Apple claims that its M1 chip is faster than the Intel Core i7 processor in MacBook Pro. Apple M1 and Intel i7: which is better? It's a trick question. If you are in the shop for M1 MacBook Pro, read the Apple M1 and Intel i7 comparison: hardware choices, productivity performance, gaming performance, battery life, and software compatibility.
Latest: Apple M1 Ultra vs M1 Max/Pro
Apple M1 vs Intel i7: System Choices
The graphic below shows price, form factor, configuration and others in detail. Users have more choices when it comes to Windows PC, for example, The New ASUS ZenBook Duo, The New Dell XPS 2-in-1, The New Lenovo Yoga 9i, to name a few. MacBook Pro lacks Touch and its price sets to $1699, while Dell costs $1499.
Apple M1 vs Intel i7: Productivity Performance
Intel says Intel Core i7-1185G7 CPU and 16GB of RAM is 30% faster than M1when performing Microsoft Office tasks, 41% faster in web productivity. The 11th Gen system performs 2.3x faster in PDF export, 3x faster in the online photo enhancement, 1.7x faster on Adobe Premiere, Photoshop and Lightroom functions. Organizing album is 1.45 faster, Sales Graphs 1.39 faster, online homework 0.89 faster. In overall, Intel Core i7 is faster than Apple M1. However, the Apple M1 matched Intel i7 chips in the tests Toms Guide ran.
M1 vs i7: Gaming Performance
If you want to play games, a Mac is definitely not a good choice since most major games are not compatible with Mac. macOS is not suitable for gaming, particularly when macOS Catalina doesn't support 32-bit apps. When playing supported games, such as Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Hitman, Total War: Three Kingdoms, Borderlands 3, both Apple M1 and i7 performances are smooth.
Apple M1 vs Intel i7: Battery Life
Apple M1 vs Intel i7 on battery life, we didn't see much difference. Apple claimed that the new M1 MacBook had the longest battery life ever - 18 hours using Apple TV app to watch a 1080p video, 14 hours and 41 minutes of web browsing at 150 nits of brightness. According the battery life test, in fact, the MacBook Air M1 showed 10 hours and 12 minutes of usage, while Acer Swift 5 with Intel Core i7 1165G7 lasted 10 hours and 6 minutes to stream Netflix with the screen set to a bright 250 nits. Apple M1 battery life was a big improvement in terms of mobility. In real world, however, the lasting time might be shorter.
M1 vs Intel i7: Software Compatibility
M1 is a big step for Apple - now Apple fans can use iOS apps on the M1 MacBook. Chrome, Firefox, Opera and other browsers have optimized or added supported for Apple M1. New version of Adobe and Photoshop also supports the M1 chip. Some Photoshop features are currently missing on the M1 chip. Microsoft Office apps are also ready for the Apple M1 chip. Apple's apps such as Safari, iMovie, and Final Cut Pro have been updated for the new chip. Other non-compatible apps can run on Apple M1 chip via Rosetta 2 - Apple's tool for translating code.
Compared to Apple M1, Intel i7 currently has better compatibility. However, with more and more apps being supported by Apple M1, Intel i7 software compatibility advantage is missing.
