why was the M1 chip so revolutionary? What did it do that combined power with efficiency so well that couldn’t be done before?

Question

I ask this because when M1 Mac’s came I felt we were entering a new era of portable PCs: fast, lightweight and with a long awaited good battery life.

I just saw the announcement of the Snapdragon X Plus, which is looking like a response to the M chips, and I am seeing a lot of buzz around it, so I ask: what is so special about it?

In: Technology

Answer 1

TSMC introduced a new 5nm fabrication process in 2020 and Apple got first crack at it. Because of the quantities Apple was purchasing, they essentially monopolized the manufacturing line forcing everyone else onto older less efficient 7nm and 10nm processes until TSMC could build up 5nm capacity. The other companies that could get 5nm parts produced were mainly interested in the smartphone and GPU markets and not initially looking to produce CPUs.