Apple shows all its power with the new M1 Ultra chip

Apple likes to surprise, and in this last Apple Event, it certainly did. After almost two years working with Apple Silicon M1 processors, this Tuesday the company has presented the new addition, M1 Ultra. This new processor will also be the heart of the new Mac Studio high-performance computer.

And Apple has made it very clear: this new chip is “the next step” in Apple Silicon and Mac processors. And it is that the new Apple processor has introduced the UltraFusion architecture, that is, it has joined two M1 Max chips in such a way they act as a single chip for the software.

Result? Streamline workloads and 100% more productivity. In technical terms, to achieve this, instead of combining them on a motherboard, it has included an intermediate that connects the chips in more than 10,000 signals, to provide 2.5 TB/s of low-latency interprocessor bandwidth.

M1 Ultra integrates 114 billion transistors and consists of a 20-core CPU (16 performance and four efficiencies) and a 64-core GPU, as well as a 32-core Neural Engine that accelerates machine learning tasks. Even if it sounds like science fiction: it executes up to 22 billion operations per second. The company has also aimed to be configured with up to 128GB of high-bandwidth, low-latency unified memory, the event noted.

A new desktop Mac, accompanied by an outstanding screen

The new processor, along with another M1 Max, is at the heart of the new Mac Studio desktop. This new equipment is compact (19.6 x 19.6 cm and 9.4 cm high) and its design is square with an extruded aluminium casing with which the company promises great power. At first glance, it reminds us of old desktop Macs or even an Apple TV.

But inside it is pure innovation: it has a cooling system with two-way fans, strategically placed air circulation channels and more than 4,000 perforations on the back and bottom of the case, with which an optimal flow of air is achieved air into internal components, which helps cool high-performance chips.

The graphics memory on this desktop offers up to 64GB of unified memory on systems with M1 Max and up to 128GB of unified memory on systems with M1 Ultra, while the SSD has a capacity of 8TB with up to 7.4GB.

Connectivity: there is plenty

Don’t let its size fool you. Ports and connectivity will not be missing. Mac Studio includes a wide range of connectivity options: four Thunderbolt 4 ports for connecting high-performance monitors and devices, a 10GB Ethernet port, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, and a professional audio jack for high-performance headphones, the impedance of external amplified speakers. It also has WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0.

On the front, connectivity options include two USB-C ports, which with the M1 Max chip support USB 3 10Gb/s and with the M1 Ultra chip support Thunderbolt 4 40Gb/s. There is also an SD card slot. Very complete.

Studio Display in detail

For its part, Studio Display is a screen designed as a complement to Mac Studio. But attention: it is compatible with other brand computers. It features a 27-inch Retina 5K display, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with Center Frame, and a six-speaker high-fidelity sound system with spatial audio.

The prices and availability of these products for Latin America are to be confirmed.