M1X chip could revolutionise the laptop industry

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the company’s plan to transition the Mac from Intel to Apple Silicon last year, at the keynote of WWDC 2020. At the time, he added that it would take two years to complete the transition. A year has passed and as part of the new plan, the company has released its first chip M1 which now powers the MacBook Air, the base 13” MacBook Pro, the Mac mini, and the new 24” iMac.

The wait is now for the actual “Pro” grade machine from Apple which will show the true/maximum power of the ARM based chips the company is producing. Since the beginning of 2021, rumours have been swirling around that Apple will release a new powerful version of the M1. Many people familiar with the matter and analysts predicting Apple products have suggested that the beefier version of the M1 chip will be named “M1X”. 

Powerful Mac hardware in the pipeline

In the past, Apple has used extensions such as “X” and “Z” for the modified versions of its iPhone chips. The company has for long used the A-series chips in the iPhone and has used the “X” series for the iPad. However, last year, the iPad Pro received the A12Z processor – a new addition of the “Z” naming extension. On the other hand, the other less powerful iPads – the iPad Air and the 10.2” iPad – continue to use the same chips from the iPhone range. For example, the iPad Air uses the A14 chip which is the same chip that powers the iPhone 12 series.

Apple is expected to unveil a “Pro” grade M-series chip later this year. The company usually holds its Mac event in October but last year it was held in November to unveil the first batch of M1 products. Similarly, this year, the company is expected to unveil new Mac hardware – the 16” MacBook Pro and a new 14” MacBook Pro powered by the M1X chip.