If the CPU has two types of cores, by definition, should not they be called "performance" and "efficiency" cores? That's industry standard terminology and it makes sense.
AMD calls their footprint optimized cores C cores ( cloud cores). That maybe what Apple has done here. Either they have taken the 'old' P core and space optimized it a bit ( lower single thread drag racing , max clock). The new P cores are optimized for max multiple threading. Lots of cores all running at the same time while thermal coupled... none of them are likely going to get to max clock if doing it efficiently. Maxing clocks suck up more die space... so chuck that trade off.
Similarly Apple could do sometihng slightly similar by scaling up E cores. More energy consumption (and bigger caches ) to get to faster clock rate off the same base design.
Either way you end up with a 'in-between" core. It doesn't have to have a substantially different microarchitecture.
Similarly Intel now has P , E , LP cores. Rumors are AMD is going to a similar route in a generation or two (i.e., adding a 'LP' option. ). In x86 world 'E' has mainly meant 'smaller' at least as much as 'energy efficient'.
Anything else is typical Apple idiotic marketing. Next we'll get "super liquid" cores.
There are lots of threads about the Max/Utlra packages where a some folks grumble at 'useless' E cores ... give me more P cores. Now they get P cores and Super(Uber) cores. The folks who buy into the 'Power user' image are going to eat this up.
What was somewhat dumb for Apple was to introduce the M5 originally with just P and E cores and now have to relabel something they already shipped with Super cores. Same chip , but now different core names. It smells like they perhaps wanted to do this all the the same time with a full MBP rollout and it got decoupled. But also wanted to hold onto the suprise of the third cores. Could have switch to Super+E and just left a gap but rumors likely would have spun out of control.
Simiarly can get more M1-M4 folks to upgrade when they only have Performance cores and the new plain M5 and up SoCs have 'super' cores.
This is more 'messy' than idiotic. By M6 or M7 gen release it won't mean anything.
P.S. post 103 above. The P cores have in incrementally max clock down from the Super cores. This is same side effiect the AMD C cores have. chop down the max single thread drag racing speed because these are
not single thread workload drag racing cores.
