Apple M4 vs Intel Core i7-1280P

The Intel Core i7-1280P (Alder Lake U), manufactured by Intel in 10 nm in early 2022, is designed for thin laptops for productivity and moderate creative tasks.

It features 14 cores (6 performance, 8 efficiency cores), 20 threads, 12 MB L2 and 24 MB L3 cache. The Apple M4, introduced by Apple in 3 nm in May 2024, is a System-on-a-Chip (SoC) for the latest iPads, delivering high efficiency and computing power within the Apple ecosystem.

It integrates 10 cores (4 performance, 6 efficiency cores) and 20 MB L2 cache. The Apple M4 shows significantly higher single-core and multi-core performance than the Intel Core i7-1280P. The maximum memory bandwidth for the Intel Core i7-1280P is 83 GB/s, while the Apple M4 achieves a higher bandwidth of 120 GB/s.

For gaming, the Intel Core i7-1280P offers integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics 96 (Alder Lake) for casual games with broad Windows compatibility. The Apple M4, with its Apple M4 (10 Core) graphics unit, offers stronger performance for native Apple applications, but the game library is more limited due to the platform.

Regarding power consumption, the Apple M4 is designed for excellent energy efficiency, leading to longer battery life. The Intel Core i7-1280P typically has a base TDP of 28W, with potentially higher values under full load, which means higher power requirements. A direct price comparison is difficult because the Intel Core i7-1280P is integrated into various laptop models, while the Apple M4 is an exclusive component of the latest iPads.

The value of the Intel processor depends on the overall laptop package; the Apple M4 is built into premium devices.