5nm processor chips have been used in cell phones and tablets for several years now, but this is a bit of a departure from the current Intel or AMD tech Apple has been using. In fact, other than the price it might be what Apple needs. There's been a kind of convergence going on between cell phones and tablets on one hand, and for lack of better words, PC's on the other. Apple has been a large part of that push almost since it started.
I remember the excitement that John Sculley (who remembers him? The CEO of Apple that ousted Jobs) generated with a book he wrote, outlining the "knowledge navigator", and how it could change the way we do computing. The book was way before it's time. Current cellular tech is as close as we've gotten to fulfilling the original vision. Lately, the roadblock has mostly been heat generation instead of the limits of transistor density, but this M1 really looks like it's a good answer for the hear and now.