safari vs firefox m1 battery life

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Compared: Safari vs. Chrome vs. Firefox vs. Edge on macOS in 2022

Safari vs. Chrome vs. Firefox vs. Edge on macOS, compared.

The truth is, the perfect browser doesn't exist. Each of the four most popular macOS browsers has its own set of strengths and weaknesses, just based on the engine that's used for web rendering, and what the developers of the big-four have prioritized.

While the best browser for the individual varies on use case, and which websites behave the best on any given browser, there are a series of benchmarking tools that can measure performance on synthetic tasks.

Browser benchmarks

We tested each browser on three different testing platforms: JetStream 2, Speedometer, and MotionMark.

JetStream 2 is a JavaScript-benchmark that scores browsers based on how quickly they can start and execute code, which translates to faster JavaScript performance. Since JavaScript is used on most web browsers, it's a good test of snappiness for code-intensive sites.

MotionMark is a graphical browser testing suite that measures the ability to render complex web pages. Think a page that has complicated graphics and animations. A higher score results in smoother transitions and animations.

Speedometer 2.0 determines the responsiveness of a browser when running web applications. Among the three, it's the truest option for testing real-world performance across many popular websites and online services. A good example is adding tasks to a to-do list in a web app.

Chrome came out on top in JetStream 2 testing, while Safari took second place.

Safari was the fastest in MotionMark benchmark testing.

Speedometer testing showed off interesting results, with Firefox and Edge coming in first and second, and Safari in last place.

Different testing platforms result in different scores, so your own mileage may vary. Safari was the best for graphical performance, for example, but its responsiveness lagged behind others. Choose what specific metrics are most important to you.

For Mac users, Safari is an institution. It's the default browser on Apple platforms and is generally lightweight and efficient. As you'd expect for an Apple product, Safari also emphasizing privacy while you browser online.

From the very first boot on a new Mac, Safari is instantly available and configured for easy, private browsing. That makes it the best choice for the most non-technical among us, since you won't need to download and install anything. Safari "just works" out of the box.

It also features the tighest integration across Apple's other devices and systems. You can use Continuity to easy hand-off your browsing between your Mac and any iPhone or iPad you have around. If you need to buy something with Apple Pay , you can authenticate purchases with Face ID or Touch ID.

Safari also features some strong privacy protections, including mechanisms aimed at mitigating cross-site tracking and ad targeting. It features a built-in password manager that allows you to save and store passwords — with easy autofill options — across your Apple devices.

As an Apple-made product, Safari is the most convenient option on this list for Mac users — particularly those who own multiple Apple devices. It's also a good choice for the privacy conscious, though it isn't the fastest and it doesn't yet have a strong extension marketplace.

• Default Mac browser with effortless setup
• Strong privacy protections
• Integration with other Apple products
• Not the fastest or most responsive browser in some testing
• Lackluster support for add-ons and extensions

Google Chrome

Google Chrome is a massively popular browser, and a particular favorite of those who routinely use extensions to customize their web experience. It's the most-used web browser in the world, and it's faster and more RAM-efficient than it used to be. Chrome is even currently speedier than Safari on macOS.

The browser also has one of the world's most extensive list of add-ons, plug-ins, and extensions. From plugins focused on online privacy or to video content downloaders, there are around 190,000 extensions in total to choose from. You can also choose from a number of different themes and customization options.

Intelligent Google-made features include automatic site translations and deep integration with the company's online tools and services — so it's great for those who rely on Gmail, Google Docs, or another Google service. Syncing between Google apps on different devices is also top-notch.

However, Google is a data company that relies on collecting information about its users. While the company has taken steps to bolster its privacy reputation, it's still a company that makes money on harvesting data. Those who are particularly privacy-conscious will probably want to look elsewhere.

It's hard to go wrong with the world's most popular web browser, particularly with its seamless workflow features and customization options. However, if you are even slightly concerned about online privacy, you may want to go with another option.

• Simple to learn, fastest option in some cases
• Syncs your Google account across other devices
• Extensive list of extensions and add-ons
• It's Google — so not that private
• Is a RAM and CPU hog

Mozilla Firefox is one of the only popular and mainstream browsers to have started life as an open source project. It's still a free and open source browser with a hefty focus on privacy and security, which could make it a good fit for those who want a Google Chrome alternative.

Because of its open source nature, users are free to explore Firefox's code — and they do. The browser doesn't have any hidden secrets or data-harvesters. It also features some excellent built-in privacy and security protections, including Enhanced Tracking Protection and an extensive list of customizable permissions.

Firefox was also the first browser to actually offer third-party extensions and add-ons. Although it might not have as many extensions as Google Chrome, you'll still find a hefty list of options ranging from privacy add-ons to customizable themes for your browser.

Although Firefox has some cross-platform integration between its app and built-in Pocket support, it isn't as seamless as Chrome or Safari. If speed if your primary concern, it's also important to note that Firefox isn't the fastest browser by most metrics.

Users who want an open source browser or are committed to Mozilla's mission of keeping the internet open and free will find a browser after their own hearts here. For the average user, however, another browser on this list might be a better fit.

• Completely free and open source
• Extremely customizable with extensions, themes, etc.
• The best option for hardcore privacy
• Not the fastest or most RAM efficient
• Synchronicity isn't as robust

Microsoft Edge is the spiritual successor to Internet Explorer that was first released in 2015. Originally HTML-based, Microsoft overhauled the browser to be based on Chromium, which is the same underlying software used to make Google Chrome.

As such, Microsoft Edge is now much more competitive than it used to be. It's far from a Google Chrome clone, but you should expect a similar level of performance from it. Some users believe that Microsoft Edge even feels snappier than Chrome on a Mac.

Because it's Chromium-based, Microsoft Edge also has a list of extensions similar to Chrome. It also sports a number of unique features, such as a "Collections" ability that lets you save information like text or webpages to a built-in notebook. There's also a vertical tab bar, a built-in read aloud feature, and an easy native screenshot tool.

It's a solid option for anyone that doesn't like Safari and wants an alternative to Google Chrome because of privacy reasons. If you use a Microsoft account like some use a Google account, then Edge might also be a solid option.

