MacBook Air and MacBook Pro M1 Chips Have Same 8-Core CPUs, No Upgrades Available

Tuesday November 10, 2020 11:12 am PST by Juli Clover

The newly announced MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models that Apple announced today are equipped with the same 8-core M1 chip that also offers an integrated GPU, with Apple offering no CPU upgrades.

macbook air m1 models
There is, however, a GPU upgrade available for the ‌MacBook Air‌. By default, the ‌MacBook Air‌ ships with an ‌M1‌ chip with a 7-core GPU, while the ‌MacBook Pro‌ has the same ‌M1‌ chip with an 8-core GPU.

If you choose the $1,249 ‌MacBook Air‌ model with a 512GB SSD, it upgrades to an 8-core GPU instead of the default 7-core GPU, but there is no custom configuration option to choose the lower tier model with the upgraded 8-core GPU option.

Both the ‌MacBook Air‌ and the ‌MacBook Pro‌ can be customized with more RAM and more storage space. The Mac mini also has the same ‌M1‌ chip with 8-core GPU as the ‌MacBook Pro‌ with no GPU/CPU upgrade option available. The new models are available today and will start shipping out next week.

Related Roundups: MacBook Air, Mac mini

Buyer's Guide: MacBook Air (Buy Now), Mac Mini (Caution)

Related Forums: MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac mini

Popular Stories

Mac Mini and Mac Studio Facing Extreme Shipping Delays Amid Severe RAM Shortage

Monday April 6, 2026 7:12 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Apple's online store in the U.S. is currently showing delivery estimates of up to 4-5 months for many Mac mini and Mac Studio configurations with upgraded amounts of RAM. The delays are occurring amid a severe global memory chip shortage driven by surging demand from companies building AI servers that require large amounts of RAM. For example, a Mac mini with an M4 Pro chip and 64GB of RAM...

• 157 comments

Apple Stops Accepting Orders for Some Mac Mini and Mac Studio Models

Saturday April 11, 2026 7:35 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

As noted by 9to5Mac, some Mac mini and Mac Studio configurations are now completely out of stock on Apple's online store in the U.S. as of this writing. Mac mini configurations with an upgraded 32GB or 64GB of RAM and Mac Studio configurations with an upgraded 128GB or 256GB of RAM are listed as "currently unavailable" on the storefront, meaning they can no longer be ordered at all. Other ...

• 158 comments

Perplexity Launches Personal Computer for Mac, Turning a Mac mini Into an Always-On AI Agent

Thursday April 16, 2026 1:03 pm PDT by Juli Clover

Perplexity today launched Personal Computer, an expansion of Perplexity Computer that integrates with local files and apps on a Mac. Personal Computer was announced in March and was available on a waitlist basis, but it is officially rolling out today for Max subscribers. Perplexity Computer came out earlier this year, and it's an all-in-one "digital worker" able to create and execute entire ...

• 86 comments

Top Rated Comments

ilikewhey

72 months ago

for me its pretty obvious i'm getting the air, no touch bar please.

Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)

macsound1

72 months ago

I don't really understand why the pro is more expensive and needs a fan. Higher frequency?

$300 buys you a fan to prevent thermal throttling.

Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)

kalafalas

72 months ago

They don’t mention clock speeds though. I imagine since the pro is actively cooled it is clocked higher and can maintain higher clock speeds under sustained load so it will provide better performance

Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)

mariusignorello

72 months ago

M1 is going to change how computers are sold. No more cramming in ram when you can make the ram you have work more efficiently.

Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)

sajlonix

72 months ago

THIS IS A JOKE!!
pure, undenaible JOKE 🤣🤣LOL 😂

only two ports on pro?? So we just buy more eco-friendly adapters?? or is it just another "lower-end" Pro with touch bar so boomers can show off in starbucks..??