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How Apple M1 Ultra is built
Apple says UltraFusion connects two M1 Max dies through a silicon interposer, carrying signals across more than 10,000 connections. Apple reported 2.5TB/s of low-latency bandwidth across that interprocessor link. The company designed the package so that software can treat and recognize the combined system as one chip. These are Apple’s descriptions of its architecture.
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Apple said the M1 Ultra contained 114 billion transistors. That figure, like the interconnect specifications, comes from Apple’s March 2022 announcement.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteApple M1 Ultra specifications
The headline M1 Ultra configuration Apple announced had a 64-core GPU. The 2022 Mac Studio was also sold with an M1 Ultra option featuring a 48-core GPU, so not every M1 Ultra Mac Studio had the same graphics-core count.
#1 Best Overall
- Apple M1 chip for next-level performance
- Stunning 11-inch Liquid Retina display with ProMotion, True Tone, and P3 wide color
- 12MP Wide camera, 10MP Ultra Wide camera, and LiDAR Scanner for immersive AR
- Thunderbolt port for connecting to fast external storage, displays, and docks
- Support for Apple Pencil (2nd generation), Magic Keyboard, and Smart Keyboard Folio (Not Included)
| Specification | M1 Ultra and 2022 Mac Studio details |
|---|---|
| CPU | 20 cores: 16 high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores |
| GPU | 48-core or 64-core configuration in Mac Studio (2022); Apple announced the 64-core GPU |
| Neural Engine | 32 cores; Apple said it could perform up to 22 trillion operations per second |
| Unified memory | 64GB base configuration for Mac Studio with M1 Ultra; 128GB option |
| Memory bandwidth | 800GB/s |
| Media engines | Two video decode engines, four video encode engines, and four ProRes encode/decode engines in Mac Studio (2022) |
Apple described hardware acceleration for H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW. The media-engine counts above are specifications for the Mac Studio system, rather than a claim about every possible use of the chip in isolation.
What M1 Ultra was designed to handle
Apple positioned the chip for demanding desktop work, including code compilation, large 3D environments, graphics processing, machine learning, audio production, and ProRes video workflows. That positioning does not mean every application or task will benefit equally; results depend on the software and workload.
Rank #2
- Stunning 10.9-Inch Liquid Retina Display with True Tone and P3 Wide Color
- Apple M1 Chip with Neural Engine - 802.11AX Wi-Fi 6 - Stereo Landscape Audio
- 12MP Wide Camera, 12MP Ultra Wide Front Camera - Up to 10 Hours of Battery Life
- Touch ID for Secure Authentication - USB-C Connector for Charging and Accessories
- Support for Magic Keyboard, Smart Keyboard Folio, and Apple Pencil (2nd Generation)
Apple reported that the M1 Ultra’s 20-core CPU delivered 90 percent higher multithreaded performance than a specified 16-core PC desktop chip in the same power envelope. Apple also said a Mac Studio with M1 Ultra could play up to 18 streams of 8K ProRes 422. These are Apple test claims, not independent measurements or guarantees for every system and project. Apple said its tests were conducted in February 2022 on preproduction Mac Studio systems and cautioned that performance tests reflect specific systems and approximate performance.
M1 Ultra belongs to the Mac Studio, not to a display specification
Apple introduced M1 Ultra as the chip powering the 2022 Mac Studio. Apple Support lists that computer’s M1 Ultra configurations, memory options, and storage options. Its support page also says Mac Studio (2022) can support up to five displays; that is a capability of the computer as a system, not a specification of the M1 Ultra chip by itself.
Rank #3
- Apple M1 Chip - Revolutionary 8-core CPU and 7-core GPU for blazing-fast performance and energy efficiency.
- 8GB Unified Memory - Smooth multitasking across apps and quick access to frequently used files.
- 128GB SSD Storage - Fast boot-up times and quick access to documents, apps, and media.
- 13.3-inch Retina Display - Stunning visuals with True Tone technology and over 4 million pixels for sharp, vibrant images.
- Fanless Design - Completely silent operation with advanced thermal efficiency.
How M1 Ultra compares with M2 Ultra
Apple announced M2 Ultra in June 2023 as a later generation. Apple reported that it was 20 percent faster in CPU performance, up to 30 percent faster in GPU performance, and up to 40 percent faster in Neural Engine performance compared with M1 Ultra. These are Apple’s generational comparisons, not independent benchmark results. The cited announcements establish the sequence of generations but do not establish current product-line availability.
When comparing configurations or generations, check the GPU-core count, unified-memory capacity and bandwidth, media-engine needs, software compatibility, and the specific application or benchmark setup. A single headline performance percentage cannot predict how every workload will behave.
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