Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra

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Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra

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Comments (605)

bayindirh
I know, this is a bit of a meaningless comment, but it's funny in a way. Feels like late 90s again: - Xiaomi: We have matched Apple in CPU performance. - Apple: *Meep Meep...*
recursivedoubts
Even w/the pricing spike, inflation adjusted we are back to roughly the prices of a new Mac SE/30 for something that can beat a turing test w/o sweating.I yield the floor to no one when it comes to pessimism, but that's incredible.
mrtksn
Apple Studio with maxed out M5 Ultra, 256GB RAM and 16TB storage is 18,299$. The 512GB RAM version apparently is coming in October, considering that the difference between 96GB and 256GB is priced at 4000$, the 512GB upgrade must be eye watering.So, on the mini the RAM upgrade runs at 25$ per GB on all tiers, the same as the Studio therefore the upgrade to 512 will probably cost 6400$.The fully maxed out Apple Studio then will be 24699$. It's 17199$ if you don't upgrade the storage(1TB).Nevertheless I itch to have one :)
paxys
More validated by the day that my $450 M4 Mac Mini (16GB) was the best deal in computing for a long, long time.
gardaani
Rumors say that Apple will only release M6 base variant and skips M6 Pro, M6 Max and M6 Ultra variants to concentrate all efforts to create a good AI capable M7:"According to reports from Bloomberg, Apple will be skipping its M6 Pro, M6 Max, and M6 Ultra chips to accelerate development of the M7 chip. That means the only chip to be released from the M6 family will be the base M6.The reason for this break with tradition: AI. Apple had been planning major neural-processing upgrades for the M7 family and ultimately decided those improvements were important enough to justify accelerating the next generation rather than completing the M6 lineup." https://9to5mac.com/2026/08/08/apple-m7-chip-heres-why-it-ma...I'd skip M5 and M6 chips for LLM work and wait for a year for M7.
xiphias2
Apple still has the best hardware so I moved to it for the last few years, but the closed software ecosystem is terrible for taking advantage of it.I wasn't able to debug network errors (restartin my Mac worked), Metal was missing low level disassembly / debugging tools (there is some hard to use UI), but the worst thing was the inflexible windowing system.Even getting all the window handles on all screens/desktops with their titles and programs is impossible.I just decided that I move to Omarchy 4 (basically Hyperland + QuickShell) + NVIDIA GPU, and I already was able to customize it more than my Mac in years.I will miss Apple's hardware for sure, but not MacOS and the missing hardware documentation
mark_l_watson
I run a lot of local models (I am always experimenting) on my 32G M2-Pro MacMini - I would love to upgrade.The financial aspects don’t work however: I can learn and experiment with what I have for local models, and I pay as I go on FireWorks.ai for open model inferencing and no matter how much I use this service my monthly bill is between $10 and $40 and much faster than any reasonable home rig.Hybrid ‘small local’ and buying inference is the way I choose.
SilverSlash
The 512GB Ultra is amazing, sure. But who is it for exactly? VC funded big spender founders? In that case why would they need local AI? The ultra rich enthusiast? But there can't be too many of those. So who actually buys these?
w10-1
Leasing now an option, only $50/month (cheaper than inference subscription?), so even cash-poor can go the amortized-investment route.I've often felt there is tremendous value locked up in underutilized old computers. It would be interesting to see Apple in 3 years offering compute as a service using lease returns (or more likely, partnering with someone else to operate it (perhaps exclusively in secondary markets like China or India, to address political demands for local siting or jobs). Apple is in the best position to work around or even gap-fix older software/hardware limitations in a controlled environment, and now they can do so without cannibalizing new hardware sales.
anshumankmr
>fluid frame rates in demanding games like Mixtape.not getting on that bandwagon but wasn't that not the most demanding game as its a just a nonstop cutscene.
5ersi
Just bought AMD AI 395+ 64GB RAM for 2000eur. Mac mini would be 2x for about similar performance. Pass.
gizmodo59
I somehow find it better to give 2 frontier model companies 100-200/month than dropping 10 grand on a hardware that will get old in no time with bad TPS. I really want to have a fully local model but seems like one more generation wait and we will be there?
chmod775
How much did Larry Ellison pay to have his daughter's pet video game project featured on there?
mixtureoftakes
cool but maybe i was expecting much more from both m5 ultra and the next gen so it feels somewhat underwhelming. Hopefully m6 max is more than just a 10% improvement over m5 max
g42gregory
How many Neural Accelerators does M5 Ultra has in its 64 vs 80-GPU variants?Anybody knows?Just to clarify, Neural Accelerators have nothing to do with Neural Engine.
patatino
My macbook pro M1 is still running fast and silent.
