macOS (previously Mac OS X and later OS X) is a proprietary graphical operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and laptop computers it is the second most widely used desktop OS, after Windows NT and ahead of Chrome OS.The topic for discussing all things related to macOS! It's a really good OS with a easy to use GUI, a great terminal with shells like Bash and Zsh, and support for tons of Apps. The new rise of Apple Silicon chips have made macOS better than ever. I use an M1 MacBook Air with macOS Big Sur and it's the best laptop experience I've had.
macOS is also based off of Unix, so that means it shares some similarities with Linux, which is also based off of Unix, and that's a great advantage for a lot of people. But keep in mind that Linux and macOS use different kernels, Linux and Darwin respectively.
macOS is extremely popular among software developers and people who work in the IT industry. A lot of casual laptop users and students also use it for writing emails, browsing the web, and editing a few documents or presentations. The main reason for this is the amazing compatibility with software and hardware, which Linux and Windows lack.
Linux and Windows are also great OSs for people who use laptops for other reasons, this is just a topic to talk about macOS and to highlight it's features and drawbacks.
History of Apple Silicon -
Here's the history of the M-Series chips:
In 2010, Apple announced their own custom silicon for the iPhone and iPad. They named it the A4 for the iPhone 4. Over time, they made new chips for their iPhones and iPads. They've made chips all the way up to the A15 Bionic.
Once in a while, Apple had announced chips that ended with either an X or a Z. However, this only happened sometimes. These chips have the same type of cores as their generation. For example, A12X and A12Z have the same cores as the A12 Bionic. This means that these chips are extensions. The extension chips usually have things like more CPU cores, GPU cores, and RAM than their predecessors. Usually, the extension chips were made for the iPad Pro and higher-end iPhones. Apple killed the X and Z variant with M1 Pro/Max.
New generations of chips (eg. A5, A6) get more efficient and more powerful. The core count is rarely changed. Eventually, Apple scaled up the A14 IP up to M1. They added two firestorm cores and 4 GPU cores to the M1. The M1 also had Mac-specific IPs, slightly higher clock speeds, and more ram. This led to the 8 core CPU, 8 core GPU, and a chip with 8/16 GB unified memory which is known M1. Apple had 10 years to perfect their chips and we ended up with the M1/A14 IP. Now we have a productive improvement in A15 with better E cores and memory management.
A14X is M1 and M1X is now known as M1 Pro/Max. If someone mentions M.X then they're talking about M<generation> Pro/Max. A14 IP means that every chip on that IP started from the A14 IP but added features that are Mac specific. Same goes for A15 IP, etc. M1 Pro and Max have up to a 10 core CPU, 32 core GPU, 64 GB unified memory. The chip has more media engines and features than M1. Future chips could include 2X and 4X variants of M1 Max.
Apple Silicon DEEP dive — https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/post/5816096/
