Apple Silicon chips are built on an ARM-based architecture rather than Intel’s x86 design, prioritizing performance per watt over raw clock speed, which is why fanless MacBook Airs can run demanding tasks without throttling.
Integrating the CPU, GPU, neural engine and memory onto a single chip reduces the latency involved in moving data between components, a major factor in the performance jump users noticed after the transition.
The trade-off is reduced compatibility with some legacy Intel-only software, though translation layers and native app updates have closed most of that gap over time.