• Snappy, lower RAM and CPU usage
• Unique features like Read Aloud and Collections
• Good performance in most metrics
• Can be slower than Chrome in terms of pure performance
• Syncing isn't as strong as Safari or Chrome

The perfect browser doesn't exist, but you can pick and choose what you need

There's no clear answer for what the "best" browser on macOS is. However, some browsers are better suited to specific tasks than others.

When it comes to smooth JavaScript execution, Chrome is in the top spot with Safari a close second. Safari, according to the MotionMark testing, handles complex web pages better than any other browser.

Firefox, interestingly enough, may be the fastest when it comes to general everyday web apps.

Of course, there's also the issues of extension support, privacy, and synchronization across other devices. Many of the browsers are evenly matched on these metrics, but some excel in specific areas like privacy or cross-platform integration.

But, unlike on iOS, you aren't effectively stuck with one browser core technology. These four browsers, and several more, are available on macOS, and can be run in parallel.

While we don't recommend running all four unless you're a web developer or unit case tester, two or three different browsers can be run at-will, if any given browser doesn't handle your work case well.

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How-To Geek

8 reasons you should be using safari on your mac.

Safari delivers features and tweaks that make it ideal for most Mac users.

Quick Links

Safari is highly optimized for macos, works great with iphone and ipad, good privacy controls, access passwords with icloud keychain, icloud+ subscribers can use private relay, safari works with hide my email too, apple pay provides a fast way to shop, use compact tab layout for minimal ui, having a second (or third) browser installed is handy.

Safari comes pre-installed on your Mac and might just be all you need from a web browser. It also has some features that make it a more attractive and convenient option for owners of Apple hardware in general.

Safari is a highly optimized browser that Apple develops alongside macOS and the hardware it runs on. Thanks to this, it uses less energy than competing browsers which is especially important if you own a MacBook. Using Safari should mean you get more battery life out of your MacBook compared to Chrome or Firefox.

We tested Browser Bench Speedometer 2.0 and got a score of 344 in Safari compared to 236 in Firefox on an M1 Max MacBook Pro. Results were similar in JetStream , the JavaScript and WebAssembly benchmark, where Safari scored 220.992 while Firefox managed 132.598. These results should be taken with a pinch of salt, but you can always run the tests for yourself if you're curious.

Far more obvious are the performance gains you can see and feel. Webpages feel more responsive in Safari on the same MacBook compared with Firefox. This affects everything from the render speed of a website to the feel of web apps like WordPress and Gmail.

Since Safari is a part of macOS, updates are handled alongside standard operating system updates. You'll get major new versions each year when macOS gets upgraded in the fall, often bringing new features and better integrations into Apple's ecosystem.

If you own an iPhone or iPad, Safari works well across all three platforms allowing you to access your tabs and shared favorites thanks to iCloud sync. Open a new tab on a Mac or mobile device then scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the rest of your tabs. This only works if you use the same Apple ID with your devices.

Reading List, Apple's "save for later" bookmarking feature  also syncs between devices. You can add a webpage to Reading List from iOS apps like Twitter or Reddit then pick them up later in the sidebar on Safari for Mac.

These integrations are set to get even better in macOS 13 and iOS 16, with Safari Extensions syncing between devices where compatible counterparts exist.

Safari ticks the basic boxes in terms of privacy, including attempts to thwart cross-site tracking cookies. The browser uses what Apple terms "Intelligent Tracking Prevention" which is a fancy way of saying that Apple hides IP addresses from trackers. There's more to it than carte blanche IP scrambling , and the feature kicked up a stink among advertisers when it first arrived in 2017.

You can also access a feature called Privacy Report by clicking on the ellipsis "..." button in the URL bar, which tells you how many trackers are attempting to track you. Click on the "i" button to see a broader picture of your online privacy, including the percentage of websites you've visited that have attempted to track you.

Y ou'll also get a decent pop-up blocker, the ability to use DuckDuckGo instead of Google by default, and granular control over which websites can access your microphone, webcam, location, and send you notifications. Most browsers offer these features, but it's good to note that Apple users aren't missing out on the basics if they stick with Apple's included browser.

iCloud Keychain lets you store your login credentials in the cloud so that you can access them on any device. This works with Safari across devices and allows you to recall login information, use two-factor authentication , and create strong unique passwords for all of your accounts.

The feature even scans your existing password database and notifies you if any passwords were featured in known data breaches. The only drawback is that you need to use Safari for this feature to be at its best. On an iPhone or iPad you can find your credentials under Settings > Passwords, with most apps now integrating nicely with Apple's solution.

On a Mac you might want to create a Shortcut  that you can quickly trigger from the menu bar . This allows you to access your login information for authenticating third-party apps and any other browsers you may need to use.

While iCloud Keychain was rough and difficult to recommend in the beginning, Apple's work in turning this into a real password manager alternative has paid off. It's arguably a good enough reason to Switch to Safari if you're paying for a third-party solution and want to save some money.

Safari Private Relay provides even greater privacy while browsing the web with Apple's browser. The feature is available to all iCloud+ users who pay for additional iCloud storage space (even the 50GB tier).

Once you enable iCloud+ Private Relay , the feature encrypts the data leaving your device including the website you're attempting to visit. You're then assigned a random IP address on one server, while another server decrypts the web request. Apple claims that "no single entity can identify both who a user is and which sites they visit."

Private relay stops short of being a VPN , and if you're using a VPN already then you won't need iCloud Private Relay (macOS will inform you that the two are incompatible). But if you aren't paying for a VPN already, iCloud Private Relay provides additional at minimal cost to browsing speed.

If you're already paying for iCloud space, this is basically a free bolt-on. It can introduce a slight delay between sending your website request and accessing the website, which is comparable to the performance penalty incurred when using a VPN.

Just like Private Relay, iCloud+ users also get access to Hide My Email. As the name implies, this service lets you create email aliases that forward to an account of your choosing . You don't have to use an Apple iCloud account for this, you can opt to forward to Gmail, Outlook, or any account you choose.

This feature integrates nicely into Safari in that you can choose to create and store a new Hide My Email alias right from the "email" field on a signup page. You can always create custom Hide My Email addresses for use in other browsers and apps using iCloud settings, but Safari makes the process entirely painless.

These aliases are great for stopping spam, signing up for free trials, getting discount codes for online stores, and more. You can toggle them on and off as you need them, and delete them when you're done.

