Apple Inc., the leading technology company, has unveiled the M2 Ultra, the latest addition to its M2 chip family. The M2 Ultra is a groundbreaking new system on a chip (SoC) that offers unprecedented performance boosts for Macs, underscoring Apple’s relentless pursuit of innovation.
The M2 Ultra has been described as Apple’s most capable chip ever, enhancing the performance of new Mac Studio and Mac Pro to make them the most potent Mac desktops in existence. The chip, assembled using a second-generation 5-nanometer process, boasts Apple’s revolutionary UltraFusion technology. This technology combines the die of two M2 Max chips, effectively doubling the performance.
Equipped with a record-breaking 134 billion transistors – 20 billion more than the M1 Ultra – the M2 Ultra’s unified memory architecture can support up to a whopping 192GB of memory. This capacity represents a 50% increase over the M1 Ultra. Additionally, the new chip has an 800GB/s memory bandwidth, double that of the M2 Max.
The M2 Ultra pushes the boundaries of performance with a CPU that is 20% faster than its predecessor, the M1 Ultra. Its GPU is up to 30% faster, and it also possesses a Neural Engine that offers an impressive 40% speed improvement. These enhancements, combined with a media engine twice as powerful as that of the M2 Max, result in unparalleled ProRes acceleration.
“Apple’s M2 Ultra redefines the benchmarks for performance and capabilities, especially in the most demanding workflows,” said Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Technologies. “The unparalleled gains in CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine performance, coupled with the massive memory bandwidth within a single SoC, make M2 Ultra the most powerful chip ever designed for a personal computer.”
UltraFusion, Apple’s industry-leading, custom-built packaging technology, is the magic behind the M2 Ultra. UltraFusion employs a silicon interposer, connecting the dies of two M2 Max chips to create the M2 Ultra. The technology ensures the M2 Ultra appears as a single chip to software, obviating the need for code rewriting to harness the chip’s extraordinary performance.
The M2 Ultra sets new standards for performance and power efficiency with its 24-core CPU, comprised of 16 next-generation high-performance cores and eight high-efficiency cores. Its GPU configuration options include either 60 or 76 next-generation cores, offering a performance improvement of up to 30% over the robust GPU of the M1 Ultra.
Apple’s unified memory architecture delivers incredible bandwidth, low latency, and unparalleled power efficiency. Combined with Apple’s latest custom technologies, M2 Ultra is capable of processing demanding machine learning workloads that even the most powerful discrete GPU can’t handle.
In terms of environmental responsibility, the power-efficient performance of the M2 Ultra dovetails with Apple’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2030. This commitment extends across the entire business, including manufacturing supply chains and all product life cycles, ensuring that every Apple chip is 100% carbon neutral.
The introduction of M2 Ultra marks the completion of Mac’s transition to Apple silicon, transforming the laptop and desktop experience. With the new chip powering the Mac Pro, Apple continues to revolutionize computing technology, marking the start of an exciting new era for the Mac.
