The new M1 Ultra, announced via Apple March 8 keynote, is essentially two M1 Max chips combined into one. Apple claims this approach, dubbed UltraFusion, allows for a new M1 chip that can provide up to 2.5TB of bandwidth between its two processors with low latency and without much power draw. Looking at the M1 Ultra as a single processor, Apple states it’s capable of up to 800GB per second of memory bandwidth and can support up to 128GB of unified memory. It also uses a 20-core CPU and a 64-core GPU, which makes it eight times faster than the original M1 chip and doubles the performance of the Media Engine compared to M1 Max. Compared to desktop PCs, Apple claims the M1 Ultra can provide up to 90 percent higher performance than the fastest 16-core system in the same power category. And power-wise, Apple says the new chip can do so while using 100 watts less than those 16-core systems. For now, the M1 Ultra will only be available with the new Mac Studio, which will be available to order today and will begin shipping and appearing in stores on Friday, March 18. There were also hints that the M1 Ultra might come to the Mac Pro in the future, but nothing is confirmed yet.
