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Imagine being unable to count. The number of CPU cores is the same, but the CPU is 18% faster. So each core is 18% faster. The GPU gains 2 cores (25%) and adds 35% performance, so the GPU cores are also faster.


At least you titled your posts correctly.
Imagine being able to read and comprehend. The 18% improvement is for multi core. So no, each core is NOT 18% faster.
There was ZERO presented regarding single core performance for the new chip.
 
Imagine being able to read and comprehend. The 18% improvement is for multi core. So no, each core is NOT 18% faster.
There was ZERO presented regarding single core performance for the new chip.
The M1 has 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores. The M2 has 4 performance and 4 efficiency cores. What was that about comprehension?
 
Any reason why it wouldn’t have the previous 8 GPU cores options? Maybe they just want to save the yields for the new one for now… which to be honest, it’s looking damn great, although the starting price not so much.

——
So sad that the whole thread got derailed by a quite annoying first quick to react troll comment.
There are many ways to convey exactly the same idea without the fuel and fire brought into it, which makes me think that it has to be completely crafted and on purpose.

I would propose every time we see an obvious fueled comment to ignore it completely, just downvote it or laugh at it and keep the comments on the lighter side (myself guilty as charged, I sometimes take the bait full force too…)
 
Gosh... we're still on Day One of the 2022 M2 Macbook Air announcement and the bickering and arguing has already begun.

And we still have another month until actual reviews come out?

Everyone stay cool! We don't need to tear each other apart in here until then!

:p
 
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Any reason why it wouldn’t have the previous 8 GPU cores options? Maybe they just want to save the yields for the new one for now… which to be honest, it’s looking damn great, although the starting price not so much.

——
So sad that the whole thread got derailed by a quite annoying first quick to react troll comment.
There are many ways to convey exactly the same idea without the fuel and fire brought into it, which makes me think that it has to be completely crafted and on purpose.

I would propose every time we see an obvious fueled comment to ignore it completely, just downvote it or laugh at it and keep the comments on the lighter side (myself guilty as charged, I sometimes take the bait full force too…)
Probably because they are keeping the old model just to satisfy a price point. The 8th GPU core model was $100 more, and now the M2 with a faster processor and 8-core GPU standard is $200 more, so there wasn’t much room to squeeze in an 8-core GPU option.

What is interesting is that the M2 MacBook Air with 10-core GPU is priced identically to the 13” MacBook Pro with the 10-core GPU standard. The differences are that the Air gets the updated webcam, slimmer and lighter design, and expanded display, while the Pro keeps the fan and Touch Bar.
 
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Probably because they are keeping the old model just to satisfy a price point. The 8th GPU core model was $100 more, and now the M2 with a faster processor and 8-core GPU standard is $200 more, so there wasn’t much room to squeeze in an 8-core GPU option.

What is interesting is that the M2 MacBook Air with 10-core GPU is priced identically to the 13” MacBook Pro with the 10-core GPU standard. The differences are that the Air gets the updated webcam, slimmer and lighter design, and expanded display, while the Pro keeps the fan and Touch Bar.

I'm pretty sure Apple is just waiting for an excuse to drop the 13" MBP. It doesn't fill a meaningful spot in the lineup.
 
The M1 has 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores. The M2 has 4 performance and 4 efficiency cores. What was that about comprehension?
You clearly do NOT comprehend the difference between single core and multi core performance. You mistakenly believe and stated EACH core is 18% faster when Apple made no such claim. Where does Apple list single core performance for this "M2" chip? They don't, anywhere. This is clearly marketing spin.
 
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Ummm... your "average consumer" will see lower performance tier MacBooks (Air and 13" PRO) with a higher M chip number. That never goes well. In fact that amounts to what is known as a "rookie mistake". Apple will pay a high price for this screw up.

...think.... think... whir... whir...

"OH S**T"!!!

You clearly were not paying attention.
 
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Considering inflation and higher shipment and component costs, not a bad deal. Probably the last deal in Apple computing if inflation gets crazy higher. But having to still spend at least $400 more above retail EVERY SINGLE TIME you need a sub $2,000 Apple product is just getting old and one of the biggest reasons to not upgrade at all for many years until the base models make it worth wile. But how many more years are we going to accept 8gb ram as the minimum for a premium product such as this? its a lame bait and switch tactic that is the biggest reason to buy refurbished rather than new. Shaving off $200-$300 off these makes them almost worth it. Paying $400 over retail every time you need to use it for real work is just not worth it if your employer is not buying it for you.
 
Considering inflation and higher shipment and component costs, not a bad deal. Probably the last deal in Apple computing if inflation gets crazy higher. But having to still spend at least $400 more above retail EVERY SINGLE TIME you need a sub $2,000 Apple product is just getting old and one of the biggest reasons to not upgrade at all for many years until the base models make it worth wile. But how many more years are we going to accept 8gb ram as the minimum for a premium product such as this? its a lame bait and switch tactic that is the biggest reason to buy refurbished rather than new. Shaving off $200-$300 off these makes them almost worth it. Paying $400 over retail every time you need to use it for real work is just not worth it if your employer is not buying it for you.
If they upgraded the features of the base model they would have to upgrade the price. You would be paying the same price and everyone else that didn't need those upgrades would also have to pay for it. Just pretend it's the base model when you order it. That way you're happy and everyone else is happy too 😀
 
Epic Fail!
The so called M2 is NOT the M2 chip Apple wanted to ship. It's really just an M1.5, or worse.

