Nearly three months after the launch of Apple’s revised M1 Macs, Intel has fired back, but some stars are involved.
/article-new/2021/02/intel-m1-slide-1.jpg?resize=560%2C315&ssl=1)
In a slideshow shared by PCWorld this week, Intel announced what PCWorld defined as “carefully designed” criteria in an effort to prove that laptops with the latest 11th Generation Core processors are better than those with Apple’s specially designed M1 chip.
For example, Intel reported that exporting a PowerPoint presentation as a PDF file is up to 2.3x faster on a Windows laptop equipped with an 11th Generation Core i7 processor and 16GB of RAM compared to completing the same task on a MacBook Pro 13- inches with the M1 chip and 16GB of RAM, with Intel noting that PowerPoint was running natively on both systems.
/article-new/2021/02/intel-m1-slide-2.jpg?resize=560%2C315&ssl=1)
Intel also pointed out that Gigapixel AI made Topaz Labs’ AI-based image enhancement software up to 6x faster on the Core i7 system compared to the M1 MacBook Pro. In this case, PCWorld said “the results are very real,” noting that Topaz Labs apps are designed to take advantage of hardware acceleration within Intel processors.
In terms of game performance, the results were mixed, with Intel emphasizing the established notion that Macs are not particularly suitable for gaming and a lack of support for “countless” games like Gear Tactics, Hitman 2, and others.
/article-new/2021/02/intel-m1-gaming.jpg?resize=560%2C315&ssl=1)
Intel also conducted a “real-world battery life test” and found that both the M1 MacBook Air and the Acer Swift 5 with an 11th Generation Core i7 processor achieved almost the same 10-hour battery life when they were streaming Netflix with additional tabs open. Intel said both notebooks were set to 250 nits display brightness, with the MacBook Air running Safari and the Acer Swift 5 running Chrome for the test.
It’s worth noting that Intel moved from the MacBook Pro for the performance indicators to the MacBook Air for the battery life test, and Intel used a different Core i7 SKU processor for each of those tests as well.
/article-new/2021/02/intel-m1-slide-3.jpg?resize=560%2C315&ssl=1)
Apple’s website advertises that the M1 MacBook Air has up to 18 hours of battery life when playing back 1080p content continuously in an Apple TV app with display brightness set to 50%, and up to 15 hours of battery life when browsing 25 popular websites in Safari over Wi-Fi with display brightness set to 50%.
Intel said its processors are all about not only performance, but also choice, as they power all sorts of devices from traditional notebooks to tablets with features like touchscreens and support for multiple displays outside. Officially, the M1-based MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro only support one external display, but some users have found that this limitation can be avoided with DisplayLink adapters as an unofficial solution.
“M1-friendly criteria”
Apple columnist Jason Snell described Intel’s criteria as “M1-unfriendly” in a statement shared on its website Six colors.
“Inconsistent test platforms, moving arguments, omitted data, and less weak whistleblowing,” Snell wrote. “Today’s M1 processor is a low-end chip for low-end systems, so Intel has only a small window to compare favorably with these systems before Apple Mac higher-end silicon Macs and the work to make it a lot harder. “
Tom’s HardwareAndrew Freedman also warned that all criteria supplied by a vendor should be taken with a grain of salt.
Apple claims the M1 chip delivers industry-leading performance per watt, with the latest MacBook Air outperforming the Intel-based 16-inch MacBook Pro in Geekbench specifications. Rumors suggest that Apple will launch new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, a redesigned iMac, and more with Apple’s next-generation silicon later this year.