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Apple M1

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Apple M1
Illustration of an M1 processor
Apple M1 chip
General information
LaunchedNovember 10, 2020[1]
Designed byApple Inc.
Common manufacturer
Product codeAPL1102[2]
Performance
Max. CPU clock rate3.2 GHz[1]
Cache
L1 cache192+128 KB per core (performance cores)
128+64 KB per core (efficient cores)
L2 cache12 MB (performance cores)
4 MB (efficient cores)
Architecture and classification
ApplicationDesktop (Mac Mini, iMac)

Notebook (MacBook family)

Tablet (iPad Pro and iPad Air)
Technology node5 nm
Microarchitecture"Firestorm" and "Icestorm"[1]
Instruction setARMv8.4-A[3]
Physical specifications
Transistors
  • 16 billion
Cores
  • 8 (4× high-performance + 4× high-efficiency)
GPUApple-designed integrated graphics (up to 8 cores)[4]
Products, models, variants
Variant
History
PredecessorsIntel Core and Apple T2 chip (Mac)
Apple A12Z Bionic (iPad Pro)
Apple A14 Bionic (iPad Air)
Mac transition to
Apple silicon
The Apple M1

The Apple M1 is an ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. as a central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) for its Macintosh desktops, MacBook notebooks, iPad Pro and iPad Air tablets.[5] The new chip also brought Apple's third change to the instruction set architecture used by Macintosh computers, 14 years after they were switched from PowerPC to Intel. Apple said that the chip has the world's fastest CPU core "in low power silicon" and the world's best CPU performance per watt.[5][6]

The M1 was released in November 2020, followed the next year by the Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max versions, and in March 2022, the latest version of the M1 generation, M1 Ultra. These differ largely in size and the number of functional units: for example, the original M1 has about 16 billion transistors; the largest M1 Ultra, 114 billion.

Apple's macOS and iPadOS operating systems both run on the M1. Initial support for the M1 SoC in the Linux kernel was released in version 5.13 on June 27, 2021.[7] The initial versions contain an architectural defect that permits sandboxed applications to exchange data, violating the security model.[8]

Design

CPU

The M1 has four high-performance "Firestorm" and four energy-efficient "Icestorm" cores, providing a hybrid configuration similar to ARM DynamIQ and Intel's Lakefield and Alder Lake processors.[9] This combination allows power-use optimizations not possible with previous Apple–Intel architecture devices. Apple claims the energy-efficient cores use one-tenth the power of the high-performance ones.[10] The high-performance cores have an unusually large[11] 192 KB of L1 instruction cache and 128 KB of L1 data cache and share a 12 MB L2 cache; the energy-efficient cores have a 128 KB L1 instruction cache, 64 KB L1 data cache, and a shared 4 MB L2 cache. The SoC also has a 16MB System Level Cache shared by the GPU.

GPU

The M1 integrates an Apple designed[4] eight-core (seven in some base models) graphics processing unit (GPU). Each GPU core is split into 16 Execution Units, which each contain eight Arithmetic Logic Units (ALUs). In total, the M1 GPU contains up to 128 Execution units or 1024 ALUs,[12] which Apple says can execute up to 24,576 threads simultaneously and which have a maximum floating point (FP32) performance of 2.6 TFLOPs.[9][13]

Other features

The M1 uses 4,266 MT/s LPDDR4X SDRAM[14] in a unified memory configuration shared by all the components of the processor. The SoC and RAM chips are mounted together in a system-in-a-package design. 8 GB and 16 GB configurations are available.

The M1 contains dedicated neural network hardware in a 16-core Neural Engine, capable of executing 11 trillion operations per second.[9] Other components include an image signal processor (ISP), an NVMe storage controller, Thunderbolt 4 controllers, and a Secure Enclave.

Supported codecs include H264 and H265 (8/10bit, up to 4:4:4), VP9, and JPEG.[citation needed]

Performance and efficiency

The M1 recorded competitive performance and efficiency in popular benchmarks (Geekbench 5, Cinebench R23).[15]

The 2020 M1-equipped Mac mini draws 7 watts when idle and 39 watts at maximum load,[16] compared with 20 watts idle and 122 watts maximum load for the 2018, 6-core Intel i7 Mac mini.[17] The energy efficiency of the M1 doubles the battery life of M1-based MacBooks from the previous Intel-based MacBooks.[citation needed]

At release, the MacBook Air (M1, 2020) and MacBook Pro (M1, 2020) were considered to be the fastest MacBooks produced by Apple.[18]

The processor without the heatspreader showing the CPU die and the small SMD capacitors underneath. The left side of the image is a render.
The Apple M1 processor with the heatspreader, only showing the two modules containing the LPDDR4X SDRAM.
M1 on a Mac mini (model 9,1, 2020) logic board compared with A13 SOC on an iPhone 11 CPU board.