Apple Pay is Apple's payment processor. You can set up Apple Pay in Safari Preferences with a compatible debit or credit card. Most major and many smaller financial institutions now support Apple Pay, making it easier than ever to check out with Safari.

Once you're set-up, click on the Apple Pay button on a website to complete your transaction. You can often skip the signup process and check out in record time, and Apple Pay even lets you specify a delivery address and shipping option. Being able to quickly calculate shipping costs without going through a lengthy signup process is one of the biggest benefits of Apple Pay, even if you end up checking out using more conventional methods.

When you're ready to pay you can verify your purchase using Touch ID or by authenticating on your iPhone.

It's a minor point, but Safari's compact tab layout deserves a small mention . You can enable this setting under Safari > Preferences > Tab by choosing "Compact" instead of "General" at the top of the window.

Once enabled this allows Safari to use the header color of a website to theme each window, and shrinks the UI area at the top of the window to a single line. It can be a bit cramped if you like to let your tab descriptions and URL bar breathe, but if you want to fully focus on a web page's content then it can't be beaten.

Sometimes websites want a specific browser, notably Chrome. In instances like this, having a second or third browser installed is handy. Some web apps function better in Chrome, particularly those designed with Google's platform in mind.

Safari isn't the most customizable browser, but that shouldn't put most users off. Extensions are managed using the Mac App Store which can feel a little limiting, and you can only choose from a handful of search engines that Apple has included. With that in mind, you should give Apple's browser a chance before writing it off entirely.

You could always use an app like BrowserFairy to quickly open links in the browser of your choice, but be mindful of increased energy consumption when using more than one browser.

MacBook Air and MacBook Pro M1 battery life tested — this is amazing

The new MacBook Air and Pro have insane battery life

The M1 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro posted battery life numbers so fantastic that it made me look back into the history of our testing. And in the past decade of Tom's Guide battery test scores, only once has Apple ever come close to the new MacBook Air's time.

So we're here to put a "correct" sticker of Apple's claim that the new MacBooks are its longest lasting ever . As our MacBook Air with M1 review shows, it took 14 hours and 41 minutes of web browsing at 150 nits of brightness to drain Apple's most portable laptop — which beats the previous record-holder, the 2015 13-inch MacBook Pro (14:00). But wait: it gets better.

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Not only was that the previous record-holder, it was also done at a slightly less demanding test: with its display at 100 nits, not 150. 

But about the M1 MacBook Pro. Its battery test score — an amazing 16:32 — is one of the best scores on this test I've ever seen, and the longest lasting MacBook ever.

How did Apple pull it off? The Apple M1 Chip is a winner at efficiency, as it's a 5-nanometer processor that the company says offers the best performance per watt in a CPU. 

These achievements in endurance make us wonder how the long the larger 16-inch MacBook Pro will last on a single charge, once it's moved to Apple Silicon in the coming years. But for now, the new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro are officially some of the longest-lasting laptops you can buy

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Henry is a managing editor at Tom’s Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past seven years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's also covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.

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Maximizing M1 Performance: Firefox vs Safari Battery Life Battle!

When it comes to choosing a web browser for your M1-powered device, two popular options that often come to mind are Firefox and Safari. Both browsers have their own unique set of features and advantages, but one aspect that users often consider is the battery life. The M1 chip is known for its efficiency and power-saving capabilities, and users want to ensure that their web browsing experience doesn’t drain their battery too quickly. In this article, we will compare the battery life of Firefox and Safari on M1-powered devices, examining their performance, resource usage, and any potential optimizations that can help you make an informed decision on which browser to use for maximizing your battery life. So, if you’re curious to know which browser is more battery-friendly on your M1 device, read on to find out!

• Does Firefox or Safari have better battery life on the M1 chip?

What are the factors that affect battery life when using Firefox or Safari on the M1 chip?

Are there any specific settings or extensions that can optimize battery life when using firefox or safari on the m1 chip, m1 chip battle: firefox vs safari – which browser offers superior battery life, unleashing the power of m1: a comparative analysis of firefox and safari’s battery efficiency, optimizing battery performance on m1 macs: a deep dive into firefox and safari, firefox vs safari: the ultimate showdown for m1 mac users’ battery longevity.

When it comes to comparing the battery life of Firefox and Safari on the M1 chip, it’s important to consider various factors. While both browsers are optimized for Apple’s M1 architecture, Safari tends to offer better battery efficiency due to its deep integration with macOS. Safari’s power-saving features, such as Intelligent Tracking Prevention and hardware acceleration, contribute to its excellent battery performance. However, Firefox has also made significant improvements, offering a more streamlined browsing experience and enhancing power management. Ultimately, the choice between the two will depend on individual preferences and usage patterns.

On the M1 chip, Safari outperforms Firefox in terms of battery life. Safari’s deep integration with macOS and power-saving features like Intelligent Tracking Prevention and hardware acceleration contribute to its superior efficiency. Although Firefox has made strides in power management and offers a streamlined browsing experience, Safari remains the top choice for those seeking optimal battery performance.

When using Firefox or Safari on the M1 chip, several factors can impact battery life. Firstly, the number of open tabs and active extensions can drain the battery faster, as they require additional processing power. Secondly, media-heavy websites with autoplaying videos or animations consume more energy. Thirdly, certain browser settings like hardware acceleration or syncing can contribute to increased power consumption. Lastly, outdated browser versions might not be optimized for the M1 chip, leading to diminished battery efficiency. Considering these factors and optimizing browser usage can help extend battery life on the M1 chip.

It’s important to be mindful of certain factors that can affect battery life when using Firefox or Safari on the M1 chip. These factors include the number of open tabs and active extensions, media-heavy websites, browser settings, and outdated browser versions. By optimizing browser usage and considering these factors, users can help extend their battery life on the M1 chip.

When it comes to optimizing battery life while using Firefox or Safari on the M1 chip, there are a few settings and extensions worth considering. In Firefox, enabling the “Enhanced Tracking Protection” feature can help reduce the battery drain caused by ads and trackers. Additionally, disabling unnecessary add-ons and plugins can further enhance performance. As for Safari, enabling the “Power Saver” feature can help extend battery life by reducing the energy consumed by websites. It’s also recommended to limit the number of open tabs and disable auto-playing videos to conserve power.

