sustained load so it will provide better performance

Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)

mariusignorello

74 months ago

M1 is going to change how computers are sold. No more cramming in ram when you can make the ram you have work more efficiently.

Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)

sajlonix

74 months ago

THIS IS A JOKE!!
pure, undenaible JOKE 🤣🤣LOL 😂

only two ports on pro?? So we just buy more eco-friendly adapters?? or is it just another "lower-end" Pro with touch bar so boomers can show off in starbucks..??