Products that use the Apple M1

Problems

USB power delivery bricking

After its release, some users who charged M1 devices through USB-C hubs reported bricking their device.[24] The devices that are reported to cause this issue were third-party USB-C hubs and non-Thunderbolt docks (excluding Apple's own dongle).[24] Apple handled this issue by replacing the logic board and by telling its customers not to charge through those hubs.[citation needed] macOS Big Sur 11.2.2 includes a fix to prevent 2019 or later MacBook Pro models and 2020 or later MacBook Air models from being damaged by certain third-party USB-C hubs and docks.[25][26]

Hardware errata

The M1 chip has errata given the name "M1RACLES". Two sandboxed applications can exchange data without the system's knowledge by using an unintentionally writable processor register as a covert channel, violating the security model and constituting a minor vulnerability. It was discovered by Héctor Martín Cantero.[27]

Variants

The table below shows the various SoCs based on the "Firestorm" and "Icestorm" microarchitectures.

Variant CPU

cores (P+E)

GPU
cores 		GPU
EU 		Graphics
ALU 		Memory (GB) Transistor
count
A14 6 (2+4) 4 64 512 4 - 6 11.8 billion
M1 8 (4+4) 7 112 896 8 - 16 16 billion
M1 8 128 1024
M1 Pro 8 (6+2) 14 224 1792 16 - 32 34 billion
M1 Pro 10 (8+2)
M1 Pro 16 256 2048
M1 Max 10 (8+2) 24 384 3072 32 - 64 57 billion
M1 Max 32 512 4096
M1 Ultra 20 (16+4) 48 768 6144 64 - 128 114 billion
M1 Ultra 64 1024 8192

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Frumusanu, Andrei (November 17, 2020), The 2020 Mac Mini Unleashed: Putting Apple Silicon M1 To The Test, archived from the original on 2021-02-01, retrieved 2020-11-18
  2. ^ [Teardown] Late 2020 Mac mini: Apple Silicon M1, Thunderbolt..., archived from the original on 2020-12-02, retrieved 2020-11-18
  3. ^ "M1 - Apple". WikiChip. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  4. ^ a b Apple's M1 Pro, M1 Max SoCs Investigated: New Performance and Efficiency Heights. Page 6, "GPU Performance: 2-4x For Productivity, Mixed Gaming"
  5. ^ a b "The Apple M1 is the first ARM-based chipset for Macs with the fastest CPU cores and top iGPU". GSMArena.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-25. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
  6. ^ Sohail, Omar (2020-11-10). "Apple's 5nm M1 Chip Is the First for ARM-Based Macs - Boasts 2x More Performance Than Latest Laptop CPU, Uses One-Fourth the Power". Wccftech. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
  7. ^ Adorno, José (2021-06-28). "Linux Kernel 5.13 officially launches with support for M1 Macs". 9to5Mac. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  8. ^ Goodin, Dan (2021-05-28). "Covert channel in Apple's M1 is mostly harmless, but it sure is interesting". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  9. ^ a b c "Apple M1 Chip". Apple.com. Apple. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Here's what the future of Apple silicon Macs look like". iMore. 2020-11-10. Archived from the original on 2020-12-07. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
  11. ^ "Apple Announces The Apple Silicon M1: Ditching x86 - What to Expect, Based on A14: Apple's Humongous CPU Microarchitecture". AnandTech. 2020-11-10. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
  12. ^ Frumusanu, Andrei. "The 2020 Mac Mini Unleashed: Putting Apple Silicon M1 To The Test". www.anandtech.com. Archived from the original on 2021-02-01. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  13. ^ Kingsley-Hughes, Adrian (10 Nov 2020). "Apple Silicon M1 chip: Here's what we know". ZDnet. Red Ventures. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  14. ^ "M1 MacBook Air & Pro - EXCLUSIVE Apple Interview! | The Tech Chap - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-13. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  15. ^ Antoniadis, Anastasios (November 21, 2020). "Apple M1 Benchmarks Are Here – Apple Delivered Performance and Efficiency". Borderpolar. Archived from the original on December 28, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  16. ^ "Mac mini power consumption and thermal output (BTU) information". Apple Support. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  17. ^ Lovejoy, Ben (January 28, 2021). "M1 Mac mini power consumption and thermal output figures highlight Apple Silicon efficiency". 9To5Mac. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  18. ^ Cunningham, Andrew (December 18, 2020). "The Best MacBooks". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  19. ^ "MacBook Air (M1, 2020) - Technical Specifications". support.apple.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  20. ^ "Mac mini (M1, 2020) - Technical specifications". support.apple.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  21. ^ "MacBook Pro (13-inch, M1, 2020) - Technical Specifications". support.apple.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  22. ^ "iMac features all-new design in vibrant colors, M1 chip, and 4.5K Retina display". Apple Newsroom. Archived from the original on 2021-04-20. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  23. ^ a b "iPad Pro - Technical Specifications". Apple. Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  24. ^ a b "M1 MacBook Air won't power on". MacRumors Forums. Archived from the original on 2021-01-12. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  25. ^ Miller, Chance (February 25, 2021). "macOS Big Sur 11.2.2 released with fix for using MacBooks with 'non-compliant' USB-C hubs". 9to5Mac. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  26. ^ "What's new in the updates for macOS Big Sur". Apple Support. February 25, 2021. macOS Big Sur 11.2.2. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  27. ^ Goodin, Dan (30 May 2021). "Apple's M1 Chip Has a Fascinating Flaw". Wired. Condé Nast. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
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