On the M1 chip, optimizing battery life while using Firefox or Safari involves a few key settings and extensions. For Firefox, activating “Enhanced Tracking Protection” reduces battery drain from ads and trackers, while disabling unnecessary add-ons and plugins improves performance. Safari users can benefit from the “Power Saver” feature, which conserves energy by minimizing website consumption. Additionally, limiting open tabs and disabling auto-playing videos are recommended for maximizing battery life.

With the introduction of the new M1 chip, users are eager to explore its capabilities and determine which browser offers superior battery life – Firefox or Safari. Both browsers have their own unique features and loyal fan bases, but when it comes to efficiency, Safari seems to take the lead. Initial tests have shown that Safari consumes significantly less power compared to Firefox, resulting in longer battery life for MacBook users. However, Firefox enthusiasts argue that their browser provides a more customizable experience, making it worth the slight sacrifice in battery efficiency. Ultimately, the choice between these two browsers will depend on individual preferences and priorities.

Firefox enthusiasts argue that their browser offers a more customizable experience, which may outweigh the slightly lower battery efficiency compared to Safari. Ultimately, the choice between the two browsers will depend on individual preferences and priorities.

In today’s world, where technology is an integral part of our lives, the battery efficiency of our devices plays a crucial role. This article aims to delve into the power-saving capabilities of two popular web browsers, Firefox and Safari, on Apple’s M1 chip. By conducting a comparative analysis, we will explore how these browsers optimize battery usage and harness the potential of the M1 architecture. Understanding the differences in battery efficiency will empower users to make informed choices and maximize their browsing experience while preserving battery life.

How do Firefox and Safari on Apple’s M1 chip compare when it comes to battery efficiency? This article will analyze their power-saving capabilities, exploring how they optimize battery usage and harness the potential of the M1 architecture. By understanding these differences, users can make informed choices and maximize their browsing experience while preserving battery life.

When it comes to optimizing battery performance on M1 Macs, understanding how different applications consume power is crucial. In this deep dive, we explore the battery usage of two popular web browsers, Firefox and Safari, on Apple’s latest silicon. While Safari stands out for its exceptional energy efficiency and optimized performance, Firefox lags behind due to its resource-intensive nature. We delve into the reasons behind these differences and provide tips on how to make the most out of your M1 Mac’s battery life when using these browsers.

Firefox and Safari have distinct battery usage on M1 Macs. Safari excels in energy efficiency and performance, while Firefox falls short due to its resource-heavy nature. Understanding these differences is vital for optimizing battery performance. This article explores the reasons behind the contrast and offers tips to maximize your M1 Mac’s battery life when using these browsers.

With the introduction of Apple’s M1 chip, Mac users are now presented with a new dilemma: which browser is best for maximizing battery longevity? Firefox and Safari have long been popular choices, but with the M1’s power efficiency in mind, it’s time for the ultimate showdown. Both browsers have their strengths and weaknesses, but when it comes to battery life, Safari has the upper hand. Its optimization for the M1 chip allows for significantly longer browsing sessions compared to Firefox. So, if you’re an M1 Mac user concerned about battery longevity, Safari might just be your best bet.

For M1 Mac users looking to maximize battery life, Safari is the clear winner. Its optimization for the M1 chip gives it a significant advantage over Firefox, allowing for longer browsing sessions without draining the battery.

In conclusion, when comparing the battery life of Firefox and Safari on the M1 Macs, it is evident that Safari outperforms Firefox in terms of power efficiency. The optimized design and integration of Safari with Apple’s hardware and operating system give it the edge in conserving battery life. While Firefox offers a range of features and customization options, it falls short when it comes to battery longevity on M1 devices. However, it is important to note that individual usage patterns and preferences may vary, so it is worth considering personal requirements before settling on a browser. Nevertheless, for M1 Mac users seeking to maximize their battery life, Safari remains the recommended choice. With its seamless integration, speed, and power efficiency, Safari proves to be the ideal browser for those who prioritize prolonged battery endurance on their M1 devices.

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Featured Article

Yeah, Apple’s M1 MacBook Pro is powerful, but it’s the battery life that will blow you away

Apple’s new m1-powered macbook shows impressive performance gains that make intel’s chips obsolete overnight.

Survival and strategy games are often played in stages. You have the early game where you’re learning the ropes, understanding systems. Then you have mid-game where you’re executing and gathering resources. The most fun part, for me, has always been the late mid-game where you’re in full control of your powers and skills and you’ve got resources to burn — where you execute on your master plan before the endgame gets hairy.

This is where Apple is in the game of power being played by the chip industry. And it’s about to be endgame for Intel. 

Apple has introduced three machines that use its new M1 system on a chip, based on over a decade’s worth of work designing its own processing units based on the ARM instruction set. These machines are capable, assured and powerful, but their greatest advancements come in the performance per watt category.

I personally tested the 13” M1 MacBook Pro and after extensive testing, it’s clear that this machine eclipses some of the most powerful Mac portables ever made in performance while simultaneously delivering 2x-3x the battery life at a minimum.  

These results are astounding, but they’re the product of that long early game that Apple has played with the A-series processors. Beginning in earnest in 2008 with the acquisition of PA Semiconductor, Apple has been working its way towards unraveling the features and capabilities of its devices from the product roadmaps of processor manufacturers.  

The M1 MacBook Pro runs smoothly, launching apps so quickly that they’re often open before your cursor leaves your dock. 

Video editing and rendering is super performant, only falling behind older machines when it leverages the GPU heavily. And even then only with powerful dedicated cards like the 5500M or VEGA II. 

Compiling projects like WebKit produce better build times than nearly any machine (hell the M1 Mac Mini beats the Mac Pro by a few seconds). And it does it while using a fraction of the power. 

This thing works like an iPad. That’s the best way I can describe it succinctly. One illustration I have been using to describe what this will feel like to a user of current MacBooks is that of chronic pain. If you’ve ever dealt with ongoing pain from a condition or injury, and then had it be alleviated by medication, therapy or surgery, you know how the sudden relief feels. You’ve been carrying the load so long you didn’t know how heavy it was. That’s what moving to this M1 MacBook feels like after using other Macs. 

Every click is more responsive. Every interaction is immediate. It feels like an iOS device in all the best ways. 

