> When can we expect a x86 laptop chip to match the M1 in efficiency/thermals?!

One of the things Apple has done is to create a wider core that completes more instructions per clock cycle for performance while running those cores at conservative clock speeds for power efficiency.

Intel and AMD have been getting more performance by jacking up the clock speeds as high as possible. Doing so always comes at the cost of power draw and heat.

Intel's Lunar Lake has a reputation for much improved battery life, but also reduces the base clock speed to around 2 gigahertz.

The performance isn't great vs the massively overclocked versions, but at least you get decent battery life.