Intel reportedly ‘crafted’ 11-gen processor benchmarks to make Apple M1 look weak

Intel reportedly used different 11-gen Core i7 SKUs for testing but also moved between MacBook Air and Pro to make it's benchmark performance look better.

MacBook Air (Unsplash)

Just last year Apple announced that it's moving away from Intel chipsets for Mac devices and will eventually be using its own Apple silicon, which later on turned out to be the Apple M1 with 5nm processing tech. However, Intel has now shared benchmarks that, as PC World report states, is an attempt to prove that the company's latest 11th generation Core processors are superior to Apple's custom designed M1 chip. The report has described these benchmarks as ‘carefully crafted' and that's because of several reasons.

As per Intel, exporting a PowerPoint presentation as a PDF is 2.3x faster on a Windows laptop that is running 11th-Gen Core i7 processor and 16GB RAM compared to the same exporting process that takes more time in a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Apple M1 chip and 16GB of RAM.

Not sure which
laptop to buy?

Intel also mentioned that Topaz Lab's AI-based photo enlargement software gigapixel AI performed 6x faster on its Core i7 processor as compared to M1 MacBook Pro. According to PC World, this result is understandable as Topaz Lab's apps are designed to take advantage of the hardware acceleration inside Intel processors. However, In terms of gaming performance, the results were somehow mixed.

Intel says that Mac is not ideal for gaming as it lacks support for countless games like Gear Tactics, Hitman 2 and others.

The firm also conducted a real world battery life test, only to find that both the M1 MacBook Air and the Acer Swift 5 with 11th-Gen Core i7 processor achieved almost the same 10 hour battery life when streaming Netflix with additional tabs open. Both laptops were set to 250 nits of display brightness, with MacBook Air running the native Safari browser and Acer Swift 5 running Chrome.

It's worth mentioning that Intel in its slideshows switched from MacBook Pro for the performance benchmarks to MacBook Air when it comes to battery life test, which shouldn't be the case until unless you want one of the products to look good or bad. PC World adds that the chipset maker used a different Core i7 processor SKU for each of these tests, which again, should not happen.

One of the Apple columnists, Jason Snell, said that Intel's benchmarks were M1-unfriendly with

inconsistent test platforms, shifting arguments and omitted data. It is worth mentioning that Apple is rumored to launch its new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, a redesigned iMac and other devices with its next generation of Apple Silicon, later this year.