At the chip level, it also is an iOS device. Which brings us to…

The iOS experience on the M1 machines is…present. That’s the kindest thing I can say about it. Apps install from the App Store and run smoothly, without incident. Benchmarks run on iOS apps show that they perform natively with no overhead. I even ran an iOS-based graphics benchmark which showed just fine. 

That, however, is where the compliments end. The current iOS app experience on an M1 machine running Big Sur is almost comical; it’s so silly. There is no default tool-tip that explains how to replicate common iOS interactions like swipe-from-edge — instead a badly formatted cheat sheet is buried in a menu. The apps launch and run in windows only. Yes, that’s right, no full-screen iOS or iPad apps at all. It’s super cool for a second to have instant native support for iOS on the Mac, but at the end of the day this is a marketing win, not a user experience win. 

Apple gets to say that the Mac now supports millions of iOS apps, but the fact is that the experience of using those apps on the M1 is sub-par. It will get better, I have no doubt. But the app experience on the M1 is pretty firmly in this order right now: Native M1 app>Rosetta 2 app>Catalyst app> iOS app. Provided that the Catalyst ports can be bothered to build in Mac-centric behaviors and interactions, of course. But it’s clear that iOS, though present, is not where it needs to be on M1.

There is both a lot to say and not a lot to say about Rosetta 2. I’m sure we’ll get more detailed breakdowns of how Apple achieved what it has with this new emulation layer that makes x86 applications run fine on the M1 architecture. But the real nut of it is that it has managed to make a chip so powerful that it can take the approximately 26% hit (see the following charts) in raw power to translate apps and still make them run just as fast if not faster than MacBooks with Intel processors. 

It’s pretty astounding. Apple would like us to forget the original Rosetta from the PowerPC transition as much as we would all like to forget it. And I’m happy to say that this is pretty easy to do because I was unable to track any real performance hit when comparing it to older, even ‘more powerful on paper’ Macs like the 16” MacBook Pro. 

It’s just simply not a factor in most instances. And companies like Adobe and Microsoft are already hard at work bringing native M1 apps to the Mac, so the most needed productivity or creativity apps will essentially get a free performance bump of around 30% when they go native. But even now they’re just as fast. It’s a win-win situation. 

Methodology

My methodology  for my testing was pretty straightforward. I ran a battery of tests designed to push these laptops in ways that reflected both real world performance and tasks as well as synthetic benchmarks. I ran the benchmarks with the machines plugged in and then again on battery power to estimate peak performance as well as per watt. All tests were run multiple times with cooldown periods in between in order to try to achieve a solid baseline. 

Here are the machines I used for testing:

• 2020 13” M1 MacBook Pro 8-core 16GB
• 2019 16” Macbook Pro 8-core 2.4GHz 32GB w/5500M
• 2019 13” MacBook Pro 4-core 2.8GHz 16GB
• 2019 Mac Pro 12-Core 3.3GHz 48GB w/AMD Radeon Pro Vega II 32GB

Many of these benchmarks also include numbers from the M1 Mac mini review from Matt Burns and the M1 MacBook Air, tested by Brian Heater, which you can check out here.

Compiling WebKit

Right up top I’m going to start off with the real ‘oh shit’ chart of this piece. I checked WebKit out from GitHub and ran a build on all of the machines with no parameters. This is the one deviation from the specs I mentioned above as my 13” had issues that I couldn’t figure out so I had some Internet friends help me . Also thanks to Paul Haddad of Tapbots for guidance here. 

As you can see, the M1 performs admirably well across all models, with the MacBook and Mac Mini edging out the MacBook Air. This is a pretty straightforward way to visualize the difference in performance that can result in heavy tasks that last over 20 minutes, where the MacBook Air’s lack of active fan cooling throttles back the M1 a bit. Even with that throttling, the MacBook Air still beats everything here except for the very beefy Mac Pro. 

But the big deal here is really this second chart. After a single build of WebKit, the M1 MacBook Pro had a massive 91% of its battery left. I tried multiple tests here and I could have easily run a full build of WebKit 8-9 times on one charge of the M1 MacBook’s battery. In comparison, I could have gotten through about 3 on the 16” and the 13” 2020 model only had one go in it. 

This insane performance per watt of power is the M1’s secret weapon. The battery performance is simply off the chart. Even with processor-bound tasks. To give you an idea, throughout this build of WebKit the P-cluster (the power cores) hit peak pretty much every cycle while the E-cluster (the efficiency cores) maintained a steady 2GHz. These things are going at it, but they’re super power efficient.

Battery Life

In addition to charting battery performance in some real world tests, I also ran a couple of dedicated battery tests. In some cases they ran so long I thought I had left it plugged in by mistake; it’s that good. 

I ran a mixed web browsing and web video playback script that hit a series of pages, waited for 30 seconds and then moved on to simulate browsing. The M1 outperformed the other MacBooks by just over 25%. Those margins were far greater in our performance testing.

Results here are presented as hours:minutes.

In fullscreen 4k/60 video playback, the M1 fares even better, clocking an easy 20 hours with fixed 50% brightness. On an earlier test, I left the auto-adjust on and it crossed the 24 hour mark easily. Yeah, a full day. That’s an iOS-like milestone.

The M1 MacBook Air does very well also, but its smaller battery means a less playback time at “only” 16 hours. Both of them absolutely decimated the earlier models with gains at nearly 3X in some cases.

Xcode Unzip

This was another developer-centric test that was requested. Once again, CPU bound, and the M1’s blew away any other system in my test group. Faster than the 8-core 16” MacBook Pro, wildly faster than the 13” MacBook Pro and yes, 2x as fast as the 2019 Mac Pro with its 3.3GHz Xeons. 

For a look at the power curve (and to show that there is no throttling of the MacBook Pro over this period (I never found any throttling over longer periods by the way) here’s the usage curve.

Unified Memory and Disk Speed

Much ado has been made of Apple including only 16GB of memory on these first M1 machines. The fact of it, however, is that I have been unable to push them hard enough yet to feel any effect of this due to Apple’s move to unified memory architecture. Moving RAM to the SoC means no upgradeability — you’re stuck on 16GB forever. But it also means massively faster access to that memory by chips on the system that need it most.

If I was a betting man I’d say that this was an intermediate step to eliminating the concept of discrete RAM altogether. It’s possible that a future (far future, this is the play for now) version of Apple’s M-series chips could end up supplying memory to each of the various chips from a vast pool that also serves as permanent storage. For now, though, what you’ve got is a finite, but blazing fast, pool of memory shared between the CPU cores, GPU and other SoC denizens like the Secure Enclave and Neural Engine. 

