Apple's M1 Max chip is the larger, more powerful sibling of Apple's new M1 Pro chip, both launching in 2021, with the M1 Max clearly the new top tier of Apple silicon

Both the M1 Max and M1 Pro are more powerful versions of the M1 chip, and the M1 chip surprised us in 2020 by improving the performance and efficiency of the 13-inch MacBook Pro M1 and MacBook Air M1

Now the M1 Pro and M1 Max are available on Apple's new MacBook Pro 14-inch 2021 and MacBook Pro 16-inch 2021 laptops, and this new generation of Apple custom chips promises to push the limits of what can be achieved on a MacBook

These new chips are the first of their kind in the world

Both of these new 2021 MacBook Pro models ship with the M1 Pro chip by default, but can be upgraded to the M1 Max model for an additional fee How the M1 Max model compares to other laptops in We'll have to wait until we put these new MacBooks through our testing and review process to see how they perform compared to other laptops, but based on specs alone, we are already quite excited about the potential of these new chips

Here's everything you need to know about the new M1 Max

The M1 Max is currently only available as an upgrade for the new 2021 MacBook Pro and can be ordered now from Apple's website Prices start at $1,999 for the 14-inch model and $2,499 for the 16-inch Shipping will begin on October 25 and will be available in two color variations: silver and space gray

Both models come with the entry-level M1 Pro chip by default, but upgrading to the more enhanced M1 Pro or M1 Max requires paying a higher price 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros are available in both M1 Pro and M1 Max can be ordered in multiple configurations of both, so you are not limited in the chips you can order based on your screen size preference

To get an idea of how much extra you'll pay for M1 Max power, it costs about $900 to upgrade from an entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro to the cheapest model with an M1 Max chip ($2,899), or about $900 to upgrade from an entry-level 16-inch MacBook Pro 2021 to the M1 Max-equipped model ($3,099) will cost about $600 This means that, in general, you will pay at least $600 to $900 (at minimum) more to upgrade a 2021 MacBook Pro to an M1 Max-equipped model

The M1 Max is a scaled-up version of the core architecture found in the M1 Pro and the original M1 They are all SoCs (system-on-chip), designed to integrate the CPU and GPU and draw from the same pool of integrated RAM memory

The M1 Max has 57 billion transistors (more than three times the original M1) and a 10-core CPU with eight performance cores and two efficiency cores It supports up to 64 GB of memory and has a memory bandwidth of up to 400 GB/s

The M1 Max also includes a 16-core neural engine that helps accelerate machine learning tasks This engine also helps with image processing (via a custom image signal processor) for the 1080p webcam built into the 2021 MacBook Pro, helping to provide sharper, more natural-looking photos and videos

But where the M1 Max really shines is the GPU, which can have up to 32 cores, which Apple claims can deliver up to four times faster graphics performance than the M1 Given how impressed we were with the performance of the 2020 M1, the M1 Max promises to deliver unprecedented graphics processing power in a laptop chip

If you are involved in video editing, Apple has built some features for you into the M1 Max In particular, it includes a media engine specifically designed by Apple to speed up video processing without draining the battery

The chipset also includes one dedicated encode engine and two decode media engines designed to accelerate rendering and other video tasks It also includes two dedicated accelerators for ProRes video, which should be of great help to professionals who work with ProRes video on a daily basis

As for output performance, Apple claims that the M1 Max can play up to seven streams of 8K ProRes video simultaneously If you are a video editor who wants to push the limits of what you can do with a MacBook Pro, the M1 Max is probably for you And if you work with multiple monitors, note that the M1 Max has a new display engine that can support up to four additional external displays

The M1 Max is the most powerful custom-built silicon Apple has released to date, and a strong argument as to why companies should invest in custom chip designs to complement their hardware and software lineups

M1 Max is an expensive upgrade, but promises unmatched power for video editing on the go M1 Max is an expensive upgrade, but promises unmatched power for video editing on the go

Even if you're not interested in video editing, Apple touts the M1 Max (and its weaker sibling, the M1 Pro) as more powerful and power efficient than the Intel and AMD laptops that make up the bulk of computers Although rarely considered, the power of the M1 Max may give the 2021 MacBook Pro enough graphics performance to compete with the best gaming laptop PCs on the market

But to know exactly how the M1 Pro and M1 Max will perform compared to other chips on the market, we will have to wait until we finish benchmarking the new MacBook Pro ourselves Stay tuned