Developer Delves Into Reasons Why Apple's M1 Chip is So Fast

Apple's M1 chip is the fastest chip that Apple has ever released in a Mac based on single-core CPU benchmark scores, and it beats out many high-end Intel Macs when it comes to multi-core performance. Developer Erik Engheim recently shared a deep dive into the ‌M1‌ chip, exploring the reasons why Apple's new processor is so much faster than the Intel chips that it replaces.

m1 chip macbook air pro
First and foremost, the ‌M1‌ isn't a simple CPU. As Apple has explained, it's a System-on-a-Chip, which is a series of chips that are all housed together in one silicon package. The ‌M1‌ houses an 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU (7-core in some MacBook Air models), unified memory, SSD controller, image signal processor, Secure Enclave, and tons more.

Intel and AMD also ship multiple microprocessors in a single package, but as Engheim describes, Apple has a leg up because rather than focusing on general purpose CPU cores like its competitors, Apple is focusing on specialized chips that handle specialized tasks.

In addition to the CPU (with high-performance and high-efficiency cores) and GPU, the ‌M1‌ has a Neural Engine for machine learning tasks like voice recognition and camera processing, a built-in video decoder/encoder for power-efficient conversion of video files, the Secure Enclave to handle encryption, the Digital Signal Processor for handling mathematically intensive functions like decompressing music files, and the Image Processing Unit that speeds up tasks done by image processing apps.

Notably, there's also a new unified memory architecture that lets the CPU, GPU, and other cores exchange information between one another, and with unified memory, the CPU and GPU can access memory simultaneously rather than copying data between one area and another. Accessing the same pool of memory without the need for copying speeds up information exchange for faster overall performance.

All of these chips with specific purposes speed up specific tasks, leading to the improvements that people are seeing.

This is part of the reason why a lot of people working on images and video editing with the M1 Macs are seeing such speed improvements. A lot of the tasks they do, can run directly on specialized hardware. That is what allows a cheap M1 Mac Mini to encode a large video file, without breaking sweat while an expensive iMac has all its fans going full blast and still cannot keep up.

Specialized chips have been in use for years, but Apple is taking a "more radical shift towards this direction," as Engheim describes. Other Arm chip makers like AMD are taking a similar approach, but Intel and AMD rely on selling general purpose CPUs and for licensing reasons, PC manufacturers like Dell and HP are likely not able to design a full SoC in house like Apple is able to do.

Apple is able integrate hardware and software in a way that's just not possible for most other companies to replicate, which is always something that's given the iPhone and iPad an edge over other smartphones and tablets.

Sure Intel and AMD may simply begin to sell whole finished SoCs. But what are these to contain? PC makers may have different ideas of what they should contain. You potentially get a conflict between Intel, AMD, Microsoft and PC makers about what sort of specialized chips should be included because these will need software support.

Along with the benefits of an in-house designed System-on-a-Chip, Apple is also using Firestorm CPU cores in the ‌M1‌ that are "genuinely fast" and able to execute more instructions in parallel through Out-of-Order execution, RISC architecture, and some specific optimizations Apple has implemented, which Engheim has an in-depth explanation of.

Engheim believes that Intel and AMD are in a tough spot because of the limitations of the CISC instruction set and their business models that don't make it easy to create end-to-end chip solutions for PC manufacturers.

Engheim's full article is well worth reading for those who are interested in how the ‌M1‌ works and the technology that Apple has adopted to take a giant leap forward in computing performance.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's Upcoming Macs Listed in New Report

Thursday July 3, 2025 9:09 am PDT by
AppleInsider's Marko Zivkovic today shared a list of alleged identifiers for future Mac models, which should roll out over the next year or so. The report does not reveal anything too surprising, but it does serve as further evidence that Apple is seemingly working on new models of every Mac, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. Apple is...

Top Rated Comments

tumtumtum Avatar
60 months ago
People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.” - Alan Kay

Steve Jobs would be beaming over the M1.
Score: 68 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Quicksilver867 Avatar
60 months ago
It has been some time since I've been this impressed by a computer hardware development. Very much looking forward to where the M series goes.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
60 months ago

This will come at the price of configurability and "only" able to run Apple OS, all of which is fine, for Apple.

99.9% of all computing devices sold only run one OS. This is fine.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
60 months ago

RISC has been "the future" since at least 1985 when ARM started, and a bit before that with MIPS.
It looks like it is finally reality now in more than quite narrow markets.
Problem with Risc has never been technology. Lots of RISC processors in the past have blown away their CISC competitors.

The problem has always been “does it seamlessly run Windows and existing Windows apps?”

BYOD, the mobile Arm hegemony, and Apple’s expertise at supporting multi-architecture code has finally broken the glass.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ds6778 Avatar
60 months ago
it’s impressive that it’s not even a real comparison at this point. The M1 is insane. Anyone arguing that Intel is better is in denial.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mike MA Avatar
60 months ago
Soon people will recognize that this is the „One more thing“ they‘ve all been waiting for the last couple of years.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)