Earlier quoted context omitted.
You’re not the only one — but just curious where this skepticism comes from. This is M 4 — Apple has now made four generations of chips and each one were class leading upon release. What more do you need to see?
As demonstrated by the M1-M3 series of chips, essentially all of that lead was due to being the first chips on a smaller process, rather than to anything inherent to the chip design. Indeed, the Mx series of chips tend to be on the slower side of chips for their process sizes.
Most people who say things like this tend to deeply misunderstand TDP and end up making really weird comparisons. Like high wattage desktop towers compared to fan-less MacBook Airs.
The process lead Apple tends to enjoy no doubt plays a huge role in their success. But you could also turn around and say that’s the only reason AMD has gained so much ground against Intel. Spoiler: it’s not. Process node and design work together for the results you see. People tend to get very stingy with credit for this though if there’s an Apple logo involved.