How have the CPUs in our Macs become faster since the Macintosh 128K was launched by Steve Jobs forty years ago?
Apple silicon
Apple’s M2 chip uses a newer version of the CPU core instruction set. This increases its capability, thus how well it will cope with future apps and macOS, compared with the M1.
M1 CPUs support ARMv8.5A, which doesn’t support the new bfloat16 floating-point format now widely used in AI. That’s likely to put them at a disadvantage.
From Hypervisor APIs in OS X 10.10 Yosemite in 2014, through early VirtIO kernel extensions in Mojave in 2018, and Arm hypervisor support in Big Sur.
Fixes two bugs, including the saving and use of display resolution and other settings, has revised menus, and a full 13-page Help book.
Which single folder in /System/Library contains the most bundles? Why did the number of kernel extensions in macOS soar from 535 to 788 in less than 2 months?
M3 chips widen the gap between Pro and Max variants. They also change relative performance between P and E cores to make M3 CPUs more versatile.
Adds bridged networking, VM settings files, prevents inadvertent window closure when a VM is running, and more. Tested with 6 distros.
The M1 cycle took 16 months from basic to Ultra; that shortened to 12 months for the M2. As the first Studio M2 Ultras were being prepared for shipping, the M3 cycle started.
Before Apple had even released its Developer Transition Kit, virtualisation was already one of the 3 pillars of software support on Apple silicon Macs.
The Eclectic Light Company 