12-core M1X in 2021 and 16-core M2 in 2022: Dazzling predictions include upcoming Apple Silicon that is four times faster than the M1 chip

Apple fans will be excited to find out what the company has got planned for the future of its silicon, with many rumors already flying about the successor to the Apple M1 chip. A recent alleged “leak” from a spurious source claimed to give some early benchmark data for the M1X that seemed more likely guesswork than actual test results involving a sample. Apple hasn’t even confirmed an “M1X” name yet, with observers plumping for the name based on the firm’s usage of “X” as a suffix to some A-series chips. However, information provided by LeaksApplePro points toward a powerful M1 successor coming this year.

Pinch of salt time: The leaker claims that the Apple M2 processor will appear around late 2022 and be configured with 16 cores that are made up of 12 performance cores and four efficiency cores. This will apparently result in a chip that is “up to 4 times faster than M1”. The same source then makes it clear that the M2 is not the same as the M1X. We currently have an 8-core M1, and the claim here is that by the end of 2022 there will be a 16-core M2 – so it seems reasonable to speculate that in between those two there will be a 12-core M1X. This would also fit in quite nicely with YouTuber Max Tech’s estimate that the M1X could be twice as fast as the Apple M1.

Unsurprisingly the claim has been met with some doubt, while others have speculated that this superfast 16-core Apple chip could actually end up being the M2X, which also makes some sense when you consider the timeline. The Apple M1 was released in November 2020 and an M1X could turn up in a MacBook Pro by the end of the second quarter or start of the third quarter of this year. That would leave quite a gap before the supposed M2 turns up, so maybe the 16-core processor for late 2022 will actually be an Apple M2X chip, with the M2 coming in earlier. Whatever it ends up being, Apple Silicon is shaping up to be the rival AMD and Intel simply cannot ignore.

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