In June 2022, Apple introduced M2, Apple's next-generation silicon chip, a sequel to the M1 chip. This guide will tell you everything you need to know about the M2 chip, from performance improvements to additional features.
* M2 Chip Explained :
The M2 is Apple's next-generation system-on-a-chip (SoC) designed for use in Mac and iPad computers. This marks Apple's continued effort to move away from Intel chips for Mac computers by 2020.
Same as “System on a Chip”; The M2 integrates several different components including CPU, GPU, Unified Memory (RAM) architecture, neural engine, Secure Enclave, SSD controller, image signal processor, encoding/decoding engines, Thunderbolt controller with USB 4 support and more. those that support various features of your Mac.
Before Apple chips, Mac computers used multiple chips for CPU, I/O, and security, but Apple's efforts to integrate these chips made the M2 much faster and more efficient than Intel chips. The unified storage architecture used by Apple is also an important factor, as all the technologies used in the M2 allow access to the same data without having to switch between multiple storage pools.
The unified memory architecture built into the M2 chip means that CPU, GPU and other CPU components do not need to copy data between each other and can access the same data pool. This storage architecture means that the user cannot expand RAM, which is not surprising given that few Macs have user-accessible RAM. M2 Macs have a maximum of 24GB of RAM, but even a base 8GB is enough for everyday tasks.
* CPU, GPU and Neural Engine :
Like the "M1", the M2 includes an 8-core CPU, but supports nine or ten GPU cores, compared to seven or eight in the previous generation "M1". There are four high-performance cores and four high-performance cores. The high-performance cores are designed to deliver the best performance for power-intensive single-threaded tasks, and all eight cores are able to work together to deliver impressive multi-threaded performance.
For less intensive tasks that don't require as much power as web surfing, four high-performance cores use a tenth of the power to extend battery life.
According to Apple, the M2 chip features next-generation 5-nanometer technology to improve performance per watt. It contains 20 billion transistors, 25% more than the “M1”, which offers higher memory bandwidth at 100 GB/s.
The M2 chip is 1.4 times faster than the M1, with an 18% faster CPU, a 35% faster GPU and a 40% faster Neural Engine.
Geekbench benchmarks have confirmed that the M2 chip is up to 20% faster than the “M1” chip in terms of multi-core performance.
M2 running at 3.49GHz versus 3.2GHz on the "M1" achieved a single-core score of 1919, about 12% faster than the 1707 score of the single-core "M1" MacBook Air. The M2 achieved a multi-core score of 8,928, an increase of about 20 percent over the “M1” score of 7,419.
In the Metal benchmark, the M2 chip achieved a score of 30627, which is a significant improvement over the “M1’s” score of 21001. The M2 chip offers a maximum of 10 GPU cores, compared to a maximum of 8 cores on the “M1”.
* Battery life :
Apple's silicon chips are incredibly battery efficient and faster than most Intel chips. Thanks to the M2 chip, the battery of the “MacBook Air” lasts up to 18 hours and that of the 13-inch MacBook Pro up to 20 hours.
Despite the incredible speed improvements that the M2 chip offers, it is also more power efficient than any other Mac chip Apple has released to date. The battery life of the
Mac M2 is up to 2x longer than previous generation Intel Macs. The Mac with the longest battery life is the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which lasts up to 20 hours. The battery life is twice as long as Intel's latest model.
* Macs With M2 Chip :
The M2 chip is used in the 2022 MacBook Air, the 2023 15-inch MacBook Air, and the 2022 13-inch MacBook Pro.
* M2 Security Features :
Intel-based Macs had an integrated T2 chip that managed security and other features on the Macs, but the "M1" and M2 chips have this feature built-in and no additional ones Chips needed. It is mandatory. The M2 features an integrated Secure Enclave that handles Touch ID and a storage controller with AES hardware encryption for faster and more secure SSD performance.
* Running Apps on M2 Macs :
Because the M2 chip uses a different architecture, Apple has developed tools to help developers create universal application binaries that work seamlessly on Apple Silicon and Intel chips, and developed Rosetta 2. Processor that allows x86 applications to run on the “M1” chip.
Rosetta 2 is a new version of Rosetta, the feature that made it possible to run PowerPC applications on Intel-based Macs in 2006 when Apple switched from PowerPC to Intel.
With Rosetta 2, Intel-specific applications will continue to run on M1/M2-based Macs with limited performance impact. In most cases, apps work the same on Intel-based Macs and M1/M2 Macs due to performance improvements.
Once you upgrade to the "M1" and "M2" Macs, everything should work normally, and within a few years the most popular Mac apps will likely be designed to run natively on M2 Macs. There's one big trade-off when choosing an M2 Mac these days, and that's Windows support.
There is no Boot Camp for M2 Macs and M2 Macs do not officially support Windows. Official support may become available in the future, but that largely depends on Microsoft licensing its ARM version of Windows to consumers, which hasn't happened yet.
M2 Mac computers can run iPhone and iPad apps, as well as Mac apps if app developers make them available on Macs.
* Apple Silicon Mac How Tos :
Since Macs use Apple Silicon on the new type of chip developed by Apple, there are some tips and tricks for things like transferring files, entering recovery mode, and searching for applications that are optimized for new machines. We have some guides specific to Apple silicon that are worth checking out.
* M2 Pro, M2 Max and M2 Ultra :
After the M2 chip, Apple released the M2 Pro, M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips, which are updated versions of the M2 chip with additional processor and graphics cores. The M2 Pro, M2 Max and M2 Ultra are used in the Mac mini, 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, Mac Pro and Mac Studio models.