Check out this video of 400 tabs open in Safari vs the same using Chrome. If apps are optimized for M1 (and Big Sur) then they’re going to be enormously capable on this machine.

https://twitter.com/panzer/status/1328790134548905985?s=20

If you want an indicator of how Apple thinks about the tight connection loop between OS X Big Sur and the M1 processor, which it was built for and vice-versa, note that the M1 MacBook Pro’s about screen does not show clock speeds at all.

While running many applications simultaneously, the M1 performed extremely well. Because this new architecture is so tightly arranged, with memory being a short hop away next door rather than out over a PCIe bus, swapping between applications was zero trouble. Even while tasks were run in the background — beefy, data heavy tasks — the rest of the system stayed flowing.

Even when the memory pressure tab of Activity Monitor showed that OS X was using swap space, as it did from time to time, I noticed no slowdown in performance. 

Though I wasn’t able to trip it up I would guess that you would have to throw a single, extremely large file at this thing to get it to show any amount of struggle. 

The SSD in the M1 MacBook Pro is running on a PCIe 3.0 bus, and its write and read speeds indicate that. 

Thunderbolt and Webcam

The M1 MacBook Pro has two Thunderbolt controllers, one for each port. This means that you’re going to get full PCIe 3.0 x4 speeds out of each and that it seems very likely that Apple could include up to 4 ports in the future without much change in architecture. 

This configuration also means that you can easily power an Apple Pro Display XDR and another monitor besides. I was unable to test two Apple Pro Display XDR monitors side-by-side.

Oh, those webcam improvements. Apple says that the ISP in the M1 machines is improved from the previous generations. But the camera itself is the same 720p webcam we’ve had in MacBooks forever. In my tests the result of that is that the webcam is still bad, it’s just less bad. Maybe it crosses the line into ‘ok’ because of the better white balance and slightly  improved noise handling. It’s still not great though.

Cooling and throttling

No matter how long the tests I ran were, I was never able to detect any throttling of the CPU on the M1 MacBook Pro. From our testing it was evident that in longer operations (20-40 minutes on up) it was possible to see the MacBook Air pulling back a bit over time. Not so with the Macbook Pro. 

Apple says that it has designed a new ‘cooling system’ in the M1 MacBook Pro, which holds up. There is a single fan but it is noticeably quieter than either of the other Macs. In fact, I was never able to get the M1 much hotter than ‘warm’ and the fan ran at speeds that were much more similar to that of a water cooled rig than the turbo engine situation in the other MacBooks. 

Even running a long, intense Cinebench 23 session could not make the M1 MacBook get loud. Over the course of the mark running all high-performance cores regularly hit 3GHz and the efficiency cores hitting 2GHz. Despite that, it continued to run very cool and very quiet in comparison to other MacBooks. It’s the stealth bomber at the Harrier party.

https://twitter.com/panzer/status/1328715510100344833?s=20

In that Cinebench test you can see that it doubles the multi-core performance of last year’s 13” MacBook and even beats out the single-core performance of the 16” MacBook Pro. 

I ran a couple of Final Cut Pro tests with my test suite. First was a 5 minute 4k60 timeline shot with iPhone 12 Pro using audio, transitions, titles and color grading. The M1 MacBook performed fantastically, slightly beating out the 16” MacBook Pro. 

With an 8K timeline of the same duration, the 16” MacBook Pro with its Radeon 5500M was able to really shine with FCP’s GPU acceleration. The M1 held its own though, showing 3x faster speeds than the 13” MacBook Pro with its integrated graphics. 

And, most impressively, the M1 MacBook Pro used extremely little power to do so. Just 17% of the battery to output an 81GB 8K render. The 13” MacBook Pro could not even finish this render on one battery charge. 

As you can see in these GFXBench charts, while the M1 MacBook Pro isn’t a powerhouse gaming laptop we still got some  very  surprising and impressive results in tests of the GPU when a rack of Metal tests were run on it. The 16″ MBP still has more raw power, but rendering games at retina is still very possible here.

The M1 is the future of CPU design

All too often over the years we’ve seen Mac releases hamstrung by the capabilities of the chips and chipsets that were being offered by Intel. Even as recently as the 16” MacBook Pro, Apple was stuck a generation or more behind. The writing was basically on the wall once the iPhone became such a massive hit that Apple began producing more chips than the entire rest of the computing industry combined. 

Apple has now shipped over 2 billion chips, a scale that makes Intel’s desktop business look like a luxury manufacturer. I think it was politic of Apple to not mention them by name during last week’s announcement, but it’s also clear that Intel’s days are numbered on the Mac and that their only saving grace for the rest of the industry is that Apple is incredibly unlikely to make chips for anyone else.

Years ago I wrote an article about the iPhone’s biggest flaw being that its performance per watt limited the new experiences that it was capable of delivering. People hated that piece but I was right. Apple has spent the last decade “fixing” its battery problem by continuing to carve out massive performance gains via its A-series chips all while maintaining essentially the same (or slightly better) battery life across the iPhone lineup. No miracle battery technology has appeared, so Apple went in the opposite direction, grinding away at the chip end of the stick.

What we’re seeing today is the result of Apple flipping the switch to bring all of that power efficiency to the Mac, a device with 5x the raw battery to work with. And those results are spectacular.

The new Mac mini: The revival of the no-compromise, low-cost Mac

MacBook Air M1 review: The right Apple Silicon Mac for most

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Safari Offers Longer Battery Life than Chrome or Firefox

Using Safari on a MacBook will give you longer battery life, according to tests run by the BatteryBox Blog . The company tested Apple's Safari, Google's Chrome, and Firefox on video sites, music streaming sites, webmail sites, news sites, and more, and found that Safari used less power than the other browsers, giving users 52 more minutes of battery life.

"If you’re a MacBook user," the company wrote, "you're losing an average of 1 hour of total battery life by using Chrome. Firefox is a little better, but Safari is the clear winner. You’ll want to use Safari if you want to get the most battery out of your laptop."

