powermetrics is a Mac-only command-line utility that provides many high-quality power-related measurements. Power Consumption was measured using Apple’s powermetrics utility. Peripherels attached: Apple Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad (Bluetooth).Mac Mini M1 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD ( I didn’t have a MacBook so this test represents the power of the M1 components, not the overall system power).MacOS 11.2.2 running in safe mode to limit the effect of background processes and other applications on power consumption.Testing Methodology # Software & Hardware # The lower the power consumption, the longer your battery will last ( if you’re not connected to the charger). This Part 1 focuses on one of the most critical Pandemic activities - streaming a video from YouTube or Netflix.

This blog is Part 1 of a multi-part series of investigations into the actual power these M1 chips consume in some of the most common scenarios. Highlighted components are dedicated to low-power video playback

Decoding video using a chip built for the sole purpose of decoding video can dramatically affect power consumption, as you will see later in this blog.Īpple M1 block diagram. These are made possible because of Apple’s focus on low-power design and decoding video using specialized hardware engines rather than relying on the general-purpose CPU. These battery life advances are massive and typically once-in-a-generation improvements. While unveiling the M1 chip, Apple touted the new M1-based MacBook Air and MacBook Pro’s energy efficiency with up to 18 hours and 20 hours of movie playback, 6 and 10 hours more than previous models.Īpple M1 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air battery video playback numbers was the stupendous battery life offered by the new M1-based MacBooks. One of the themes of my previous Apple Silicon M1 article - Apple Silicon M1: Black.

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