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Apple unveils M6 and M5 Ultra chips with a big jump in AI performance

ThinkingNews Desk · how this was written

Apple has introduced two new silicon chips, the M6 and the M5 Ultra. The M5 Ultra features an 80-core GPU and is billed as Apple’s most powerful chip ever, while the M6 is built on a 2 nm process with a 12-core CPU and GPU, up to 32 GB of unified memory, and claims the world’s fastest single-threaded performance. Both chips deliver a substantial increase in AI compute capability.

Written from all 6 reports below, not from any single one.

How it was reported

  1. The Verge·
    Apple’s new M6 chip gets more cores and more AI compute

    Apple unveiled the M6, its first 2 nm Mac processor, featuring a 12-core CPU (two super cores, four performance cores, six efficiency cores) and a dual 16-core Neural Engine for on-device AI. The chip promises higher performance and better power efficiency, while the accompanying M5 Ultra is marketed as Apple’s most powerful chip for demanding tasks such as 3D rendering and frontier AI models.

  2. Engadget·
    Apple's M5 Ultra with an 80-core GPU will power through your AI models and 8K video

    The M5 Ultra integrates four M5 Max dies via 4.4 TB/s interconnects, providing up to 36 CPU cores, 512 GB unified memory with 1.2 TB/s bandwidth, and an 80-core GPU that raises AI compute 4.5× and graphics performance 40% versus the M3 Ultra. Its Media Engine includes four ProRes encode/decode units and hardware-accelerated AV1, H.264, and HEVC. The 2 nm M6, intended for Mac mini, features a 12-core CPU, 32 GB memory, 170 GB/s bandwidth, and up to 30% greater neural-processing capability.

  3. Hacker News·
    Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra for a big leap in performance and AI compute

    Apple introduced the M6 chip in a Mac mini and the M5 Ultra in a Mac Studio, both fabricated with a 2 nm process. The M6 has a 12-core CPU (2 super, 4 performance, 6 efficiency), a 12-core GPU, dual 16-core Neural Engines, and up to 170 GB/s memory bandwidth, delivering up to twice the AI compute and 1.2 × multithreaded performance of the M5. The M5 Ultra uses a quad-die UltraFusion design with up to 36 CPU cores, up to 80 GPU cores, 1.2 TB/s unified memory bandwidth, and 50% more bandwidth than the M3 Ultra, targeting professional and AI workloads.

  4. TechMeme·
    Apple unveils M6, a 2nm chip with a 12-core CPU and GPU, and up to 32GB of unified memory, saying it provides "the world's fastest single-threaded performance" (Jay Peters/The Verge)

    Apple’s new M6 2 nm SoC has a 12-core CPU/GPU and supports up to 32 GB unified memory, delivering the fastest single-threaded performance claimed by Apple. The M6-powered Mac mini starts at $899 and offers up to four-times AI speed and double graphics performance. The updated Mac Studio, using M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips, provides up to 4.3× AI performance, up to 512 GB unified memory, and improved graphics.

  5. Engadget·
    Apple M6 vs M5: How much faster is Apple's new 'everyday' Silicon?

    Apple’s M6 chip, launched in the Mac Mini, uses a 2 nm process and features two super-cores (four performance and six efficiency cores), a 12-core GPU, and a dual 16-core Neural Engine. It provides up to 170 GB/s unified memory bandwidth, claims ~20% higher multithreaded performance, ~30% better AI throughput, and the fastest single-threaded CPU core versus the 3 nm M5, while offering a base 16 GB RAM configuration upgradable to 32 GB. The article concludes that most M5 owners need not upgrade.

  6. TechCrunch·
    Apple debuts its ‘most powerful chip ever’ in M5 Ultra and M6

    Apple’s M5 Ultra combines two dual-die M5 Max chips into a quad-die package with up to 36 CPU cores, 80 GPU cores, and 1.2 TB/s memory bandwidth—50% higher than the M3 Ultra. The 2 nm M6 in the new Mac Mini adds a 12-core CPU complex, two extra CPU and GPU cores, a dual 16-core Neural Engine, and higher bandwidth, yielding about 30% more peak GPU AI compute than the M5 and supporting on-device LLM inference and fine-tuning. Pre-orders begin at $899, with shipments after September 22.

  7. The Next Web·
    Apple unveils M6 and M5 Ultra chips with a big jump in AI performance

    Apple’s new Mac mini houses the M6, a 2 nm chip with a 12-core CPU (2 super-efficiency, 4 performance, 6 efficiency), a 12-core GPU, and dual 16-core Neural Engines, delivering up to 170 GB/s memory bandwidth and about 30% more peak AI GPU compute than the M5. The Mac Studio’s M5 Ultra uses a quad-die UltraFusion architecture that links two dual-die M5 Max chips via a 4.4 TB/s interconnect, providing 36 CPU cores, 80 GPU cores, up to 512 GB unified memory at 1.2 TB/s, and can run models with hundreds of billions of parameters on-device.

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