Five years ago, Apple changed the world of computers.

Apple's decision to part ways with Intel and develop its own M-series chips for the Mac line has helped it surpass its competitors in both performance and battery life.

ZNews•04/01/2026

In 2017, Apple integrated a neural processing unit (NPU) to support AI tasks into its mobile chips. Three years later, at the end of 2020, Apple replaced Intel CPUs in Macs with its own M-series chips.

Five years after Tim Cook announced his departure from Intel to switch to custom-designed silicon for Macs, the M1 to M5 chip generations continue to set new standards for performance and energy efficiency.

A historic deal

The decision to end a 14-year partnership (2006-2020) with Intel was not easy. However, Apple actually has long-standing experience and success in semiconductor design, having first used its own chips for iPhones and iPads in 2010.

The key point is that Apple not only wants a powerful chip, but also one that is extremely power-efficient. Tim Millet, Vice President of Platform Architecture, shared that the secret lies in the chip architects working directly with the software team.

Instead of guesswork, the design team knows exactly how the chip will be used to optimize what matters most.

The M series processor allows Macs to deliver higher performance and better energy efficiency than their competitors. Photo: Tom's Guide.

When the first prototypes were released, even Apple's leadership team was astonished. “It felt like getting to know a Mac for the first time. I turned it on and saw that the battery life hadn't budged, and I wondered if the software was working correctly.”

"I will never forget the feeling of holding that machine in my hands for the first time. I was so excited for the whole world to experience the Mac again," Millet recalled.

The Vice President of Platform Architecture offered a poignant analogy: "It's like having an entire ocean of energy (the large laptop battery intended for the Intel chip) to power something that was designed to only operate in a small pond (the power-efficient M1 chip)."

During their research, Apple's team also realized that Intel's performance per watt had stagnated.

Meanwhile, with the M1 chip, Apple achieved higher performance with significantly lower clock speeds. This was a crucial step in realizing the company's dream of a thin, lightweight MacBook Air that didn't require a cooling fan but still offered powerful performance.

The ability to output to multiple high-resolution displays simultaneously on a MacBook Pro with the M4 chip. Photo: Apple.

Unified architecture

Tom's Guide notes that what defines the power of M-series chips is their unified memory architecture. In traditional computers, the CPU and GPU have separate memory, and data must be copied back and forth via PCI Express ports, causing latency.

Meanwhile, with Apple Silicon, the CPU, GPU, and neural engine all sit on the same die and share the same memory. Millet explains that this core change eliminates the need for developers to worry about "creating images in one place and then having to push them over a different network."

Tom Boger, Apple's vice president of product marketing for iPads and Macs, emphasized that this benefit is crucial in the age of AI.

"With large language models, we can leverage that entire memory pool. You can run LLMs with tens, even hundreds of billions of parameters right on a MacBook Air — something only possible thanks to the magic of unified architecture," Boger commented.

Despite the recent surge in AI craze with ChatGPT, Apple has actually been integrating Neural Engine into iPhones since 2017.

However, for the M1 chip, Tim Millet's team completely redesigned the processor. As a result, the M-series chips are ready for the current wave of AI. The M5 – the latest chip version in Macs, which Apple calls the “world’s fastest CPU core,” offers up to 20% higher performance (compared to the M4 chip) in multi-threaded tasks such as code compilation and multitasking.

The image illustrates the structure of the M5 chip. Photo: Apple.

Apple's switch from Intel chips to M-series chips in Macs not only impacted the computer industry, but can also be considered a breakthrough for the company itself.

According to analyst Avi Greengart, this shift will not only change the industry but also "free Apple itself."

United States - Vietnam: Don't miss

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a copy of the Letter of Credence for the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam.On the afternoon of July 2nd, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters, Mr. Le Cong Dung, Director of the State Protocol and Foreign Interpretation Department, received a copy of the Letter of Credence from Ms. Jennifer Wicks, Ambassador of the United States of America to Vietnam.

Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Dung visits and works in Minnesota, USA.From June 28-30, the Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States, Nguyen Quoc Dung, paid a visit and worked in Minnesota.

Vietnam encourages US businesses to expand investment in high technology.On the morning of June 26th, at the Government Headquarters, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung received Mr. Jeff Place, Supply Chain Director of Coherent Group (USA). During the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam encourages US businesses to expand investment, especially in high-tech, innovation, and semiconductor industries.

“It gives Apple the control they’ve always wanted, along with the flexibility to allocate resources to specific parts of the chip. One year they’ll focus on the CPU, while the next year they’ll focus on the GPU. The architecture itself offers the advantage of integrated memory, allowing memory to be shared between both the CPU and GPU instead of the GPU having to rely on separate memory,” Greengart commented.

This flexibility has given Apple a double advantage: technical performance and strategic independence. No longer constrained by Intel's slow pace, the Mac maker has differentiated itself in ways it hasn't since Motorola.

In addition, Apple has forced rivals like Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm to change their strategies, shifting from a race for raw power to a battle for energy efficiency.

Furthermore, thanks to economies of scale and vertical integration, Apple has been able to control costs in a way that other companies cannot.

“We’re seeing high-end computers, but selling for under $1,000 . People often think of Apple as a premium brand, because it primarily operates in that market segment. But the M-series chips, especially when you’re using older versions like the M1, allow Apple to equip a powerful processor in a laptop sold to high school students,” Greengart said.

Source: https://znews.vn/5-nam-truoc-apple-thay-doi-the-gioi-may-tinh-post1614291.html