Summary
- > When will Mac Silicon be available?
- > What's behind the Apple M1 chip?
- > How much do MacBook Pro, Air and Mac mini Silicon cost?
- > Where to buy Mac and Macbooks with M1 chip?
The M1 will be available on three Mac computers: the MacBook Air, Mac Mini and MacBook Pro, all of which can already be ordered directly from Apple.
Here we take a look at all your burning questions about the latest Mac devices, their price and availability.
When will Silicon Macs be available?
The 13-inch MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini are already available from Apple now and will ship next week.
You can also buy these new macOS at select Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Resellers starting next week.
What's behind the Apple M1 chip?
The M1 is equipped with 8 cores, i.e. 4 CPU cores and 4 GPU cores, which means you can expect improved speed, graphics and machine learning (ML) performance. If you're looking for quantifiable numbers, that translates to 3,5x faster CPU performance, up to 6x faster GPU performance, and up to 15x faster machine learning.
What does this mean in practice? The M1 will allow you to edit videos and photos, play games or do coding much faster, and with complete fluidity on the new Macs, which will ship Big Sur, (the new macOS which will arrive on Thursday, November 12).
The M1 chip is also much more power efficient. Its battery life has also been increased, allowing new MacBooks to last up to twice as long. Luckily, the updates don't result in a price hike.
How much do MacBook Pro, Air and Mac mini Silicon cost?
The good news is that the new Macs have not seen a price increase, despite the integration of the M1 processor. You also get an Apple Education discount for all models.
Here are their starting prices, they vary according to the memory and the amount of storage chosen, which can go up to 16 GB and 2 TB respectively.
Macbook Air 13 inch
- MacBook Air 13 with Apple M1 chip, 8-core CPU and 7-core GPU (256GB SSD) for € 1.
- MacBook Air 13 with Apple M1 chip, 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU (512GB SSD) at € 1.
Mac mini
- Mac mini with Apple M1 chip, 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU (256GB SSD) for € 799.
- Mac mini with Apple M1 chip with 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU (512GB SSD) at € 1.
MacBook Pro 13 inches
- 13 ”MacBook Pro with Apple M1 chip, 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU (256GB SSD) for € 1.
- 13 ”MacBook Pro with Apple M1 chip, 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU (512GB SSD) for € 1.
Where to buy the Mac and Macbooks with M1 chip?
While Apple's orders are already open with shipping starting on November 17, 2020. We also expect the following merchant sites to release the new MacBooks and Mac minis with M1 chips starting next week:
- Amazon
- Fnac/Darty
- Baker
- Ticketmaster
We'll update this article when Macs go on sale from these retailers.
