With Apple silicon in Mac, customers get incredible performance, advanced technologies, and industry-leading power efficiency.And with the remarkable new M6 chip and immensely powerful M5 Ultra chip, customers now have even more options when choosing Mac.
What’s new with M6 and M5 Ultra
M6 and M5 Ultra provide an extraordinary leap in performance and AI, pushing the boundaries of what the new Mac mini and Mac Studio can do.
M6
Built using cutting-edge 2 nm process technology, M6 offers the ideal balance of performance, power efficiency, and on-device AI. So customers can effortlessly speed through daily tasks, coding, creative projects, and use the latest AI tools.
M6 has a brand-new 12-core CPU complex—two more cores than M5. This new CPU has 2 super cores, 4 performance cores, and 6 efficiency cores. It delivers the world’s fastest single-threaded performance, and offers up to 1.2x faster multithreaded performance than M5 and up to 2.4x faster than M1*—all with industry-leading performance per watt. For customers, that means that demanding CPU tasks like editing images, compiling code, indexing new files, and running agentic AI workloads are faster than ever.
M6 features a 12-core GPU—two more cores than M5—with a Neural Accelerator in each core. This design delivers a nearly 30 percent increase in AI performance over M5, and more than 8x over M1.* So customers will notice significantly faster prompt processing when interacting with on-device LLMs.
In addition, M6 features advanced graphics capabilities like an enhanced shader core architecture, Dynamic Caching, and ray tracing. Together, they bring stunning visual realism, faster rendering, and higher frame rates for gaming.
M6 also introduces a new Dual 16-core Neural Engine that delivers up to 2x the compute performance over previous generations.* So on-device AI workflows run even faster.
M5 Ultra
Apple’s most powerful chip ever, M5 Ultra is built for pros who need to speed through workloads that demand maximum CPU and GPU performance and unified memory bandwidth. It’s ideal for complex 3D rendering, visual effects, scientific analysis, and running compute-intensive frontier AI models on device.
M5 Ultra is built using next-generation UltraFusion technology that joins two dual-die M5 Max chips. This allows M5 Ultra to look like a single chip to software and preserves unified memory across the entire SoC. So pro applications run even faster on its powerful CPU and GPU.
M5 Ultra features up to a 36-core CPU with 12 super cores and 24 performance cores. It delivers up to 1.25x higher single-threaded performance and up to 1.3x higher multithreaded performance than M3 Ultra.*
M5 Ultra also features a next-generation GPU with up to 80 cores, incorporating a Neural Accelerator in each core. So it offers up to 4.7x the peak GPU compute performance for AI than M3 Ultra and over 6x more than M1 Ultra.* The GPU includes Apple’s latest shader core with second-generation Dynamic Caching, as well as hardware-accelerated mesh shading and third-generation ray tracing, delivering up to 40 percent faster graphics performance than M3 Ultra.*
Additionally, M5 Ultra features a massive amount of high-bandwidth unified memory, up to 512GB. And it delivers a staggering 1.2TB/s of unified memory bandwidth that’s 50 percent higher than M3 Ultra.* This means that customers can store huge datasets entirely in local memory, increase the tokens-per-second speed of LLM output, and run frontier-class LLMs with hundreds of billions of parameters entirely on device.
A18 Pro in MacBook Neo
Apple silicon has redefined what’s possible on Mac laptops, delivering industry-leading power efficiency, performance, and capabilities.
MacBook Neo is powered by the A18 Pro chip, so customers can fly through everyday tasks. Things like browsing the web, streaming content, editing photos, keeping up with friends, playing action-packed games, and using AI features in apps are incredibly fast and responsive.
A18 Pro features a powerful 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine for everyday AI workflows. Coupled with 8GB unified memory, customers can seamlessly work between their favorite apps like Mail, Canva, Excel, WhatsApp, and Safari.
In fact, MacBook Neo with A18 Pro is up to 50 percent faster for everyday tasks than the bestselling PC with the latest Intel Core Ultra 5 chip.* And for more demanding activities, it’s up to 2x faster for things like photo editing and up to 3x faster for on-device AI workloads.*
And MacBook Neo is available at a breakthrough price, so it’s ideal to mention to customers who are new to Apple or considering switching from PC.
