For Mac loyalists, 2020 marked a major paradigm shift. After nearly 15 years of relying on Intel silicon, Apple dramatically announced its plan to instead begin using innovative in-house ARM-based chips designed specifically for MacBooks and iMacs. Two years later, the M1 chip‘s successor has now arrived in the form of the new M2 processor.
This transition to Apple silicon has delivered massive real-world performance and efficiency gains. But with many still impressed by the first-gen M1, should you consider upgrading to the new M2-powered 2022 MacBooks? What exactly are the differences between the M1 and M2 chips? As an experienced hardware analyst, let me decompose the specs to help you decide!
Meeting the New M2 Chip
First, some context on what the M2 is and why it matters…
In June 2022, Apple unveiled their second-generation chip designed explicitly for Macs, the M2, which builds on the strong foundations laid by the pioneering M1 in late 2020. This updated chip now powers the redesigned 2022 editions of both the 13-inch MacBook Pro and refreshed MacBook Air lineup.
Apple is labeling the M2 as a "second-generation" silicon product – but this does not signify any radical changes. Rather, M2 incrementally optimizes and tweaks aspects of M1 like manufacturing process, CPU cores, GPU cores and memory while retaining the same core architecture.
You can think of it how AMD and Intel refine and enhance their existing CPU architectures across generations, usually improving performance by 15-20% gen-on-gen through better efficiency.
But even if not revolutionary, these changes with M2 are still consequential – representing the next step in Apple‘s 7-8 year silicon roadmap as they gradually replace Intel chips across their entire Mac portfolio.
Let‘s analyze this new chip to see what advancements M2 brings to the table.
Comparing M2 and M1 Specs
On paper, you can observe a clear trend of evolution between the M1 and newer M2 silicon:
Manufacturing Process
- M1: 5nm
- M2: Enhanced 5-nm (2nd-gen)
By leveraging an optimized second-gen 5nm production process, Apple has crammed 20 billion transistors onto the M2 chip, 4 billion more than M1. Higher density generally leads to efficiency gains.
CPU Cores
- M1: 8 cores (4 performance, 4 efficiency)
- M2: 8 cores (4 performance, 4 efficiency)
The core architecture remains exactly the same for M2 – a 4+4 split between high-performance and high-efficiency cores. But despite equal core counts, Apple still claims an 18% CPU speed bump through leveraging the A15 Bionic‘s improved cores first introduced last fall in iPhone 13.
GPU Cores
- M1: Up to 8 cores
- M2: Up to 10 cores
Graphics get a nice 25% increase in maximum core count, rising from 8 to 10 cores. However, the entry-level M2 Air still only packs an 8-core GPU, with the upgraded 10-core GPU reserved for higher priced configurations.
So in summary…
While keeping the same fundamental design as M1, Apple has extracted higher clock speeds and greater efficiency from both the CPU and GPU in M2 through process refinements and architectural tweaks.
This table summarizes some other notable tech specs between the two chip families:
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| Spec | M1 | M2 |
|---|---|---|
| Neural Engine Cores | 16 cores | 16 cores (40% higher throughput) |
| Memory Bandwidth | 68GB/s | 100GB/s |
| Max Memory (RAM) | 16GB | 24GB |
| Media Engines | No | Yes (Encode/Decode) |
With 50% more memory bandwidth, support for up to 24GB RAM, and the addition of hardware video encode/decode blocks, M2 builds a compelling case as a serious upgrade…at least on paper. But how do these specs translate to real world usage?
Evaluating Real-World Performance
Digging into hands-on application tests reveals more about the actual user experience gains between M1 and M2 MacBook models in areas like:
General Compute and Productivity
- 18% faster video conferencing performance in Zoom
- 20% shorter export times in iMovie after editing clips
- Enhanced responsiveness in everyday apps like Safari, Pages and Outlook
Gaming Frame Rates
- Up to 30% higher FPS in titles like Grid Legends and Resident Evil Village at Low settings
- Much smoother gameplay with fewer hitches or lag
GPU Rendering
- 25-30% quicker render completion in Blender and other 3D tools
- Visual effects exports finish notably faster
Image and Video Editing
- 40% shorter timeline rendering in Final Cut Pro
- Faster live previews and effects scrubbing
- Much snappier performance applying filters or adjustments in Photoshop
And according to synthetic benchmarks, M2 demonstrates almost 2x faster speeds in certain GPU compute workloads compared to M1 thanks to higher memory bandwidth and more graphics cores to leverage.
However in tests heavily bound to CPU speeds, that 18% generational jump is indeed just an incremental improvement – translating to maybe a 15% overall boost during most general workflows. M2 is definitely not suddenly doubling speeds across the board.
In summary, while not revolutionary, M2 does deliver tangible speed-ups especially for graphical and creative pro use cases. But for many everyday light computing tasks, casual users may barely notice a dramatic difference coming from M1.
Cost Breakdown: M1 vs M2 Pricing
Given the mostly modest performance gains covered already, is upgrading to M2 really worth the higher price tag Apple is commanding? Let‘s break it down…
The M2-based 2022 MacBook Air starts at $1,199, a full $200 over the previous M1 edition (still available for $999). Even maxed out configs cost more too – a 24GB M2 Air now runs $1,899 vs $1,649 for a 16GB M1 model.
Partly these jumps simply reflect greater component costs, inflation, and supply chain issues hitting the entire laptop industry. Paying extra for newly released hardware is also typical early in a cycle before discounts kick in.
However Apple knows the new M2 MacBook Air is measurably faster while sporting a sleek new aesthetic design and improved display. From their perspective, a 15-20% markup is reasonable.
But from a value standpoint, buyer math says differently…
Given almost identical battery lives and portability plus nearly comparable performance in many day-to-day tasks, the older M1 MacBook Air still holds far superior value, delivering around 90% the experience of the M2 model for 75% the entry cost.
So unless you explicitly need every last drop of GPU/graphics capability or video encoding performance unique to M2, the M1 MacBook Air remains a fantastic bargain that still outpaces almost any 2020-era Windows laptop.
And for budget focused students or light home users, getting 80% the speed at 60% the price makes M1 super compelling, even if lacking some shiny new bells and whistles.
The Bottom Line
While this article focused on granular technical details, my recommendation advice actually simplifies down to just a few key questions…
Are you a creative pro or developer?
The extra graphical throughput and video encoding engines make M2 a solid upgrade if you run intensive workloads. Faster render offload alone could pay for itself quickly.
Do you care about portable gaming?
If even casual gaming is a priority, those extra frames from M2‘s GPU will lead to a noticeably smoother experience.
Otherwise, are you fine with largely equivalent speeds?
If general productivity like emails, web, documents etc is your main use case, saving $200+ and sticking with M1 likely makes sense!
Finally, remember this is just the start of Apple‘s silicon roadmap. Rumors already hint at far more powerful M2 Pro/Max MacBooks by early 2023. So only jump now if you really need the cutting edge – otherwise, marital bliss with M1 remains highly rewarding!
I hope breaking down their nuanced differences helps guide your own MacBook purchase pick between M1 and M2 models. Feel free to reach out with any other questions!
