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Apple M2 vs Apple M1

Apple M2
VS
Apple M1
Apple M2
Apple M1

We compared two 8-core laptop CPUs: the 3.5 GHz Apple M2 against the 3.2 GHz Apple M1. On this page, you'll find out which processor has better performance in benchmarks, games and other useful information.

  1. Review
  2. Differences
  3. Performance
  4. Specs
  5. Comments (4)

Review

General overview and comparison of the processors
Single-Core Performance
Performance in single-threaded apps and benchmarks
Performance
Measure performance when all cores are involved
Power Efficiency
The efficiency score of electricity consumption
NanoReview Final Score
Generic CPU rating

Key Differences

What are the key differences between M1 and M2
Advantages of Apple M2
  • Newer - released 1-year and 7-months later
  • Supports up to 24 GB LPDDR5-6400 RAM
  • Around 34.15 GB/s (50%) higher theoretical memory bandwidth

Benchmarks

Comparing the performance of CPUs in benchmarks
Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)
Apple M2 +4%
1571
Apple M1
1513
Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)
Apple M2 +12%
8615
Apple M1
7702
Passmark CPU (Single-Core)
Apple M2 +7%
3975
Apple M1
3712
Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)
Apple M2 +7%
15264
Apple M1
14246
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Apple M2 +10%
1913
Apple M1
1743
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
Apple M2 +15%
8875
Apple M1
7717
Submit your Cinebench R23 result
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Specifications

Full technical specification of Apple M2 and Apple M1

General

Vendor Apple Apple
Released June 6, 2022 November 20, 2020
Type Laptop Laptop
instruction set ARMv8 ARMv8
Codename Apple M2 Apple M1
Integrated GPU Apple M2 GPU Apple M1 GPU

CPU

Performance Cores
P-Cores 4 4
P-Threads 4 4
Base Frequency (P) 3.5 GHz 3.2 GHz
Efficient Cores
E-Cores 4 4
E-Threads 4 4
Base Frequency (E) 2.4 GHz 2.1 GHz
Total
Total Cores 8 8
Total Threads 8 8
L1 Cache 192K (per core) 192K (per core)
L2 Cache 16MB (shared) 12MB (shared)
Unlocked Multiplier No No

Package

Transistors 20 billions 16 billions
Fabrication process 5 nm 5 nm
Socket Apple M-Socket Apple M-Socket
TDP 15 W 14 W

iGPU

Integrated Graphics Apple M2 GPU Apple M1 GPU
GPU Base Clock 500 MHz 450 MHz
GPU Boost Clock 1398 MHz 1278 MHz
Shading Units 1024 1024
TMUs 64 64
ROPs 32 32
Execution Units 128 128
TGP 15 W 15 W
Max. Resolution 6016x3384 - 60 Hz 6016x3384 - 60 Hz
iGPU FLOPS
Apple M2
3 TFLOPS
Apple M1
2.6 TFLOPS

Memory Support

Memory types LPDDR5-6400 LPDDR4X-4266
Memory Size 24 GB 16 GB
Max. Memory Channels 2 2
Max. Memory Bandwidth 102.4 GB/s 68.25 GB/s
ECC Support No No

Misc

PCI Express Version 4.0 4.0

Cast your vote

Choose between two processors
640 (72.2%)
246 (27.8%)
Total votes: 886

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6. Apple M1 or Intel Core i5 1135G7
7. Apple M1 or AMD Ryzen 5 5500U
8. Apple M1 or Intel Core i5 12600K
9. Apple M1 or Intel Core i5 1235U
10. Apple M1 or Intel Core i5 1240P
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Comments

So which CPU will you choose: Apple M1 or Apple M2?
Avatar
Lol 12 February 2023 19:50
On paper, the m2 is better but on daily use and gaming they are almost the same.
0 Reply
Avatar
Enis 03 February 2023 05:10
I guess it is not like worth to buy a mac with m2 while u have m1 one. I can't see any big news.
0 Reply
Avatar
niubi 31 January 2023 11:10
After reading this comparison, I feel no difference
+5 Reply
Avatar
Fer 09 November 2022 00:37
I did get one Mac M1, it's fast, not hot, and comfortable.
+35 Reply
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