iPhone 17 chip becomes the fastest single-core CPU in the world on PassMark

Performance and M‑series Implications

• Commenters are impressed that a passively cooled phone SoC tops PassMark single-core, and expect the next M‑series (M5/M6) using these cores, with active cooling and higher power budgets, to be “monsters,” especially in multi-core “Pro/Ultra” variants.
• Several note A19’s single-core is ~30% above M2, which is still considered a strong laptop chip.

Entry-level MacBook and Thermals

• Many see this as validation for a rumored low-cost MacBook using an A‑series chip; they argue a $500–600 fanless model would outperform most machines at that price.
• Multiple developers report M1/M3 Airs rarely throttle in everyday use (web, office, coding, light media), with memory, not CPU, as the main constraint.
• Others stress that thermals matter for sustained workloads and gaming; fanless Macs and an A‑series MacBook would likely be poor for heavier games but fine for typical users.

Locked-down Ecosystem vs Hacker Flexibility

• A major theme is frustration that such powerful chips are locked to iOS: no alternative OS, no VMs with JIT, no “full” workstation use.
• Some liken it to putting a speed limiter on a supercar; they want to overclock, dock, run Linux/Windows/macOS from the phone.
• Counterarguments: this is a tiny niche; Apple optimizes for mainstream “phone stuff,” and its accessibility, integration, and support justify the walled garden for many users.

Dockable Phone / Convergence Debate

• Advocates envision one device acting as phone + desktop via a dock or wireless monitor/keyboard, replacing many laptops, especially for people who already live on phones.
• Skeptics say previous dockable-phone attempts flopped, support costs would be high, UX trade-offs real, and Apple likely avoids cannibalizing Macs/iPads.

Benchmarks and Methodology

• Some caution that PassMark’s single-thread test is a simple synthetic (FP, sorting, compression) and not representative of many real workloads; still, Apple already leads other benchmarks too.
• Discussion notes A18’s lower score vs A17 due to halved caches, and that A19 vs A19 Pro differences are within error bars despite headline “rankings.”
• Several call for open, standardized benchmarks (e.g., SPEC-like) and note any benchmark—open or closed—can be gamed.

ARM vs x86 and Architecture Factors

• Many see this as another data point that modern ARM designs (Apple, ARM, Qualcomm) now beat x86 in single-core and especially performance-per-watt.
• Others argue memory bandwidth and unified designs help but don’t fully explain Apple’s edge; they credit wider, more efficient cores and heavy R&D focus over chasing clocks.