Average Battery Life in Chrome, Firefox, and Safari Tests Source: BatteryBox

BatteryBox sells a device called BatteryBox, a portable battery for Apple's MacBook, iPhone, and iPad. The company's blog follows battery-related issues, and this test didn't involve the company's products.

The company said it conducted the tests using power consumption measuring devices and testing each site for one hour. The data captured from that test was then run through Matlab to extrapolate battery life.

As the world goes mobile, battery life matters more and more. None of the companies or organizations that makes a browser has yet to make battery life a competitive issue, but it's something that some folks do notice.

In fact, BatteryBox's blog post said the company decided to run the tests after the sole Safari user in its office was seen to be getting consistently longer battery life than his compatriots.

"Being the geeks we are," the blog post said, "it had to be investigated."

We included the averages chart above, but BatteryBox offered charts breaking down specific functions. Check out the blog post for more details.

• Bryan Chaffin
• tmo-article

• Apps & Updates

Google Chrome

Google updates chrome to match safari battery life on m2 macbook pro.

After widely rolling out an Energy Saver mode , Google has made four optimizations to Chrome for Mac that allows the browser to match the battery life you get when using Safari.

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Google conducted testing on a MacBook Pro (13”, M2, 2022 with 8 GB RAM running macOS Ventura 13.2.1) with Chrome 110.0.5481.100 in February of 2023. It showed that you can “browse for 17 hours or watch YouTube for 18 hours.”

For comparison , Apple touts up to 17 hours of wireless web browsing, and up to 20 hours Apple TV app movie playback.

Testing conducted by Apple in May 2022 using preproduction 13-inch MacBook Pro systems with Apple M2, 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB SSD. The wireless web test measures battery life by wirelessly browsing 25 popular websites with display brightness set to 8 clicks from bottom. The Apple TV app movie playback test measures battery life by playing back HD 1080p content with display brightness set to 8 clicks from bottom. Battery life varies by use and configuration. Apple

Meanwhile, Google uses this open-source benchmarking suite to run tests, and says that users will also “see performance gains on older models.” Four changes from waking the CPU less often to tuning memory compression are specifically credited:

• Eliminating unnecessary redraws : “We navigated on real-world sites with a bot and identified Document Object Model (DOM) change patterns that don’t affect pixels on the screen. We modified Chrome to detect those early and bypass the unnecessary style, layout, paint, raster and gpu steps. We implemented similar optimizations for changes to the Chrome UI.”
• Fine tuning iframes : “…we fine-tuned the garbage collection and memory compression heuristics for recently created iframes. This results in less energy consumed to reduce short-term memory usage (without impact on long-term memory usage).”

• Tweaking timers : “…Javascript timers still drive a large proportion of a Web page’s power consumption. As a result, we tweaked the way they fire in Chrome to let the CPU wake up less often. Similarly, we identified opportunities to cancel internal timers when they’re no longer needed, reducing the number of times that the CPU is woken up.”

• Streamlining data structures : “We identified data structures in which there were frequent accesses with the same key and optimized their access pattern.”

More on Chrome:

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Apple’s Latest M4 iPad Pro Models Have Worse Battery Life Than The M1 mini-LED Version In Early Runtime Tests, Despite Switching To OLED Technology

The latest 11-inch and 13-inch M4 iPad Pro models are equipped with Tandem OLED technology, making them the first consumer products to be equipped with such panels. The obvious benefits include higher brightness and richer colors, and perhaps the biggest perk of using an OLED apart from the battery life improvements is the longer lifespan of the displays. However, users may not appreciate that the addition of Tandem OLED actually results in worse battery life compared to the M1 version with mini-LED, at least according to the latest tests.

Whether it is maximum brightness or just 250 nits, the M4 iPad Pro models cannot surpass the M1 mini-LED version’s endurance

A series of tests were performed by YouTuber Dave2D, who received review units of the 11-inch and 13-inch M4 iPad Pro. One of the first changes that he talked about was the display, and while we have always heard that transitioning from mini-LED to OLED would result in better battery life, that was not the case here. Keep in mind that the runtime differences between Apple’s latest tablets and previous-generation ones are pretty negligible, but it is still something to point out, given the number of notable upgrades that arrived with the newest slates.

When streaming Netflix at a brightness of 250 nits, the 12.9-inch M1 iPad Pro with the mini-LED comes out ahead, lasting for 9 hours and 33 minutes, with the 11-inch M4 iPad Pro coming in at a close second with a runtime of 9 hours and 29 minutes. The bigger 13-inch tablet had a battery life of 9 hours and 11 minutes, which is to be expected since the panel is larger and consumes more juice. In the maximum brightness test, we are looking at a repeat of the earlier results, with the M1 version coming out on top, followed by the 11-inch M4 iPad Pro.

However, in the Genshin Impact loop test running at maximum brightness, the smaller M4 iPad Pro gains the lead against the M1 variant, lasting for 4 hours and 25 minutes, followed by the 13-inch version with an endurance of 4 hours and 12 minutes. In all three tests, the 2018 iPad Pro came in dead last, which was not surprising to see, given that it relies on the less power-efficient IPS panel. The latest results show that while the M4 iPad Pro models suffer in battery consumption when video streaming, it makes up for it when running games.

Then again, the battery life difference between each slate is so paltry that the majority of buyers or current M1 iPad Pro owners will likely not witness the variations. However, there is no denying that the Tandem OLED technology will definitely upgrade users' media consumption experience. You can check out the entire video review above and let us know what you think in the comments.

News Source: Dave2D

Deal of the Day

Further Reading

Second M4 iPad Pro Teardown Shows Two Central Spines Placed On Top Of One Another For Extra Rigidity, Plus An Internal Change That Will Make Repairs Easier

Early M4 iPad Pro Teardown Reveals Copper Apple Logo For Heat Dissipation, 10,209 mAh Battery, And Redesigned Magnets

Apple’s M4 Blazes Past The M2, A17 Pro In Genshin Impact, Up To 92 Percent Faster While Running At a Higher Resolution

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M1 Pro vs M1 Max battery

• Thread starter Someirishguy
• Start date Oct 29, 2021
• Sort by reaction score
• MacBook Pro

Someirishguy

Macrumors regular.