Some proof: https://www.macrumors.com/2022/03/10/m2-macs-with-tsmc-4nm-process/

Excerpt:
"oft-accurate analyst Ming-Chi Kuo on Tuesday tweeted that a 2022 version of the MacBook Air will still use the M1 chip, although he suggested it could be a modified version of the chip without elaborating further"

Nailed it: https://www.macrumors.com/2022/03/08/kuo-macbook-air-2022-m1/

Explains everything because Apple did indeed just update the MacBook Air just as Kuo predicted (8-core CPU and 10-core GPU). The new M chip should be called the "M1 SE"

This is nothing short of an epic Failure for Apple.

Here are the changes to the M2:

  • 25% more transistors
  • Physically larger
  • Faster performance cores with a larger cache
  • Faster efficiency cores
  • 18% faster CPU
  • Support for 2 more GPUs
  • 35% faster GPU
  • 2.3x faster GPU at the same power level
  • 40% faster neural engine
  • 50% more memory bandwith
  • Increased support for RAM up to 24Gb
  • The media engine has a higher-bandwidth decoder for 8k H.264 and HEVC video
  • Improved Secure Enclave
  • New image signal processor (ISP) for better image noise reduction
I don't have a problem with Apple increasing the number by 1 and thus using integers instead of decimal numbers.
 
I predict the “old” M1 Air will stick around awhile and eventually be be dropped wherein the new M2 Air will be reduced in price and become the entry model. This is what happened when the ”old” Air was first introduced some years back.
 
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Don't thank me, thank Kuo. He called it perfectly. Apple should have seen this and accepted reality: The real M2 is delayed.
Now Apple gets to muddle through an (assumed but obvious) "Osborne Effect" period while customers wait for the M3.
Apple not only bet the farm on China, they built the farm IN China. The chickens have come home to roost, and marketing can't spin it away.
Apple has never been afraid to delay a product.

You also cant slap out a half baked processor like a new pancake recipe.

If you said the new Macbook Pro was an embarrassment we’d all agree with you and not be laughing at you.
 
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Of course the price is higher: US dollar inflation is running at around 8-10 percent over a year ago. It wouldn’t make sense for the completely redesigned M2 Air to cost the same as the M1 did 18 months ago.
 
I'm pretty sure Apple is just waiting for an excuse to drop the 13" MBP. It doesn't fill a meaningful spot in the lineup.
Today would have been a logical day to drop it, given that they hiked the price of the M2 model and narrowed the feature gap of the Air relative to the 14” Pro. I’m guessing the 13” Pro doesn’t get upgraded to the M3. But clearly Apple perceives some benefit in keeping it around at least for now. Maybe with the move to 4nm or 3nm with M3 they will solve what few practical issues with thermal throttling that still exist.
 
You clearly do NOT comprehend the difference between single core and multi core performance. You mistakenly believe and stated EACH core is 18% faster when Apple made no such claim. Where does Apple list single core performance for this "M2" chip? They don't, anywhere. This is clearly marketing spin.
Ok, so 18% would be a weighted average increase across all cores. Technically, the entire multicore performance boost could come from the efficiency cores alone. With the M1, the efficiency cores added 20-33% to the multicore score. Assuming the best case 33% number, the efficiency cores would need to be 54.5% faster to achieve that 18% multi-core increase. If the efficiency cores were 54.5% faster, that would make the M2 a dramatically different chip from the M1...

From your original post, the only thing that Apple "missed" was 4nm and that was from Digitimes, which is no more reliable than any random poster on this forum. A new chip running on the same process node doesn't mean they they are the same chips. There's no epic fail here (except for me wasting my time), plain and simple.
 
Apple has never been afraid to delay a product.

You also cant slap out a half baked processor like a new pancake recipe.

If you said the new Macbook Pro was an embarrassment we’d all agree with you and not be laughing at you.
As the other poster pointed out, Apple will likely drop the 13” Pro sooner or later. It got the M2 because Apple can’t sell a “pro” that is slower than the Air and it likely was an easy upgrade requiring minimal retooling. If the 13” Pro had a long-term future it would have gotten the larger screen and ditched the Touch Bar.
 
Ok, so 18% would be a weighted average increase across all cores. Technically, the entire multicore performance boost could come from the efficiency cores alone. With the M1, the efficiency cores added 20-33% to the multicore score. Assuming the best case 33% number, the efficiency cores would need to be 54.5% faster to achieve that 18% multi-core increase. If the efficiency cores were 54.5% faster, that would make the M2 a dramatically different chip from the M1...

From your original post, the only thing that Apple "missed" was 4nm and that was from Digitimes, which is no more reliable than any random poster on this forum. A new chip running on the same process node doesn't mean they they are the same chips. There's no epic fail here (except for me wasting my time), plain and simple.
My guess is that there is a single core improvement, but not enough to talk about it. Say 5%. But the efficiency cores could have gotten a bigger boost leading to the 18% overall increase.

Remember that high end Alder Lake chips outperform the M1 Max primarily because the “efficiency” cores are fairly powerful relative to the performance cores.
 
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