What to say about A-series and M-series chips
Here are some things you can share to help customers understand the performance and capabilities they’ll get from A-series and M-series chips in Mac.
Super cores, performance cores, and efficiency CPU cores
A-series and M-series chips feature powerful CPUs that have three types of cores—super cores, performance cores, and efficiency cores.
Super cores deliver industry-leading single-threaded performance. They give Mac incredible responsiveness for both everyday and intensive tasks.
Performance cores are optimized to deliver greater multithreaded performance for pro workloads.
Efficiency cores deliver power-efficient performance and are great for lightweight and background tasks.
Mac automatically assigns tasks to the right cores to balance performance and battery life. And multiple cores can work together to handle intensive workloads, like compiling code or editing video.
M6 is the first Apple silicon chip to use all three core types in its CPU. And its super core is the world’s fastest CPU core for single-threaded performance.
The larger CPUs in M5 Pro, M5 Max, and M5 Ultra utilize super cores and performance cores to bring outstanding performance to pro workloads.
M5, M4, and A18 Pro use both performance cores and efficiency cores to bring great performance and power efficiency to personal, professional, and creative tasks.
“Apple silicon chips balance performance and efficiency. So Mac is incredibly fast and responsive for both everyday and intensive tasks, like multitasking, launching apps, browsing the web, working in pro apps, and more. And Apple chips are designed for incredible power efficiency, so you get outstanding battery life.”
Unified memory
A-series and M-series chips are designed around a unified memory architecture that puts high-bandwidth, power-efficient memory right on the chip.
With unified memory, all the technologies in the chip, like the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine, can access the same data when needed, without copying it between multiple pools of memory. So customers get more memory bandwidth, faster load times, and fantastic performance.
“With unified memory, the entire chip can access a single bank of high-performance memory. That means that apps can share data between the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine. So everything you do is fast and fluid.”
Powerful integrated GPU
Apple silicon chips feature a powerful, multicore GPU that’s integrated directly on the chip. So it can leverage the bandwidth and efficiency of the unified memory architecture.
This gives the GPU access to more memory than a traditional discrete GPU. With large amounts of unified memory, customers can quickly and smoothly process massive data sets, load huge 3D scenes, run large AI models, and play graphics-intensive games.
From editing and sharing photos, watching movies and videos, to playing games, the A18 Pro GPU in MacBook Neo lets customers fly through everyday tasks.
M5 and M4 family all use an advanced graphics architecture that features Dynamic Caching, hardware-accelerated mesh shading, and hardware-accelerated ray tracing.
The M6 and M5 family bring Neural Accelerators to the GPU for a leap in AI performance—so apps that use on-device AI features can run up to 4x faster than on previous-generation Mac models.* So customers can enhance video using Topaz Video, mask an object in DaVinci Resolve, or run a local LLM even faster.
“With M-series chips, you can easily take on creative tasks, play games, and be more productive. And you get the same performance whether your laptop is plugged in or running on battery.”
Neural Engine
The 16-core Neural Engine in M-series chips powers complex machine learning and AI tasks with ease. So customers can do things like quickly search for images in Photos or dictate a message.
The advanced Neural Engine in M5 and the M4 family of chips offers over 3x faster performance than the Neural Engine in the M1 family of chips. And the Dual 16-core Neural Engine in M6 delivers up to twice the power-efficient Neural Engine performance over M5.
“With a powerful CPU, GPU, Neural Engine, and unified memory, Apple silicon brings amazing AI capabilities to every Mac. So you can do things like quickly search your large photo library for people or pets. And with on-device AI processing, your data stays on your device, so it protects your privacy.”
Media Engine
The Media Engine in Apple silicon chips supports hardware acceleration for H.264, HEVC, and AV1, the most popular video codecs. So customers can stream their favorite videos while getting amazing battery life. And they can play, edit, or export video content in creative video apps with incredible performance.