• Oct 29, 2021

Has anybody tested whether the M1 Max impacts battery life under normal casual usage, versus the M1 Pro. Essentially, I want to know if the extra GPU cores in the M1 Max drain battery even if they’re “not being used”? I would expect the battery to drain quicker when, for example, exporting video, but it would also export faster, so that would be expected and acceptable.  

macrumors 6502

jvlfilms said: According to the Verge, yes. Extra GPU cores mean more battery drain despite not being used 24/7. Click to expand...

macrumors 68040

It probably makes a difference more in theory than in practice (and notice the Verge doesn't quantify the difference in any way). I'm sure Apple has it set up so components not in use draw very little power.  

gswierczynski

Macrumors newbie.

• Oct 30, 2021

Yeah I saw that, but I would assume that Apple knows its products the best. Also the touted 21h battery life of the 16" is measured by Apple on M1 Pro (not M1 Max) - probably not without a reason. I wish we had more sources on the matter - that is the main reason I have not placed an order yet.  

macrumors member

If there was a significant difference in battery life between Pro and Max, would not Apple be obligated to differentiate the two on the specs page? Just as they did for 16" weight with Pro vs Max. Apple saying the Max draws more power does not prove a 6 hour discrepancy, or whatever The Verge claim. Apple's statement could be accurate but not translate to a significant battery life difference in everyday use. Unless we know exactly what The Verge asked them and exactly what Apple's response was, I take it with a grain of salt. Ultimately it needs to be tested.  

Good points @War833 . I agree it would be nice to have more sources on the matter. Regarding the time on Apple website - it is not on the SKU selection screen for both M1 Pro and M1 Max. It is on the details page with fine print stating that those values are for M1 Pro 16GB 1TB. So I do not think they are obligated to provide separate info for M1 Max - they are just silent about it, not mentioning it anywhere.  

This is the battery im getting under light usage. M1 Pro  

Attachments

• Oct 31, 2021

gswierczynski said: Finally a new review worth posting about in this thread. Gist: 16" Pro - 13h 16" Max - 11h Click to expand...

Sanpete said: Her test appears to be just as casually random as The Verge's, though. Appears she didn't do exactly the same things with both machines, just whatever she was doing at the time. Click to expand...

Someirishguy said: Has anybody tested whether the M1 Max impacts battery life under normal casual usage, versus the M1 Pro. Essentially, I want to know if the extra GPU cores in the M1 Max drain battery even if they’re “not being used”? I would expect the battery to drain quicker when, for example, exporting video, but it would also export faster, so that would be expected and acceptable. Click to expand...

sej said: Well I haven't tested as such, but I did have a m1 pro 16 here for a few days, then swapped it at the apple store for a 16 max / 64gb ram version. I am very sure the battery life between them differs enough to notice. The m1 pro I had, you could use it for a bit and the battery use might not even drop a single percent - it was astounding. But the m1 max I have, is a steady power draw. It's dropping roughly 10-12% per hour. I'm actually dissapointed in the battery life on it. But not the performance, it absolutely screams. I think a more sensible option for me would have been the m1 pro version with 4tb ssd, but at that point there's not a huge diff money wise in then going to max/64gb ram and over the life of the machine I'd prefer the speed. So I can't give you definitive numbers as I don't have both here simultaneously but if you care about battery, I'd stick with the pro. Click to expand...

BasicAppleGuy

Yes, it's a tough choice. I have a 16" Pro 16gb as well as 14" Max 64Gb on hand. While not the same size form factor, it feels like the battery life on the 16 is pretty epic, while the 14 feel like a modern windows ultrabook in term of battery life (ie you definitely notice it going down every hour). Looking back over my years, to me the most important factors in a laptop are battery life, performance, and screen. I think the 16 Pro essentially hits all those factors really well, to the point that I'm returning the Max config 64gb. Yes, if you obsess over activity monitor, you'll notice that there's more swap, but at the end of the day who cares? Computer does all the memory management in the background and doesn't skip a beat. Imagine how people on the forums would obsess over memory usage on iPhones and iPads if iOS had an activity monitor....  

Michael Scrip

Macrumors 604.

How much battery life did The Verge get on the previous i9 Intel 16" MBP doing these same tasks? With hotter chips and a dedicated GPU? That would give us an indication as to what Apple has accomplished here. If the M1 Max "only" gets 10 hours... I'm struggling to believe that the Intel/AMD version would get the same or more.  

Cameraman12

I've had a very different experience with my 16in 32GB Max 1TB. With just browsing in Safari, Mail, Calendar, and using Messages, I got 1 hour 27 min before it started to read 99% with the screen at just under half brightness. With a medium workload in photo pro apps (Capture One, PS) it took 58 min before it reached 99%.  

macrumors 68000

BasicAppleGuy said: 14" M1 Max (32 GPU Cores) This usage is with brightness down 10 points from maximum (or two from half). Current usage is streaming music (played through the speakers), surfing the web, checking twitter, having Activity Monitor open, and writing in Day One. Keyboard backlight is also on, as is True Tone and ProMotion. I recognize this is exceptionally light usage at the moment for this machine, but this battery life was reassuring to see. Some reviews made it seem that the M1 Max chews through battery exponentially faster than the Pro, but this usage is easily more than enough for work days even for lighter usage. View attachment 1896489 Click to expand...

Michael Scrip said: How much battery life did The Verge get on the previous i9 Intel 16" MBP doing these same tasks? With hotter chips and a dedicated GPU? That would give us an indication as to what Apple has accomplished here. If the M1 Max "only" gets 10 hours... I'm struggling to believe that the Intel/AMD version would get the same or more. Click to expand...

Cameraman12 said: I've had a very different experience with my 16in 32GB Max 1TB. With just browsing in Safari, Mail, Calendar, I got 1 hour 27 min before it started to read 99% with the screen at just under half brightness. With a medium workload in photo pro apps (Capture One, PS) it took 58 min before it reached 99%. Click to expand...

sej said: That's interesting. That's what my M1 pro model was doing. On my max it always says safari is using significant energy under the battery icon, even if I'm just reading news / reddit etc. - do you get that as well? Makes me wonder if I have something going on. Click to expand...

Cameraman12 said: Yes, it says Safari is using Significant energy. Click to expand...

AFK said: dont think anyone is saying apple hasnt accomplished a major engineering feat. intel/amd wouldnt and doesnt. we're juggling the priority in our heads over battery life, ram and performance. i.e., i want 64gb but cant have it unless i go max and sacrifice battery life. Click to expand...