If you’re choosing between two different types of Macs or two generations of the same Mac, you may wonder just how much of a difference the processor will make.

Since November 2020, all new Macs have featured one of Apple’s own system-on-chips based on the ARM architecture, sometimes referred to as Apple Silicon. Several Apple chips have joined the line-up, including the M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 Ultra; M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max and M2 Ultra; M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max; and M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max. The final Mac to move from Intel to Apple Silicon was the Mac Pro in June 2023.

Now that the transition from Intel to Apple’s silicon is long complete, and it has been a while since Apple sold any new Macs powered by an Intel chip, you might think that there is no point in comparing Intel and Apple. However, some stores are still selling Intel-powered Macs and may users still have them. Those wishing to upgrade from an Intel-powered Mac to an M-series Mac may also be curious about how much of a difference to expect.

With such variety on offer, there is also a question of which Apple processor is best, or at least sufficient for your needs. The current M4 series represents the fourth generation of Apple Silicon, but the M4 is still less powerful than the M1 Ultra, for example. It’s also worth noting that the difference between a Pro and Max version of Apple’s ships is all in the GPUs and memory support: the CPU is essentially the same.

Here we will compare all the Mac and MacBook CPUs, GPUs, and other specs, such as RAM (a.k.a. unified memory), to demonstrate how the M1-, M2-, M3-, and M4-series chips compare to each other and their Intel predecessors.

For more help choosing which Mac to buy read our buying guides where we assess the Best Mac and Best MacBook. You might also like to take a look at the article where we compare all of Apple’s chips, including those in the iPhone and iPad.

M1 to M4 timeline

November 2020: Apple introduced its first Mac system-on-chip, the M1 with three models, the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini. You can still buy the M1 MacBook Air at Walmart for $649.

April 2021: Apple launched an iMac with a M1 chip.

October 2021: The M1 formed the basis for powerful variants, the M1 Pro and M1 Max that arrived in the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro in October 2021.

March 2022: The final M1-series chip, the M1 Ultra, arrived with the Mac Studio in March 2022.

June 2022: The next generation of Apple Silicon arrived in June 2022 with the introduction of the M2 chip.

January 2023: The M2 Pro and M2 Max arrived in the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro. The Mac mini also gained an M2 and M2 Pro chip.

June 2023: The M2 Ultra arrived in the Mac Studio and Mac Pro. The Mac Studio also ships with the M2 Max.

October 2023: The M3 series arrives with the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max landing at the same time. So far only the MacBook Pro ships with M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips, while the iMac offers the M3.

October 2024: The M4 series arrives on the Mac with the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max. The iMac has an M4. The Mac mini has an M4 or M4 Pro. The MacBook Pro has an M4, M4 Pro, or M4 Max.

Which processor should you choose for your Mac and does it really matter? Read on to find out.

Mac and MacBook processors compared

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The processor inside a Mac makes a big difference to how powerful the Mac is. However, it can actually be quite confusing if you aren’t familiar with the terminology. The processor is sometimes referred to as the CPU (central processing unit), which is different from the GPU (graphics processing unit). Sometimes people will refer to the processor when they actually mean the SoC (system on a chip) that contains both the CPU and GPU. You may even hear it referred to as a SiP (system in package).

We often refer to Apple Silicon as chips because they are system-on-chips that combine the CPU and GPU (and for that matter RAM, which Apple refers to as Unified Memory). The various M-series chips offer a variety of CPU and GPU cores.

Similarly, there are many different Intel chips that combine several CPU cores with integrated or discrete graphics options, all of which we will discuss below.

We also offer advice about how much storage, RAM and cores in How much MacBook GPU, CPU, RAM and SSD do you really need?

Mac processors from Apple

M1

In June 2020 Apple announced that it would transition Mac from Intel to its “world-class custom silicon.” This process began with Apple’s M1 processor, which was introduced in November 2020. It is no longer available to buy, but you may find a refurbished model.

The M1 was in these Macs:

• 13-inch MacBook Pro (2020)





• MacBook Air (2020)





• Mac mini (2020)





• iMac (2021)

The M1 specs were as follows:

• 8-core CPU (4 performance cores/4 efficiency cores)





• 7- or 8-core graphics processor (GPU)





• 16-core Neural Engine





• 8GB or 16GB of RAM





• 68.25GBps memory bandwidth





• 16 billion transistors

The M1 was Apple’s first chip designed by Apple specifically for the Mac and it made shockwaves in the industry with giant leaps in performance. However, some people criticized the RAM limitations, with the M1 Macs only able to support up to 16GB of Unified Memory.

M1 Pro

Apple introduced the M1 Pro in October 2021.  It is no longer available in any new Macs, but you may get one in Apple’s refurbished store or elsewhere.

The M1 Pro was in these Macs:

• 14-inch MacBook Pro (2021)





• 16-inch MacBook Pro (2021)

The M1 Pro specs were as follows:

• 8- or 10-core CPU (6 or 8 performance cores/2 efficiency cores)





• 14- or 16-core GPU





• 16-core Neural Engine





• 16GB or 32GB of RAM





• 200GBps memory bandwidth





• 33.7 billion transistors

The M1 Pro offers a 14-core GPU or a 16-core GPU. At launch, Apple claimed the GPU in the M1 Pro to be 2x faster than the M1. Apple also claimed that the GPU was up to 7x faster than the integrated graphics on the latest 8-core PC laptop chip.

The M1 Pro also added a ProRes accelerator in the media engine to speed up video processing. Apple claimed that the M1 Pro could deliver up to 200GBps of memory bandwidth, which is nearly 3x of the bandwidth of the M1.

The M1 Pro supports up to 32GB RAM (compared to a maximum of 16GB for the M1).

M1 Max

The M1 Max was also introduced in October 2021 as a standard op