Apple silicon M1X 16-inch MacBook Pro won’t outperform upcoming 14-inch model?

When high-end MacBook Pros get their Apple silicon treatment, don’t expect any major observable speed difference between 14-inch and 16-inch sizes due to the same M1X chip.


STORY HIGHLIGHTS:

  • 14″ and 16″ Apple silicon MacBook Pros should have the same performance
  • Both models should run the same version of Apple’s upcoming M1X chip
  • Upcoming M1X models may cost more than the current MacBook Pros

Promotional Apple graphic depicting Apple silicon MacBook Pro with the lid half open

14″ and 16″ MacBook Pro to have equal performance?

Leaker Dylandkt wrote on Twitter that both new MacBook Pros will use “the same chip”—and therefore have “the same performance” suggesting no clock frequency changes or any other modifications between the M1X chips powering these upcoming new laptops.

At the same time, buyers should brace themselves for “a notable increase in price” between the upcoming M1X-powered 14-inch model and the current 14-incher which runs the Apple M1 chip. And that’s certainly expected given the difference in screen size and CPU/GPU.

How to determine if your Mac is powered by Intel or Apple silicon

According to much reliable Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, Apple M1X will be upgraded to a 12-core CPU and a 16-core or 32-core GPU for a major performance boost over the Apple M1 chip which runs four CPU cores and eight GPU ones (seven in some base Mac models).

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For comparison’s sake, Intel-based versions of the 13-inch MacBook Pro use a 2.3GHz Core i7 chip in the flagship model with Intel’s Iris Plus GPU and 4TB SSD. The Intel chip is paired with 32GB RAM. The flagship 16-inch MacBook Pro uses a 2.4Ghz Core i9 chip paired with 64GB RAM, ATI’s Radeon Pro 5600M GPU and 8TB SSD.

The new M1X chip should leapfrog those Intel chips in terms of sheer CPU performance. At the same time, it’s unclear whether the M1X will support 32GB or 64GB of unified RAM.

Aside from moving from Intel chips to Apple silicon, these new notebooks from Apple are said to revive some of the beloved features that Apple has axed over the years, including an SD card memory slot and HDMI. Other rumors call for such improvements as a 1080p web camera and mini-LED backlighting providing an OLED-like experience with features like HDR video and higher contrast levels and more.

And lastly, the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar should be a goner.