Intel benchmarks say Apple’s M1 isn’t faster. Let’s check the claims

After months of silence about Apple’s impressive M1 chip, Intel just clapped back with a carefully crafted takedown of the Arm-based chip. It isn’t pretty. (You can read our review of the 13in MacBook Pro (M1) on page 26.) Intel said its testing shows:

• An 11th gen Core i7-1185G7 can match or greatly exceed the M1’s performance in a MacBook Pro in both native and non-native applications.

• The M1 just won’t run a lot of software.

• In battery life, it’s pretty much a wash.

• The MacBook Pro wouldn’t pass muster to be certified as an Evo laptop.

• The new MacBooks have a range of compatibility issues, from multiple monitor to game controllers, as well as many documented software plug-in problems.

In the parlance of our time, it’s ‘shots fired’ yet again, with Intel highlighting problems in competing products. In November, Intel did the same with AMD’s Ryzen 4000, which it found to suffer degraded performance when running on battery in many situations.

The normal reaction from outside observers and die-hard Apple fan