DECEMBER 2020 PCWorld 9And what is that “performance” claim
hinged on? CPU performance? GPU
performance? Performance running Windows?
Is it using the same application running on
both platforms? Is it experiential? Is this running
Red Dead Redemption II or Call of Duty: Black
Ops Cold War? Is it running CyberLink’s
PowerDirector? Is it running Fortnite?
While I have absolutely no idea what
Apple is basing its claims on, I can tell you that
I am 98 percent sure that any of the above
laptops listed will wreck the MacBook Air
doing any of the tasks I just named.
When Apple makes its claims, my guess is
it is comparing the new M1 to Intel-based
processors ranging from Atom to Celeron N to
Core i3 and up, all with integrated graphics.
But by not defining the word performance, all
this becomes just pure marketing spin. And is it
really fair to compare a $999 MacBook to one
that costs $150? Because $150 PCs are
included in the 98 percent of laptops sold.
Maybe Apple should compare its own $
MacBook Air against a $150 Chromebook or
Windows-based laptop. Of course, that would
mean Apple would have to sell a product that
most people can afford. I have no doubt the M
will be impressive, but do I think it’s going to
compare to 8 cores of Ryzen 4000 performance
or a GeForce RTX 2060? No.Apple’s TSMC-built, 5nm, Arm-based M1 SoC is likely to be very, very impressive running apps built for it.