Apple M2
VS
Apple M1 Max
Apple M2
VS
Apple M1 Max

Which to select

What to choose and what is the difference between Apple M2 and Apple M1 Max? Which processor is more powerful and faster to accomplish your task? The processor with the best specifications and a winner in benchmarks is your choice!

CPU generation and family

Processor nomenclature, family, group and segment.

Apple M2
Name
Apple M1 Max
Mobile
Segment
Mobile
Apple M2
CPU group
Apple M1
Apple M series
Family
Apple M series
2
Generation
1
--
Predecessor
--
--
Successor
--

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

What to choose Apple M2 or Apple M1 Max? The greater the value of the characteristic (highlighted in green), the better.

3.50 GHz
Frequency
3.20 GHz
8
CPU Cores
10
No turbo
Turbo (1 Core)
No turbo
8
CPU Threads
10
No
Hyperthreading
No
No
Overclocking
No
No turbo
Turbo (8 Cores)
no data
no data
Turbo (10 Cores)
No turbo
hybrid (big.LITTLE)
Core architecture
hybrid (big.LITTLE)
4x Unknown
A core
8x Firestorm
4x Unknown
B core
2x Icestorm
--
C core
--

Internal Graphics

The graphics chip allows the processor to perform complex calculation and display tasks. The more memory and the higher the clock frequency, the better. Determine the winner, who has the better chip? Apple M2 or Apple M1 Max. 

Apple M2 (8 Core)
GPU name
Apple M1 Max (32 Core)
3.50 GHz
GPU frequency
1.30 GHz
No turbo
GPU (Turbo)
No turbo
2
Generation
1
128
Execution units
4096
3
Max. displays
3
5 nm
Technology
5 nm
Q1/2022
Release date
Q3/2021
16 GB
Max. GPU Memory
32 GB

Hardware codec support

Technical information that will be of interest to specialists and does not affect the performance of the processor. It can be skipped in the comparison.

Decode / Encode
h264
Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode
JPEG
Decode / Encode
Decode
VP8
Decode
Decode / Encode
VP9
Decode / Encode
Decode
VC-1
Decode
Decode
AVC
Decode
Decode / Encode
h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode
h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
Decode / Encode
Decode
AV1
No

Memory & PCIe

The interfaces and standards of RAM that the processor supports. The more modern the standard and the larger the memory capacity, the better.

LPDDR5-5500
Memory type
no data
16 GB
Max. Memory
no data
2
Memory channels
no data
No
ECC
no data
4.0
PCIe version
no data

Memory & PCIe

no data
Memory type
LPDDR5-6400
no data
Max. Memory
64 GB
no data
ECC
No
no data
Memory channels
12
no data
PCIe version
4.0

Encryption

Data encryption standards supported by CPUs

Yes
AES-NI
Yes

Thermal Management

TDP is the maximum amount of heat generated by the processor. It is used when selecting a cooling system. The higher the TDP, the more heat the cooling system will have to dissipate.

--
Tjunction max.
--
20 W
TDP up
60 W
10 W
TDP down
--
15 W
TDP (PL1)
30 W
--
TDP (PL2)
--

Technical details

These are key parameters that will help you determine which CPU is better. Pay special attention to the release date, technological aspects of the manufacturing process (measured in nanometers), and the third-level cache (L3).

--
L3-Cache
--
5 nm
Technology
5 nm
M2
Architecture
M1
None
Virtualization
None
N/A
Socket
N/A
Q1/2022
Release date
Q3/2021
ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
Instruction set (ISA)
ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
16.00 MB
L2-Cache
28.00 MB
--
Part Number
--
Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation
ISA extensions
Rosetta 2 x86-Emulation

Devices using this processor

Devices that can use this type of processor, desktop or laptop.

Apple MacBook Air 14 (2022)
Used in
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)

User rating

0.0 Out of 0 CpusData Score Apple M2
0.0 Out of 0 CpusData Score Apple M1 Max