Roark66
The page says 170G/s memory bandwidth for the NPU and 1.2T/s for the GPU. Why the discrepancy if it's all "unified memory"? The former is nothing to write home about as far as AI compute is. The latter is really nice.Which one is it you can run local models on? I suppose the NPU only.
SXX
96GB -> 256GB upgrade costs 4000 GBP in UK or $5460. $34 for GB.In US its $4000 upgade so $25 for 1GB.Also:> 512GB memory option for M5 Ultra coming late October
anigbrowl
Hmm, I was about to get a MBP with an older Max chip, guess I should wait for prices to slide a bit.
int32_64
I was just comparing this to an rtx6000 96gb build and when the f*ck did nvidia double the price?If you want to comfortably afford this gen you had to trade options on memory stocks...
Axsuul
Can anyone recommend the perfect sweet spot for someone who wants to run their own inference?
LeoPanthera
I bought a 128GB M4 Max Mac Studio a while back, and for a while I thought like I had done really well to buy it when I did.The problem I'm having now is that no models are targeting RAM of that size. Everything is either much smaller, targeting laptops, or much larger, targeting hardware well out of reach of enthusiasts.Please, AI people, start making models targeting 128GB machines again. The last interesting one was Qwen 3.5 122B.
vldmrs
I would love to see real LLM performance benchmarks for these machines. Apple statement regarding LLM performance seem little vague.
throwfaraway135
"M6 features a powerful, larger 12-core GPU that provides higher geometry rates and updated Dynamic Caching to deliver stunning visuals and fluid frame rates in demanding games like Mixtape."Why choose the worst game of the year? Just because it's made by the daughter of Larry Ellison?
iandanforth
FWIW scaling up from https://huggingface.co/avlp12/Qwen3.8-27B-Alis-MLX-6bit and some other sources:You might expect the M5 Ultra to produce 50 t/s from Qwen 3.8 27B with a good context length.
logotype
Damn. I just bought a maxed out MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB 8TB, still waiting for it to be delivered. I could get 256GB RAM M5 Ultra 1TB for roughly the same price, and it's double the memory bandwidth. Which one would you recommend? I do plan to run local LLMs.
siavosh
What's everyones recommendation for one to run a good local LLM model on?
rconti
Was the quad die layout expected? I've checked a couple articles and can't find any commentary on it, but I don't remember hearing this rumored.
thomasfl
This fits neatly in the backpack with the MacBook Pro, if I need more compute power.
Jskewel
The M6 is useless for AI. Is there any model which is actually useful and fast on 32GB?
xattt
Tangential, but what would be the ideal Mac option for home movie editing, casual gaming and amateur CAD fiddling in Fusion?I plan on maximizing my residual student benefits, and taking advantage of education pricing.
ComputerGuru
0% APR for 12 months (24 for iPhones only?) from Apple Financial Services for a device that can approach or even exceed what we were paying for new cars just a few years ago. Apple is definitely making bank off these financing offers, and with very little risk as unlike a car these Mac Studios don’t lose 20% of their value when you drive them off the lot.Interesting times, to say the least!
anon
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ricardobayes
Interesting that "coding" is now part of the marketing brochure as one of the use cases, while that was historically kind of missing. Is this new?
callamdelaney
Usable ram amounts in late October
TimByte
Gonna go sell a kidney, should just about cover a base Mac Studio. Guess I'll need a payday loan for the power cable
FuckButtons
~12k for 80 core gpu with 256gb, 14k in October for 512gb. Seems like that could make for a very descent on prem inference server.
bilsbie
Is this the best bet for running local AI now? The choices are overwhelming.
tomcatawk
Apple is a terrible company through and through that should have been broken up million years ago. But, nobody dares to question apple.My 2019 macbook pro recently started giving me CATERR errors. There are a few forums and LLMs tell me it is logic board. I took it to Best Buy - a location suggested by apple support and they say we could replace battery but there is no guaranteee it will work. Logic board replacement would be $600 to $800. Unfortunately, only Apple can repair it given how every component is integrated and soldered. There is no help available from Apple support or anyone on this issue.Apple creates "Planned Obsolescence" deliberately. Every year they launch new products with minor improvements and that basically distorts markets. There is MEGA scalping going on for Mac Mini but Apple does not care. As a trillion dollar corporation seeking profits Apple does nothing to help price gauging. Unfortunately, there is no competition. Microsoft is 10x deep into its own issues.I wish we had startups who came up with strong competition for Apple.
nelsonic
Sick. Particularly stoked for the 10gb network card ($100 option) when using the Mac Mini as a server. Just wish the memory + NVMe prices could come back down to pre ai-goldrush prices. As $2999 for the M5 Pro with 64GB RAM feels painfully over-priced.
walrus01
If I compare to like, January 2024, the prices for RAM these days make me want to weep.
anon
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r0fl
Maxed out Studio is $30,000+ tax in Canada if financed through Apple.That's wild!
stuff4ben
M5 Pro in a Mac Mini with 64GB RAM and 10Gbit Ethernet seems like the perfect Jellyfin server and Ollama test server. All for just over $3K (I specced with only 1TB local nvme).
neverrroot
Wouldn’t it be amazing for Apple to give us a MacBook Air 15” M6 with a 15W sustained passive TDP capability?Just amazing engineering push, the competition got the message and we benefit.
