Apple just launched the M2 – their second-generation M-series system-on-a-chip (SoC) for Mac computers!
Let’s compare the new M2 against the last-generation M1 series SoCs!
Apple Silicon M1 vs. M2 Comparison
On 6 June 2022, Apple unveiled their second-generation M-series system-on-a-chip (SoC) for Mac computers – the Apple Silicon M2!
Built on an improved 5 nm process technology, the Apple M2 has 20 billion transistors – 25% more transistors than the M1.
All those transistors allow the Apple M2 to deliver better performance than the last-generation M1 :
- Faster Performance cores with a larger cache
- 18% faster CPU performance
- 35% more powerful GPU at max. power
- 40% faster Neural Engine
- 50% more memory bandwidth
- up to 24 GB of unified memory
- a new image signal processor (ISP) for better image noise reduction
The new M2 no doubt offers a significant boost in performance and capabilities over the M1.
On top of that, it partially addressed the limited Unified Memory capacity offered by the M1, by offering a 24 MB option.
The new M2 will debut in the 2022 MacBook Air, and the updated 13-inch MacBook Pro 2022 laptops.
To give you a better idea of how they compare, here is our direct comparison b between the Apple M1 and the Apple M2 :
| Specifications | M1 | M2 | Difference |
| Fab Tech | 5nm (N5) | 5 nm (N5P) | – |
| Transistor Count |
16 billion | 20 billion | +25% |
| Die Size | 120 mm² | NA | – |
| CPU Cores (Performance) |
4 x Firestorm @ 3.2 GHz |
4 x Avalanche cores @ NA GHz |
– |
| CPU Cores (Efficiency) |
4 x Icestorm cores @ 2.06 GHz |
4 Blizzard cores @ NA GHz |
– |
| L2 Cache | P-core : 12 MB E-core : 4 MB |
P-core : 16 MB E-core : 4 MB |
P-core : +33% |
| SLC | 16 MB | 32 MB | +100% |
| GPU Cores | 7 / 8 cores 1278 MHz |
8 / 10 cores NA MHz |
+1 / +2 cores |
| Neural Engine | 16 cores (11 TOPS) |
16 cores (15.8 TOPS) |
+44% |
| Memory Options | 8 GB / 16 GB | 8 GB / 16 GB / 24 GB | – |
| Memory Type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR5 | – |
| Memory Speed | 2133 MHz | 3200 MHz | +50% |
| Memory Bus | 128-bit | 128-bit | – |
| Memory Bandwidth |
68.2 GB/s | 102.4 GB/s | 50% |
Apple Silicon M1 Series vs. M2 Comparison
While the M2 may offer significant improvements over the M1, Apple has been careful in not letting it cannibalise sales of the higher-performing M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra chips.
Even without testing the new M2, its specifications show that it slots in between the M1 and the M1 Pro.
- M2 has 8 cores like M1, with 2-4 fewer Performance cores than the M1 Pro.
- Its Performance cores have L2 cache size of 16 MB, right between M1 (8 MB) and M1 Pro (24 MB).
- Its 8-10 GPU core count is right between M1 (7-8 cores) and M1 Pro (14-16 cores).
- Its maximum Unified Memory option is 24 GB, right between M1 (16 GB) and M1 Pro (32 GB).
- It retains the M1’s narrower 128-bit memory bus, but uses the M1 Pro’s faster LPDDR5 memory.
To show you what I mean, here is a table I created comparing the key specifications of the M1 series against the new M2 :
| Specifications | M1 | M1 Pro | M1 Max | M1 Ultra | M2 |
| Fab Tech | 5nm (N5) | 5 nm (N5P) | |||
| Transistor Count | 16 billion | 33.7 billion | 57 billion | 114 billion | 20 billion |
| Die Size | 120 mm² | 245 mm² | 432 mm² | 864 mm² | NA |
| CPU Cores (Performance) |
4 cores (Firestorm) 3.2 GHz |
6 / 8 cores (Firestorm) 3.23 GHz |
8 cores (Firestorm) 3.23 GHz |
16 cores (Firestorm) 3.23 GHz |
4 cores (Avalanche) NA GHz |
| CPU Cores (Efficiency) |
4 cores (Icestorm) 2.06 GHz |
2 cores (Icestorm) 2.06 GHz |
2 cores (Icestorm) 2.06 GHz |
4 cores (Icestorm) 2.06 GHz |
4 cores (Blizzard) NA GHz |
| L2 Cache | P-core : 12 MB E-core : 4 MB |
P-core : 24 MB E-core : 4 MB |
P-core : 48 MB E-core : 8 MB |
P-core : 16 MB E-core : 4 MB |
|
| SLC | 16 MB | 32 MB | 64 MB | 128 MB | 32 MB |
| GPU Cores | 7 / 8 cores 1278 MHz |
14 / 16 cores 1296 MHz |
24 / 32 cores 1296 MHz |
48 / 64 cores 1296 MHz |
8 / 10 cores NA MHz |
| Neural Engine | 16 cores | 32 cores | 16 cores | ||
| Memory Options | 8 / 16 GB | 16 / 32 GB | 32 / 64 GB | 64 / 128 GB | 8 / 16 / 24 GB |
| Memory Type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR5 | |||
| Memory Speed | 2133 MHz | 3200 MHz | |||
| Memory Bus | 128-bit | 256-bit | 512-bit | 1024-bit | 128-bit |
| Memory Bandwidth |
68.2 GB/s | 204.8 GB/s | 409.6 GB/s | 819.2 GB/s | 102.4 GB/s |
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
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