Apple, which released its own M1 chips in November 2020 to reduce its reliance on other chip makers such as Intel, launched its second-generation M2 chip on Monday to strengthen its position in the semiconductor industry.
Built using the second-generation five-nanometre technology, M2 silicon comes with an 18 per cent faster central processing unit than the M1.
It offers a 35 per cent more powerful graphics processing unit and a 40 per cent faster neural engine, the company said.
“M2 starts the second generation of M-series chips and goes beyond the remarkable features of M1,” said Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technology, while launching the new chip.
“With our relentless focus on power-efficient performance, M2 delivers a faster CPU, GPU, and neural engine."
And along with higher memory bandwidth and new capabilities, M2 continues the tremendous pace of innovation in Apple silicon for the Mac.
The M2 chip delivers 50 per cent more memory bandwidth compared to the M1, and up to 24GB of fast unified memory, the company said.
The M1 chip was followed by the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips in October 2021. In March, Apple unveiled M1 Ultra, which the company claimed to be the world’s most powerful chip for a personal computer.
The global semiconductor market is booming. The industry, which was upended by Covid-induced supply friction in 2020 and 2021, is projected to reap nearly 14 per cent more in revenue this year compared to 2021, to reach $676 billion, according to a report by Gartner.
Driven by increasing demand and rising chip prices, the industry will hit $700.6bn in 2023, a yearly rise of 3.6 per cent, the US researcher said.
The latest M2 brings Apple’s latest custom-built technology to the laptops, enabling new capabilities and better security.
The neural engine can process up to 15.8 trillion operations a second — over 40 per cent more than M1.
The neural engine in Mac is designed to accelerate machine-learning tasks in areas such as video analysis, voice recognition and image processing.
The company also announced a redesigned MacBook Air and an updated MacBook Pro, both powered by the new M2 chip.
“We are so excited to bring our new M2 chip to the world’s two most popular laptops — the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing.
“Completely redesigned around M2, MacBook Air is thinner, lighter and faster with a bigger display, better camera and all-day battery life.
"Only with Apple silicon can you build such a thin and light notebook."
Tips on buying property during a pandemic
Islay Robinson, group chief executive of mortgage broker Enness Global, offers his advice on buying property in today's market.
While many have been quick to call a market collapse, this simply isn’t what we’re seeing on the ground. Many pockets of the global property market, including London and the UAE, continue to be compelling locations to invest in real estate.
While an air of uncertainty remains, the outlook is far better than anyone could have predicted. However, it is still important to consider the wider threat posed by Covid-19 when buying bricks and mortar.
Anything with outside space, gardens and private entrances is a must and these property features will see your investment keep its value should the pandemic drag on. In contrast, flats and particularly high-rise developments are falling in popularity and investors should avoid them at all costs.
Attractive investment property can be hard to find amid strong demand and heightened buyer activity. When you do find one, be prepared to move hard and fast to secure it. If you have your finances in order, this shouldn’t be an issue.
Lenders continue to lend and rates remain at an all-time low, so utilise this. There is no point in tying up cash when you can keep this liquidity to maximise other opportunities.
Keep your head and, as always when investing, take the long-term view. External factors such as coronavirus or Brexit will present challenges in the short-term, but the long-term outlook remains strong.
Finally, keep an eye on your currency. Whenever currency fluctuations favour foreign buyers, you can bet that demand will increase, as they act to secure what is essentially a discounted property.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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