# Apple M2 Chip: A Comparative Analysis Against Intel Processors
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Chapter 1: Introduction to Apple's M2 Chip
At the WWDC 2022 event, Apple unveiled its second-generation Apple Silicon, the M2 chip, showcasing its enhancements and performance improvements. This chip is set to debut in the new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models. A key question arises: which Intel processor did Apple use for comparison?
Chapter 1.1: Key Features of the M2 Chip
According to Apple, the M2 chip features an octa-core CPU, composed of four high-performance cores and four energy-efficient cores, boasting an 18% speed improvement over the M1 chip. The GPU can have up to ten cores, with Apple claiming it delivers 35% more power than its predecessor. Additionally, the Neural Engine's speed has surged by 40% compared to the M1. The M2 supports up to 24GB of RAM and achieves a throughput of 100GB/s, with a transistor count reaching 20 billion.
Chapter 1.2: Performance Comparison with Intel
Apple has positioned the M2’s capabilities against “the latest ten-core notebook processor,” specifically the Intel Core i7–1255U, utilized in Samsung’s Galaxy Book2 360. Both devices come equipped with 16GB of RAM. The M2 is reported to be 1.9 times faster than this Intel processor, while its GPU outperforms the Iris Xe Graphics G7 96 EUs found in the Core i7–1255U by a factor of 2.3, achieving peak performance with only 20% of the power consumption.
Chapter 2: Apple's Historical Comparisons
Historically, Apple has been known to make comparisons that might not always seem equivalent, often selecting older processors to highlight performance advantages. While the specifics of the Intel processor were not explicitly mentioned, all indications suggest that the comparison is indeed with the Intel Core i7–1255U, which was launched earlier this year. The Galaxy Book2 360 was introduced by Samsung in February, showcasing the Intel processor that features ten cores—two performance cores and eight efficiency cores. Notably, while the Intel chip can support up to 64GB of RAM, the M2 is limited to 24GB.
