I think it's actually a good move for the first gen. If they put out the CPU frequency, people would be comparing it to the intel parts. ARM and x86 being different architectures, a 2GHz M1 is going to perform differently than a 2GHz Core i5

It is sorta meaningless these days. The 3.6GHz chip in my P consistently averages at 4.3GHz, and climbs up to high 4's when it needs to. It's also much faster than a 3.6GHz processor from 5 years ago.

It's a great baseline for comparing same-generation computers, though. Without benchmarks, none of us has any idea which is faster, the Air or the Pro, or the 15".

Indeed. The CPU is 3.5x faster "than before". What is this before? December 2020 or the last time they made their own chip?

Yep we're 4X this and 3X that and here is a graph with a 2 curves and no scale, but it's a glowing line!

Then the top model still ships with a Radeon mobile chip. So... your super duper M1 graphics, not so super duper.

Apple's direction of marketing is better suited for mainstream consumers. Many of them don't know what CPU frequency means. For them, its additional noise with no added value. Consumers have too many choices and throwing a spec sheet often make them compare for hours and still can't make a decision whereas you know that this year's Mac is likely faster and better than last year's.