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Apple Silicon M1 chip in MacBook Air outperforms high-end 16-inch MacBook Pro

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1080 points antipaul | 4 comments | 12 Nov 20 00:56 UTC | HN request time: 0.347s | source
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mcintyre1994 ◴[12 Nov 20 07:21 UTC] No.25067338[source]▶
> The M1 chip, which belongs to a MacBook Air with 8GB RAM, features a single-core score of 1687 and a multi-core score of 7433. According to the benchmark, the M1 has a 3.2GHz base frequency.

> The Mac mini with M1 chip that was benchmarked earned a single-core score of 1682 and a multi-core score of 7067.

> Update: There's also a benchmark for the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1 chip and 16GB RAM that has a single-core score of 1714 and a multi-core score of 6802. Like the MacBook Air , it has a 3.2GHz base frequency.

So single core we have: Air 1687, Mini 1682, Pro 1714

And multi core we have: Air 7433, Mini 7067, Pro 6802

I’m not sure what to make of these scores, but it seems wrong that the Mini and Pro significantly underperform the Air in multi core. I find it hard to imagine this benchmark is going to be representative of actual usage given the way the products are positioned, which makes it hard to know how seriously to take the comparisons to other products too.

> When compared to existing devices, the M1 chip in the MacBook Air outperforms all iOS devices. For comparison's sake, the iPhone 12 Pro earned a single-core score of 1584 and a multi-core score of 3898, while the highest ranked iOS device on Geekbench's charts, the A14 iPad Air, earned a single-core score of 1585 and a multi-core score of 4647.

This seems a bit odd too - the A14 iPad Air outperforms all iPad Pro devices?

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throwaway4good ◴[12 Nov 20 08:30 UTC] No.25067719[source]▶
The results seem a little weird but if remotely true then these machines are going to sell like cup cakes.

Why would anyone (who is not forced) buy an Intel PC laptop when these are available and priced as competitive as they are?

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Tepix ◴[12 Nov 20 09:09 UTC] No.25067945[source]▶
The Macbook Air with 16GB RAM and 512GB isn't really priced competitively here in Germany. It's almost 1600€.
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graycrow ◴[12 Nov 20 09:58 UTC] No.25068257[source]▶
€1665 in Czechia, and we have much lower purchasing power.
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1. eru ◴[12 Nov 20 10:27 UTC] No.25068421[source]▶
To be honest, you'd expect widely traded good to trade at the same prices, regardless of local purchasing power.
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2. learnstats2 ◴[12 Nov 20 11:10 UTC] No.25068630[source]▶
The price seems to be the same except for tax. Germany has a 16% rate (July-Dec 2020) and Czechia 21% for sales tax/VAT.
3. eb0la ◴[12 Nov 20 11:45 UTC] No.25068789[source]▶
Before Brexit sometimes the you could buy apple stuff for less on amazon.co.uk than in the rest of Europe because the price was fixed in GBP.
4. blunte ◴[12 Nov 20 11:58 UTC] No.25068860[source]▶
I think it often depends on big resellers (like Best Buy, for example). They can provide discounts which Apple will not do directly to the customer, and which other resellers can't do because they don't turn enough units.

That's true of many other common goods worldwide. Unless you can buy a locally made item in a lower purchasing power country, you will usually pay a currency exchange equivalent price for the item. Actually you often pay more because the local shop selling the product cannot get bulk pricing and pass along the discount to you.

Finally, when you add the local taxes - 23% in Portugal, for example - the price can be much higher compared to Alaska, US (< 2%). That last bit is really not Apple's fault.