Apple unveils its most powerful M5 Ultra and M6 chips

Apple has announced two advanced processors, the M5 Ultra and M6 chips, designed for its new Mac Mini and Mac Studio devices. According to ixbt.com, the M5 Ultra, described by the company as its "most powerful chip," is designed for heavy AI tasks and has become Apple's first four-die chip by combining two M5 Max dies. This is reported by Techcrunch.com reports.

The newly introduced M5 Ultra processor features a CPU with up to 36 cores, a GPU with up to 80 cores, and a unified memory bandwidth of 1.2 TB/s. This figure is approximately 50 percent higher than the M3 Ultra chip released about a year and a half ago. This processor is intended for professionals requiring high computational power, such as for complex 3D rendering, visual effects, and running advanced AI models.

M6 chip and energy efficiency

While the M5 Ultra is aimed at professional users, the M6 chip is optimized for everyday users and standard tasks. Sri Santhanam, Apple's VP of Silicon Engineering, stated that the M6 is built on a modern 2nm process, featuring a new CPU complex, two additional CPU and GPU cores, and a doubled 16-core Neural Engine system.

The M6 processor, which features a 12-core CPU complex with two extra cores compared to the M5 chip, allows for a nearly 30 percent increase in peak GPU calculations for AI. This significantly improves request processing speeds when working with large language models (LLMs) running locally on the device.

Local AI and security capabilities

In its press release, Apple emphasized that developers can use these new chips and tools to run and fine-tune large AI models directly on Mac devices. The company's programming tools and frameworks automatically optimize performance between the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine.

Although Apple has lagged slightly behind competitors in creating its own AI model — specifically with the long-awaited update to the Siri assistant based on Google Gemini technology — the company has always been a leader in ensuring user privacy. The approach of processing data on-device, without relying on cloud systems, as seen in technologies like Face ID and Touch ID, guarantees security in this regard.

Similarly, Apple's focus on local AI tasks is significant as it provides developers with a secure and controlled environment to experiment with new AI tools. New Mac Mini devices are available for pre-order now starting at $899, with shipments to customers beginning on September 22.