Apple unveiled the brand new M1 processor in November and introduced three Mac devices. Now it is reported that Apple is working on even more powerful chips for new MacBook Pro and iMac models.
The new M1 chip already competes with top-of-the-line Intel CPUs. But that is just the beginning, as Bloomberg reports. Apple is said to have much more ambitious plans, according to the news site. report Apple is reportedly working on successors to the M1 with up to 20 CPU cores, consisting of 16 high-performance and 4 efficiency cores. The company is expected to introduce ARM versions of the MacBook Pro 16″ as well as an iMac in 2021. An ARM Mac Pro is expected to follow in 2022. Bloomberg stated that the next batch of Apple Silicon Macs will be released as early as spring, which will be updated again in late 2021.
Apple Silicon: Up to 128 graphics cores for high-end devices?
According to Bloomberg, chip development is complex, and there's no guarantee that the next MacBook Pro and iMacs will feature 20-core CPUs. Apple could initially release versions with "only eight or 12 of the high-performance cores, depending on production." More powerful versions could follow at the end of the year. However, the report also states that Apple is working on desktop chips that offer up to 32 high-performance cores. Regarding the graphics processor, the M1 chip was specifically designed for devices with limited thermal performance. However, higher-priced MacBook Pro and iMac models require significantly more. According to Bloomberg, Apple is planning silicon chips with 16- or even 32-core GPUs for these devices. The high-end versions will even have 64 or perhaps 128 graphics cores and be "many times faster than the current graphics modules Apple uses from Nvidia and AMD."
