Apple revealed two new processors today called the M1 Pro and M1 Max. But how do these new chips differ, and which is best for you?
We’ve assembled this guide to offer a full breakdown on the two Apple Silicon processors that look set to power the MacBook Pro 2021. Here’s everything you need to know.
They’re both options for the MacBook Pro
The Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max processors may have different specs, but they’re both intended for the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops.
Apple hasn’t revealed any more Macs that will house the two pro-level chips just yet, but they’re widely expected to come to the likes of the Mac Mini and iMac in the future too.
The M1 Max has more GPU cores
If you’re looking for the most powerful laptop chip possible, then the M1 Max is your best bet. It features a whopping 32 graphics cores, which is double the count of the M1 Pro.
Apple claims the M1 Max is 13.4x faster than the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Intel Iris Plus graphics at rendering 4K video, while the M1 Pro is just 9.2x quicker.
The M1 Pro is significantly cheaper
The starting price of a 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M1 Pro chip comes in at £1899. That gets you 8 CPU cores and 14 GPU cores.
The cheapest price you can get the 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M1 Max chip is £2799, which is a whopping £500 more expensive.
It’s a similar story with the 16-inch MacBook Pro, with M1 Pro configuration starting at £2399 (with 16GB RAM), and the M1 Max version costing £2999 (with 32GB RAM) at least.
The M1 Pro comes in two flavours
Confusingly, Apple is actually offering two different versions of the M1 Pro chip when picking a configuration for the 14-inch MacBook Pro.
One chip packs 8 CPU cores and 14 GPU cores, while another slightly more expensive version features 10 CPU cores and 16 GPU cores.
There aren’t any variations with the M1 Max processor, with all versions coming with a 10-core CPU and 32-core GPU.
The M1 Max has more memory on offer
The M1 Pro is restricted to just two memory options: 16GB and 32GB.
Meanwhile, the M1 Max can be configured with up to 64GB of memory, while also serving up a 32GB option if you want to save a bit of money.
This comes as no surprise, with M1 Max once again offering the greater performance ceiling if you fancy cranking up the performance power.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.