How-To Geek - Apple M1 vs. M2: What's the Difference?

June 7, 2022

Did You Know?

The 1928 animated short Steamboat Willie is regarded as the first appearance of Mickey Mouse, but the iconic mouse technically made his first appearance in a cartoon short called Plane Crazy earlier in the year. The short never made it beyond the screening phase, however, as not only did audiences not care for it, but Walt Disney failed to secure a distributor.

Happy Tuesday! Apple kicked off its WWDC 2022 event yesterday, with a ton of announcements. The first betas of iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura were released, which include everything from a revamped lock screen on the iPhone to more powerful iPad multitasking.

Apple also surprised us with some new hardware. The M2 chip was officially revealed, promising similar performance to Intel’s mobile Core i7 CPUs at 25% of the power draw. Apple is also updating the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro, both with M2 chips.

There’s a lot to get excited about if you own any Apple devices, that’s for sure.

The second generation of Apple Silicon is here. The M2 SOC is Apple’s consumer upgrade to 2020’s M1 in the Mac lineup and beyond. Here’s a look at how the two chips compare—and what it means for future Macs. Read More »

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If you have a monitor or display that’s capable of both DisplayPort and HDMI, which should you choose? Since these ports have different capabilities and purposes, it’s important to understand when to use DisplayPort and when to use HDMI. Read More »

Oftentimes, a smaller phone charger can’t provide the power to juice up your laptop or MacBook. Instead, you need to carry around a separate, often bigger and more cumbersome charger to top them off. However, with Anker’s USB-C charger, you can power your phone, tablet, and anything else you need without any extra clutter.

This charger is capable of 30W of output, which is enough to charge all of your devices, including the MacBook Air and laptops. Better yet, until the end of the day, you can grab this USB-C charger for under $24.

Get it at Amazon →

To keep track of an investment such as a mutual fund, you likely want to calculate the CAGR (compound annual growth rate). You can do so in Microsoft Excel using the RRI function and it’s much easier than you might think. Read More »

Apple usually delivers critical security fixes as minor updates for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and so on, which means a full reboot and a (potentially) long install process. That might change soon. Read More »

External solid-state drives can provide for the speeds that modern games and software need to run properly and without lag. Couple that with their decreasing cost, and the best SSDs have become a great alternative to external HDDs. Read More »

Apple announced iOS 16 for the iPhone at WWDC 2022. As usual, this update is free and the release is expected in late September (2022). The update is packed with tweaks that will hopefully change the way you use your iPhone for the better. Read More »

Is your iPhone or Android smartphone not charging when you plug it in? Worried it might be the end for your beloved gadget? Run through our checklist of troubleshooting tips to get to the bottom of the issue. Read More »

Fuel cells were once touted as the ultimate high-tech solution to short laptop battery life, but nearly two decades later we still don’t have them and it seems we never will. What happened to this promising computer power source? Read More »

Modern electric vehicles (EVs) will last quite a while on their stock battery pack, but eventually they’ll degrade and need to be replaced. The prospect of a replacement might make you hesitant about buying an EV, so what will a replacement actually run you, and how can you avoid needing one? Read More »

The iOttie Velox Magnetic Wireless Charging Duo Stand is an elegant way to efficiently charge your MagSafe-compatible iPhone and Qi-enabled accessories. But if magnets don’t attract your attention, steer clear and save your money. Read More »

Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows 11, launched in October 2021, but many PCs lack the hardware required to upgrade. So what can you do if your computer isn’t ready to make the jump? Is upgrading even worth the hassle? Read More »

If you frequently use a networked drive (or “share”) with Windows 11, you can map it to a drive letter in File Explorer to make it appear more like a local drive and quickly access it in the future. Here’s how to do it. Read More »

Apple’s Safari web browser has lagged behind some features in recent years, especially with background services. After years of waiting, it seems like Safari will finally support web push notifications on all platforms. Read More »

By default, Microsoft Word uses white as the default page color for all documents. If you’d like to use a custom color for your page, you can change page colors in Word. We’ll show you how. Read More »

The iPad has always been in a strange place, with some of the apps commonly found on PCs, but still missing some common desktop features. Apple is attempting to bride that gap with the upcoming iPadOS 16 update. Read More »

Google’s Pixel 6 Pro has been a hot item for Android enthusiasts — ranking as the fastest selling Pixel phone of all time — and you can get one for its lowest price ever. Drop what you’re doing and pick up a new Pixel 6 Pro for just $799 ($100 off) over at Amazon. Read More »

Apple’s HomeKit and the companion Home app have long felt like a neglected project. With the release of iOS 16, the Home app is getting a facelift and a new lease on life complete with a promise of Matter support. Read More »

Apple’s iPadOS 16 is getting a big, important new feature. It’s something many iPad users have been begging for for years now. Yes, it’s finally here: The Weather app is now on iPad. It only took 15 years! Read More »

Apple updated the 13-inch MacBook Pro with the first M1 chip back in 2020, and now a new model is on the way with an Apple M2 chip. Read More »

The Apple Watch is more smartwatch than fitness tracker, but Apple continues to blur that line with watchOS 9. The Workout app is getting the ability to measure your running form, heart rate zones, and new workout types to track. Read More »

Apple announced a new MacBook Air with its new M2 chip at WWDC 2022. The new MacBook Air is even lighter and faster and fixes some of the main complaints about Apple’s line of MacBooks. Here’s what’s new. Read More »

Apple started shipping Mac computers with its M1 chip in 2020, marking the start of Apple’s migration away from Intel chips. Now the company has revealed the aptly-named sequel, the Apple M2. Read More »

Texting other iPhone users with iMessage has always felt like an instant messaging app. iOS 16 is adding a number of features to the Messages app that makes that even more apparent. Get ready to edit your mistakes. Read More »

Apple Maps started off as a poor substitute for Google Maps, but it has become increasingly better over time. Apple just announced a few major upgrades at WWDC. Read More »

Apple was rumored to be working on a lock screen revamp for iOS 16 on the iPhone, and now that has just been confirmed at WWDC. Read More »

If you’ve been using up a lot of cellular data on your iPhone recently, one particular app (such as one that streams video) might be using more than others. Here’s how you can prevent an app from using cellular data at all. Read More »