Apple M1 vs. Intel – Which Processor Is Right for You

Intels new marketing is making me think they're way more nervous than I'd have expected them to be. I know the M1 seems to be very good, but it's not going to displace Intel really is it, and I'm not sure this type of marketing is going to convince any technical person to switch platforms, so who is it targeted at?

I would have thought they'd take Coca Cola's stance, and like they don't mention Pepsi, Intel would just not mention Apple. But they're coming across more as a sort of jilted lover. It's not a good look for a company that wants to think of themselves as the market leader.

The only thing I can think of is they're playing to the anti-apple crowd, in hopes that it builds up a bit of brand loyalty and that then helps them when that person is considering Intel vs AMD.

Whatever Intel. I've been using the M1 Macbook Air for a few weeks now and its remarkable. Faster than any Intel based Mac I've owned. Even runs apps faster using Rosetta2 than the most recent Intel based Macbook Pro. And runs iOS apps (both officially and sideloaded).

And it does this without burning my lap or making my hands sweat just touching the keyboard. For 10 hours on a single charge using it heavily (compiling, running test suites, Slack, Zoom, etc, playing games). It'll get close to 18 hours if just browsing the web and watching videos.

One thing it doesn't do: run x86 Windows, virtualized or dual boot. Not a huge loss for me.

Say what you want, Intel, there's no question that Apple's M1 is a big deal.

Apple's ARM M1 is less likely to have x86 insanity in the architecture due to 286/386 legacy for purists that appreciate what's under the hood is really nice. The AMD/Intel SEE/FRED initiative, for example.

Which processor? A lot of this is just rehashing Mac vs PC