Apple gets creative with their upcoming CPUs

It’s not just what you do but how you do it

Dec 7, 2020 by

Apple Inc.We all know about the Apple M1 CPU, but what can we expect from next year’s M2 CPU? SemiAccurate has talked to a bunch of insiders and found out some interesting details about the next fruit-themed laptop part.

The current M1 is a slightly tarted up A14 or about what you would expect it to be. This isn’t to say it is a bad chip, far from it, it is a very good CPU but it doesn’t break any ground. The next Apple laptop CPU, likely called the M2, and it’s A15 ‘device’ counterpart are said to be the ‘real deal’. When questioned on that comment, SemiAccurate’s sources said that it would significantly outperform Intel’s current high end Skylake parts and do so at a small fraction of the power.

How this would be achieved is the interesting part, especially considering the disparate requirements of a phone and a full laptop. A15/M2 be more oriented toward the laptop side of the equation rather than just slightly tarting up the current phone chip for starters, but won’t deviate much from the current architectural paradigms. It will also be based on a TSMC 5nm variant, basically an updated PDK, and packaged using InFO.

All of this is pretty well known, some blindingly obvious, some only rumored, but all of it confirmed by our sources. Where things get interesting is how Apple is using these technologies to step out of the proverbial box and do something SemiAccurate didn’t expect to see for another few years.

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Disclosures: Charlie Demerjian and Stone Arch Networking Services, Inc. have no consulting relationships, investment relationships, or hold any investment positions with any of the companies mentioned in this report.

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Charlie Demerjian

Roving engine of chaos and snide remarks at SemiAccurate
Charlie Demerjian is the founder of Stone Arch Networking Services and SemiAccurate.com. SemiAccurate.com is a technology news site; addressing hardware design, software selection, customization, securing and maintenance, with over one million views per month. He is a technologist and analyst specializing in semiconductors, system and network architecture. As head writer of SemiAccurate.com, he regularly advises writers, analysts, and industry executives on technical matters and long lead industry trends. Charlie is also available through Guidepoint and Mosaic. FullyAccurate