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Apple M1X SoC broken down into four potential variants for the MacBook Pro 14, MacBook Pro 16, and Mac mini

The Apple M1X is expected to have a 10-core CPU part with 8x performance cores and 2x efficiency cores. (Image source: Apple/FunkyKit - edited)
The Apple M1X is expected to have a 10-core CPU part with 8x performance cores and 2x efficiency cores. (Image source: Apple/FunkyKit - edited)
The expected Apple M1X SoC has been broken down into four potential variants for the upcoming MacBook Pro 14, MacBook Pro 16, and Mac mini. The system on a chip’s configurations are decided by the amount of unified memory and the GPU core count. It has been rumored that the M1X will have a 10-core CPU part.

The popular tech content creator Luke Miani has offered up an interesting take on what he reckons could be Apple’s strategy in regard to SoC offerings for its upcoming likely M1X products: the MacBook Pro 14, MacBook Pro 16, and Mac mini. Miani has based his opinion on the likelihood of Apple not offering a 64 GB RAM option with its M1X Macs, which could be a possibility considering the news that TSMC is upping its wafer prices.

The YouTuber figures that Apple may offer four variants of the M1X silicon, which would of course simplify production requirements and avoid the higher costs of needing additional chip configurations. Miani opines that future M1X MacBook Pro or M1X Mac mini buyers will get to choose between having 16 GB and 32 GB RAM (unified memory architecture) while opting for either the 16-core GPU variant of the Apple Silicon or the 32-core GPU enabled SoC.

Having these four M1X chip options - 16 GB/16-core GPU, 16 GB/32-core GPU, 32 GB/16-core GPU, 32 GB/32-core GPU - should cover all bases with the 2021 MacBook Pro laptops and forthcoming revised Mac mini. This does not mean that all M1X Macs will offer at least those four processor choices though, as it is already rumored that only the 16-inch model of the MacBook Pro devices will have the 32-core GPU part choice.

While various other sources have claimed there will be a 64 GB RAM option for the M1X MacBook Pro, Miani seems adamant about 32 GB being the upper limit. It’s arguable Apple planned on originally offering 64 GB, but by utilizing the unified memory architecture that provides lower latency and higher accessibility of RAM to all processing parts of the SoC, this would have meant a greater variety of chip configurations would need to have been ordered from the semiconductor foundry.

Buy the Apple MacBook Pro 13 with M1 SoC on Amazon

Suggested M1X variants. (Image source: Luke Miani)
Suggested M1X variants. (Image source: Luke Miani)

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2021 08 > Apple M1X SoC broken down into four potential variants for the MacBook Pro 14, MacBook Pro 16, and Mac mini
Daniel R Deakin, 2021-08-29 (Update: 2021-08-30)