Figures

Apple M1: recorded figures
Metric Value Evidence Basis Method Source
Transistor count cpu 16 000 000 000 transistors Confirmed Vendor-rated Die specification Stated by the vendor The whole M1 die: processor cores, graphics cores, Neural Engine and memory controller. Apple writes "16 billion", which is two significant digits. The figure covers the entire die and is recorded at cpu scope only because the metric admits no scope that means "whole chip"; it is not a count of the processor cores' transistors, and no vendor breakdown exists.
Process node cpu 5 nm Confirmed Vendor-rated Die specification Stated by the vendor Fabrication process named by Apple for the M1 die. A process name expressed as a length, not a measured dimension: nothing on this die is five nanometers across. The metric forbids ratios for that reason, so this figure can be displayed and never divided.

Fitted to

Editorial notes

The 8 cores are four performance cores and four efficiency cores, so "eight cores" describes two different things counted together and no per-core figure would mean the same for both halves. The transistor count and the process node are recorded here because the catalog's metrics allow only `cpu` and `gpu` scope for them, but they belong to the whole die, graphics and neural engine included; both figures say so in their caveats.

Sources

  • Apple unleashes M1 Apple Inc. · tier A · Opening section, "First System on a Chip for the Mac", "The World's Best CPU Performance per Watt" and "World's Fastest Integrated Graphics"
  • Mac mini (M1, 2020) — Tech Specs Apple Inc. · tier A · "Chip", "Memory" and "Electrical and Operating Requirements" sections
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