M-series chips also include ProRes encode and decode hardware. This means that customers can play multiple streams of professional video in apps like Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, or DaVinci Resolve while keeping the CPU and GPU free to power other tasks, like color grading and audio processing.
“Apple silicon chips have a powerful Media Engine and GPU, which are perfect for things like demanding creative workflows, playing games, and streaming high-resolution video.”
Common questions about Apple silicon chips
Apple silicon powers the entire Mac lineup, from A18 Pro in MacBook Neo to the immensely powerful M5 Ultra
"Are the M5 family of chips more advanced than the M4 family of chips?"
M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max are incredibly powerful chips that bring outstanding performance, capability, and power efficiency to the Mac. The M5 family of chips takes a leap forward in several areas.
The CPU in the M5 Pro and M5 Max features a new CPU architecture with up to 6 super cores for incredible responsiveness and performance, and up to 12 performance cores for outstanding multithreaded performance and efficiency. M5 features 4 super cores and 6 efficiency cores.
So customers will notice faster performance for things like launching apps and browsing the web. And more intensive tasks like exporting video and editing photos are even quicker and more fluid.
The GPU in the M5 family features a new shader core for faster graphics performance and a third-generation ray-tracing engine for improved rendering in games and pro apps, and Neural Accelerators in the GPU offer up to 4x the AI performance.
The M5 family features faster unified memory that fuels the entire chip.
"How much faster is the M6 chip compared to M1?"
M6 delivers significant performance gains over M1.
The CPU in M6 delivers up to 2.4x faster multithreaded performance and up to 1.75x faster single-threaded performance than M1. And the next-generation GPU in M6 offers up to 8x more AI performance and up to 3.2 times faster graphics performance than M1.*
M6 also has a Dual 16-core Neural Engine and up to 2.5 times higher unified memory bandwidth than M1.*
So customers upgrading from M1 will notice that everything feels faster and more fluid and graphics are more detailed. And intensive tasks, like gaming and multitasking between pro apps, are even quicker
"What's the difference between M5, M5 Pro, M5 Max, and M5 Ultra?"
M5 brings next‑generation speed and powerful on‑device AI to the personal, professional, and creative tasks customers do every day. So things like browsing the web, launching apps, and watching videos are smooth and fluid.
M5 Pro has a much larger CPU and double the graphics performance and unified memory of M5. So it’s designed to tackle CPU intensive workloads like software development, music production, image processing, and scientific simulations, more demanding graphics and games, and advanced AI tasks.
M5 Max is designed to address large, demanding pro applications like visual effects, compositing, advanced color grading, music composition, and on-device AI workloads like running massive LLMs, doing on-device training and fine tuning AI models.
M5 Ultra is Apple’s most powerful chip. It’s designed to handle the most demanding pro workflows like complex 3D rendering, visual effects, scientific analysis, and running compute-intensive frontier AI models on device.
"What new Al and machine learning capabilities will M6 and V the M5 family unlock, and how will it enhance everyday tasks and creative workflows?"
The M6 and M5 family of chips feature a Neural Accelerator in each GPU core, delivering up to a 4x improvement in peak AI performance compared to the M4 family.
This gives a massive boost for generative models, inference, and AI-driven apps right on the device. Coupled with a faster Neural Engine and higher bandwidth unified memory, everyday and professional tasks are faster and more responsive.
"Why does MacBook Neo have the A18 Pro chip and not an M- series chip?"
A-series chips are powerful and capable with a powerful CPU and GPU, and a 16-core Neural Engine. So customers can fly through everyday tasks, speed through apps, tap into creative hobbies, and use in-app AI features like Apple Intelligence and Siri AI.
"Is 8GB of unified memory in MacBook Neo enough?"
With 8GB memory in A18 Pro, customers can easily tackle things like web browsing, creating and editing documents, streaming, using AI and Apple Intelligence across apps, and more.
For customers who want to do more, MacBook Air with M5 is a great step up‚ as it comes standard with 16GB of unified memory and is configurable up to 32GB.
