The Next Big Thing In Consumer Electronics After iPhone: The Apple M1

We just had the next biggest moment in the history of computing! And I am glad to be around to witness it all.

It's the Apple latest and greatest M1 chip: A technology that's going to change the raw calibre of what computers are capable of. It was announced in Apple Event dated 10th November 2020, last launch event of the year from them.

Introduction

Let's admit, we all got our reasons to hate Apple: From ridiculous prices & incompatibility with non-Apple devices to killing third-party repairs & excessive control on user experience.

But with its latest innovation: M1 chip (also knows as Apple Silicon), Apple has repented for all its sins and has earned customers' forgiveness by pushing the consumer electronics industry towards meaningful innovations & for setting the bar high for competitors to bring better and more affordable offerings to consumers.

The graph on the left is from AnandTech showing the performance of Apple's indigenous A series processor (whose technology is now being used in M1) compared against Intel's processor and on the right is a graph from a Harvard Business Review article telling how disruptive technology rise and how to assess them. Do you see the resemblance? And mind it, the aforementioned article was written 25 years from now!

Yes! Apple M1 is that technology which gets invented once in every 25 years and changes the landscape of an entire industry! So, let's understand it and its impact on the world in a step-by-step objective manner.

What is Apple M1 and why is it a big deal?

M1 is Apple's first self-designed computer chip, built on the same technology used in iPhones & iPads. Previously, Intel used to make chips for Macs. M1 chips are developed on customised ARM architecture (which is based on RISC: Reduced Instruction Set Computing) that is vastly different from x86 processors (based on CISC: Complex Instruction Set Computing), which is more widely used in computer processors' manufacturers like Intel.

And it's this new ARM architecture which is pivotal because the chips built on it are faster, power-efficient, less heat-producing and space-consuming. For example, the fastest computer in the world, Japan's Fugaku is 2.8x faster than IBM's and it is based on ARM's design.

Now, with M1, using the aforementioned ARM architecture, Apple has built a full-fledged System On Chip (SoC) for computers. In an SoC, CPU, GPU, RAM, ROM, Neural Engine, Cache memory etc are on a single chip instead of being scattered across the circuit board like in a usual x86-based processor of Intel.

It simply means that M1 brings the following technological developments in term of utility:-

• Better integration amongst various computing parts leading to many times enhanced performance;
• Much lower battery consumption increasing the device's battery life;
• Consequently much less heat dissipation from the device (good for overall durability of the device & reduction in carbon footprint);
• Less space-consuming means slimmer devices and allowing room for other important hardware which can improve performance and enable adding new features and
• Cheaper to produce as compared to Intel x86 processors.

SoC was a tech whose usage was previously restricted to handsets' chips (like smartphones, tablets, iPods, etc) mainly because manufacturers were of the opinion that x86 is more capable and that computers had enough battery and space that they can afford to accommodate and power an x86 chip.

But today, after Apple's M1, ARM architecture based SoC has officially made its way into computer chips. As per the review from the world's top geeks, the performance is better than almost any commercial CPU in THE WORLD, second only by a smidge to AMD's newest Zen 3 chip!

Micro Development: How will consumers be benefited?

The M1 has made possible the following things for consumers: -

1. Make a super snappy Macbook WITHOUT a fan that performs better than even gaming dedicated desktop computer;
2. Massive jump in battery efficiency because now CPU, GPU, RAM & all other parts are not asking for power separately, but a single chip is. Meaning, your Mac can easily get 14 hours of screen-on time with moderate usage;
3. It can run iPad/iPhones applications (that are not even optimised for it, meaning, apps running via emulation) with same or better performance;
4. Buttery smooth animations, 3k read and 2.5k write MBps speed (meaning super-fast app launching, perfect for photo/video editing);
5. Apple's custom ARM architecture-based computer chips are significantly economical than the one's from Intel, thus we will see more affordable Macbooks. On Apple Official Store, India, the M1 versions are significantly cheaper than the Macbook having Intel's i7 and i9 at their heart.

1. As the M1 chips are self-designed, it gives Apple a better control over hardware allowing them to tailor it for better security on Mac;
2. Instant wake-up from Sleep Mode.

Note: The above figures are the results of testing by professional and independent tech YouTubers & not the company's claim.

But all this comes at some cost. With M1 chips, there is:

• No upgradable RAM, the reason being that RAM has been physically unified with the SoC;
• No external graphics card support again because GPU being unified with SoC and there are no extensions to add an external graphics card;
• Heavy upgrading cost.

Macro Development: How will the consumer electronics industry be benefited?

