M1 Ultra: How Apple's Most Powerful Chip Is Different From M1 Pro And M1 Max

Apple introduced its "low-cost" iPhone SE 5G, iPad Air tablet, as well as Studio Display computer in its "Peek Performance" event on Tuesday.

However, it took everyone by surprise with the launch of a new high-end chip called M1 Ultra, the latest and what it calls "the most powerful chip".

The M1 Ultra is basically two M1 Max chips paired together with 20 processing cores, 64 graphics cores, and support for up to 128GB of memory. 

The new M1 Ultra chip will power the new Mac Studio desktop computer.

Apple in October last year launched the M1 Pro and the M1 Max chips alongside its new MacBook Pro notebooks. It now has M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and now M1 Ultra in its arsenal of high-performance chips as it breaks away from Intel to power its high-end devices.

What is Apple's M1 Ultra chip?

Apple's M1 Ultra is capable of high-performance computing without consuming excessive power. 

Apple's M1 Ultra chip is basically a combination of two M1 Max chips and Apple says the new chip offers up to eight times faster GPU performance compared to the M1 chip.

The latest chip uses the company’s "UltraFusion architecture, effectively fusing two separate M1 Max chips into a single SoC and offering up to a whopping 128GB of unified memory. 

The M1 Ultra packs 114 billion transistors and features 800GB/s of memory bandwidth and 2.5TB/s interprocessor bandwidth. 

The M1 Ultra chip features 20 CPU cores (16 high-performance cores and 4 high-efficiency cores), 64 GPU cores -8 times the size of the M1 chip- and up to 128GB of RAM. 

The new M1 Ultra chip also has a 32 core Neural engine and a 64-core GPU to power through even the most demanding tasks. 

M1 Ultra is power efficient --the new chip can deliver more performance while using as much as 100W less power. 

Apple says it delivers 90 per cent higher performance for the same power consumption as an Intel Core i9

This means less energy is consumed and fans run quietly, so you can use demanding apps such as Logic Pro easily. 

Apple M1 Ultra vs M1 Pro and M1 Max

Apple in October said the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips are faster than the ones Intel provided for top-end Macs for about 15 years. 

Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pros with M1 Pro or M1 Max chips are twice as fast in CPU performance compared with Intel Core i9 processor.

However, it has not specified the same for its M1 Ultra chip. 

Apple's M1 Pro packs pack 33.7 billion transistors (2x the amount in the M1) while the M1 Max has 57 billion transistors (70 per cent more than M1 Pro and 3.5x more than M1).

The M1 Ultra packs 114 billion transistors, nearly double that of the M1 Max. 

Processor cores and clock speeds of a CPU determine how much information can be received at a time, and how quickly that information can be processed on your computer.

The one in M1 Pro and M1 Max delivers up to 70 percent faster CPU performance than M1. Despite being this powerful, the chips consume less power so you will get more battery performance, too. 

Both Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max are 10-core chips with 8 high-performance cores, and 2 efficiency cores, compared to the 4 high-performance cores and 4 efficiency cores in the M1 chip. 

The M1 Ultra chip features 20 CPU cores (16 high-performance cores and 4 high-efficiency cores).

The 64-core GPU — 8x the size of M1 claims to offer faster performance using 200 fewer watts of power.

Memory Bandwidth determines how quickly a GPU can access and utilize its frame buffer. The M1 Pro delivers up to 200GB/s with support to 32GB of unified memory. The M1 Max offers 400GB/s memory bandwidth and support for up to 64GB of unified memory. 

The M1 Ultra features 800GB/s of memory bandwidth, nearly double that of M1 Max and more than 10x the latest PC desktop chip. The M1 Ultra can be configured with up to 128GB of unified memory. 

When it comes to graphics, the difference is even more pronounced, the GPU in M1 Pro is up to 2x faster than M1, while M1 Max is up to 4x faster than M1.

Both M1 Pro and M1 Max include an Apple-designed media engine that accelerates video processing while maximizing battery life.

The M1 Ultra, on the other hand, can manage up to 18 streams of 8K ProRes 422 video at the same time. 

Apple M1 Ultra:

20-core CPU and 64-core GPU

Up to 128GB unified memory

32-core Neural Engine

114 billion transistors

M1 Ultra delivers faster performance than the highest-end discrete GPUs while using up to 200W less power.

Can manage up to 18 ProRes streams simultaneously