Artgor
I have Mac M1 Max and I'm quite happy with it. But these advances make me think that maybe I should upgrade to Mac M6 (or something) when it is released.
jbverschoor
Very well timed for John Ternus's first quarter.
anon
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madduci
A Macbook Neo with an M6 and 16 GB RAM at $699/€699 would be a killer feat
FpUser
Call me when Linux will be officially supported. After that I can look and see what else can I get for the price and maybe then ...
tester756
When will Apple's Mx CPUs use Intel's 18A/18A-P/14A node(s)?
shafkathullah
Saw a 768GB RAM mac coming soon, would wait for that.
calf
So I had just bought from Amazon in July an M4 mini, brand new, for a lucky post-hike price of 832 CA$ (682 USD); it was the very last unit at that price and I snatched it the morning it listed on the Apple/Amazon.ca official vendor. So far I've been using it for a month and it's been great (switching back from a Windows desktop for a decade).Today I entered this new M4 mini's serial as a trade in for the M6 base mini, and the retail price went from $1249 CAD to $824 "once trade-in received". That's the automatic estimate, so basically I'd be paying twice for an upgrade...
GreenLightGo
From what I’ve noticed, Apple products have been getting worse in quality year after year. Sometimes they even ruin their own devices with updates... I guess it’s all because of marketing.
jambalaya8
Super psyched for the upcoming Mac Mini. Maybe the old NUC can be tossed.
notenlish
When is the m6 air coming though
lvl155
Every time Intel/AMD gets close enough, Apple just crushes competition in terms of SoC. I don’t know who’s on that chip team but they’re world-class. Hope they get paid more than a bunch of AI idiots Meta hired to do absolutely nothing (but I know they are not even close).
ciupicri
> M6 supports up to 32GB of unified memory to multitask across demanding appsI can't believe that Apple still comes with this bullshit like 32 GBs is a lot. It's a lot for video memory - vRAM, but not RAM.
rtaylorgarlock
"hacker news"
LoganDark
Is Apple just going to announce everything silently from now on? No more getting excited for the big events to see what's new -- it just appears on the blog one day?Also: "a staggering 1.2TB/s of unified memory bandwidth" -- yay, the GPU has reached the year 2020! (I'm a bit bitter that my M4 Max is near useless for local LLMs because of its low memory bandwidth.)
amazingamazing
I should have bought a 100 m4 mac minis when I had the chance. Thanks hyperscalers for buying all the supply and renting it back.A m4 mac mini is better than al of these per dollar, msrp adjusted.Hopefully by the end of the decade China figures out manufacturing at scale and fixes this.
rvz
> M5 Ultra features a massive amount of high-bandwidth unified memory, up to 512GB, and delivers a staggering 1.2TB/s of unified memory bandwidth that is 50 percent higher than M3 Ultra.Apple never needed to participate in the AI race to zero. Because they were already at the finish line years ago building their own chips that can run large >100B parameter AI models locally.
xyst
Now if only I can natively run Linux on their hardware.
m3kw9
yesterday someone posted a link saying xiaomi "matched" apple's latest M series performance. Was that for less than 24 hours?
tw1984
will be great fun if one M5 Ultra with 512GB memory at 1.2T bandwidth capable of doing 3x smallish local model inferencing each at Opus 4.5 level of intelligence.
hn0tdqaek4
Well said
cute_boi
> Apple’s developer frameworks and tools — including Core AI, Core ML, Metal, and XcodeCan we please kill the xcode. It is worst pile of garbage I have to use just to develop ios app.
blueTiger33
fucking awesome
luciana1u
[flagged]
mrchrome
[dead]
coldtea
>M6 supports up to 32GB of unified memoryIs this a joke?>Additionally, M5 Ultra features a massive amount of high-bandwidth unified memory, up to 512GBNow we're talking. But at what cost?
varispeed
512GB late october sounds lame.and 512GB is so 2025.Give us 1TB version. Where is the competitive spirit?
nonewideas
Cannot believe "moar transistors" is still the only idea they have.
delduca
I know they are a phone company, but I think they should focus on local models software, not only hardware.