1. Setting higher standards for competition: This development of ARM-based will force other companies like Qualcomm (this company is one of the main reasons why smartphones are getting expensive every day), AMD and Intel to gear up their R&D and roll out something equivalent if not better than the M1 technology. Otherwise, their Windows & Androids counterparts like Dell, HP, Samsung, BBK Electronics, etc will suffer a heavy market loss from the hands of Apple and will be forced to consider options beyond their offering them in order explore new tech for computing chips.
2. Premium products at "not-so-premium" price: Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple Analyst, TF International Securities believes that the new M1 technology combined with another of Apple's upcoming display technology called "Mini LED displays" and some changes in the form factor of Macbooks are expected to catapult the annual sales of Macbook three times by 2023. In order to counter that wave, the Windows rivals might have to bring better options at affordable prices which will lead to a massive shift in industry trends with basic mid-range computers with premium specs sheet.
3. Wide-scale adoption of ARM-based processors: Presently, Apple is using its software emulator Rossetta 2 to run applications written for Intel-powered Macs, but for a full-fledged transformation from Intel to its M series chips, Apple has to get the developers to re-write the applications for M1. This will benefit Microsoft as well who has been busy to make Windows run on ARM-based processors but couldn't convince developers to writes apps for the same as Apple will be demanding the same. It will further force Microsoft's OEM like Lenovo, HP and Dell to develop processors that can compete with new Macs.
4. Foster and bolster AI's usage: Apple M1 is the first mainstream computer SoC with dedicated hardware for AI called Neural Processing Unit. Thus, M1 enables the developers to incorporate enhanced AI features in software products by utilising this hardware piece of hardware. This will set an industry trend and the competition will also have to introduce similar features in their devices in order to keep up with Macs in terms of overall utility.
5. More applications & revenue for Apple ecosystem: With the adoption of ARM architecture for Mac's processors, the DNA of the chips used on iPhones, iPads and Macs is same now (that's how now onwards Mac with M series chips will be able to run iPhones' and iPads' apps). Thus, it will be a lot easier for developers to write apps for the entire Apple ecosystem. Meaning developers will make more and better-optimised software products for Apple products giving a boost to App Store revenue and tough competition to Play Store, forcing them to innovate and bring new incentives for the developer community.

Intel's Gravest Mistake

In 2005, when Apple formed an alliance with Intel to supply them with processors for Mac products (Apple's computers and laptops), they asked Intel if they would like to supply Apple processors for the upcoming iPhones.

And it's in this time a moment occurred which Intel would never forget! Paul Ottolinin, then CEO, Intel refused the deal because it was far outside their speciality. He was of the opinion that Intel can't make enough money from building chips for iPhones and the revenue won't even cover the research cost. Basically, Ottolinin couldn't see the iPhones selling well.

And today, we all know how big of an opportunity miss it was by Intel. The first iPhone launched in 2007 had a processor built on the ARM architecture. Imagine, if Ottolini would have taken the deal from Apple, Intel would have had a humongous stake in iPhones' business and the disruptive technology we are celebrating today wouldn't have born in the first place.

A brief history of the evolution of computer chips to M1

In 2008, Apple signed an Architectural License with ARM so that they can design their own chips using their architect. They also acquired PA Semi, a company specialized in developing high-performance ARM chips. It was a key-strategic acquisition for Apple to design indigenous chips and disrupt Intel's x86s.

In 2012, Apple first released its fully custom-designed CPU with the name of "A6", featured in iPhone 5. It was 2x faster than the previous chips as it as different from the off-the-shelf processors from ARM. But the real wave came in 2013 with A7 featured in iPhone 5s which adopted 64-bits architect (beating even ARM which released it's first 64 bits processor in 2014 with Samsung) allowing Apple to include more than 4GB of RAM in their phone.

Well, with iPhones equipped with these chips, Apple made billions in sales. It's by far the most profitable smartphone company having 66% of the whole smartphone industry's profit. All these funds were utilised to finance their R&D in order to improve its chips' engineering.

Intel as slow to innovate and they couldn't keep up with the manufacturing technology. Whereas, Apple outsourced the manufacturing to Samsung. By 2019, Apple' iPad featuring ARM technology was faster than Mac Book pro having Intel's tech. While Intel could improve their designs by only 28%, Apple improved its designs by 300%.

Today, Apple has pushed this technology to the level that it has outshined even Intel's top computer chip in everything and is on the verge of leaving Intel redundant.

And in 2020, Apple finally launched its indigenous chip M1 in Macbooks. Better than every commercial processor ever made. It's noteworthy though that Windows computers were having ARM-based processors much before M1, an ARM-based processor with the battery efficiency and well-roundedness of M1, it's the first of such calibre.

What does the internet say?

Have a look at what Online Reviewers' community has to say about this revolutionary technology that M1 is: -

It's the biggest moment in computing history in the last decade...just fascinating -Cold Fusion

It(M1) annihilates other processors in terms of performance -Marques Brownlee

...with M1 processors, Apple has exceeded our expectation.....M1 so powerful we can't even tell that it's running applications not coded for it -The Verge

M1 has received an astounding endorsement from tech reviewers as well as from customers. But everyone still has two questions on it: How soon can Apple bring this its ARM-based processors to its Desktops and other high-end laptops? How soon will the apps be optimised for them?

Conclusion

It's the customised-ARM architecture on which the M1 chip is developed which makes it so unique and better in every aspect of computing: power consumption, performance, heat dissipation and physical size. This technological development is revolutionary and will be shaping the future standards of the entire computing industry (and it's an honour to be around to witness it all) with the major one being the wide adoption of ARM-based processors by manufacturers and affordable laptops getting premium hardware.

With M1, Apple has proved that "coming first doesn't matter, coming with real, tangible, fathomable value does". As M1 is Apple self-developed technology, it has given Apple an even tighter control over its supply chain as it doesn't have to rely on Intel anymore. M1 technology has created the ripples of competition which will entail more such meaningful innovations ultimately causing vertical growth in the computing industry.

PS: I am not endorsing any of Apple's product, I am myself a Windows and Android user??. But it's always good to celebrate innovations and pay tribute to inventors of whose intelligence fruits we reap in form or the other!