Given that M6 will be on TSMC smaller 2nm node and the first smaller node size in 3-years, it seems like the oddest of all years for the high-end Macs to skip.
Apple to skip high-end M6 Mac chips in favor of AI-focused M7 line
31–40 of 396 posts
Re: Apple to skip high-end M6 Mac chips in favor of AI-focused M7 line
#32The M7 Pro and M7 Max are scheduled for as early as the end of 2027, while the M7 Ultra is on track for 2028. This means there won't be a redesigned MBP this year since there won't be M6 Pro/Max chips. People were expecting a redesigned slimmer MBP with OLED display later this year, myself included. I was holding out for one until I decided to switch from an M1 Pro 16" MBP to an M5 Air 15" due to the expected price i…
> This means there won't be a redesigned MBP this year since there won't be M6 Pro/Max chips.
They can release a redesigned MBP with the base M6 chip.
Re: Apple to skip high-end M6 Mac chips in favor of AI-focused M7 line
#33The article says base M7 memory bandwidth is targeted at 240GB/s. M1 had 70 GB/s, M1 Pro: 200, M1 Max 400, M1 Ultra 800. Modern RTX 6000: ~1,600 or so. If we get a 1,200-1,500 GB/s bandwidth M7 variant in late 2027 with 512GB of RAM, that will be a very interesting chip. Tracking LLM size and performance improvements, I can imagine that being a sort of inflection point for local inference. I wonder what the power bud…
A hypothetical M7 Ultra with LPDDR6 14.4Gbps memory would be 1.85 Tb/s. You're look at about 100 tokens/s for a 1T MoE 37B active 4bit model. It'd probably cost $30k or more I'm guessing if memory prices do not come down. Even at $30k, it could still be a relative bargain since an RTX Pro 6000 Blackwell 96GB card costs $12k today. The M3 Ultra with 512GB was around $8k before Apple discontinued it. I expect an M7 Ult…
An ‘ypothetical!
Re: Apple to skip high-end M6 Mac chips in favor of AI-focused M7 line
#34The M7 Pro and M7 Max are scheduled for as early as the end of 2027, while the M7 Ultra is on track for 2028. This means there won't be a redesigned MBP this year since there won't be M6 Pro/Max chips. People were expecting a redesigned slimmer MBP with OLED display later this year, myself included. I was holding out for one until I decided to switch from an M1 Pro 16" MBP to an M5 Air 15" due to the expected price i…
> This means there won't be a redesigned MBP this year since there won't be M6 Pro/Max chips. They can release a redesigned MBP with the base M6 chip.
They can, it wouldn't make sense from a marketing and optics perspective.
They don't want to tell the world how the new redesigned MBP is the best laptop in the world but it's slower than the older MBPs.
Re: Apple to skip high-end M6 Mac chips in favor of AI-focused M7 line
#35Everyone seems to miss it but the article also says that M5 Ultra Mac Studio is coming out later this year. Yay!
I wonder how much the rumored 768GB RAM version will cost.
Re: Apple to skip high-end M6 Mac chips in favor of AI-focused M7 line
#36The article says base M7 memory bandwidth is targeted at 240GB/s. M1 had 70 GB/s, M1 Pro: 200, M1 Max 400, M1 Ultra 800. Modern RTX 6000: ~1,600 or so. If we get a 1,200-1,500 GB/s bandwidth M7 variant in late 2027 with 512GB of RAM, that will be a very interesting chip. Tracking LLM size and performance improvements, I can imagine that being a sort of inflection point for local inference. I wonder what the power bud…
late 2027 is a very long time.
Re: Apple to skip high-end M6 Mac chips in favor of AI-focused M7 line
#37Seems like a made-up distinction that shouldn't be necessary since M6 has not even released. I suspect this is a marketing ploy to meant to drive up both interest while also increasing prices for the next generation of Mac hardware.
Whether it matters for the consumer (who only sees released and announced end results) or not is irrelevant.
It can still be a very real, not made-up distinction, if the actual facts on the ground are that Apple designed an M6 line, but then scrapped that design and asked the team to create a new design with emphasis on AI-focused specs.
It's not the name that's important (the M7 could still come out as M6), is them skipping a design, or cpu "Tick-Tock model" step.
Re: Apple to skip high-end M6 Mac chips in favor of AI-focused M7 line
#38The article says base M7 memory bandwidth is targeted at 240GB/s. M1 had 70 GB/s, M1 Pro: 200, M1 Max 400, M1 Ultra 800. Modern RTX 6000: ~1,600 or so. If we get a 1,200-1,500 GB/s bandwidth M7 variant in late 2027 with 512GB of RAM, that will be a very interesting chip. Tracking LLM size and performance improvements, I can imagine that being a sort of inflection point for local inference. I wonder what the power bud…
late 2027 is a very long time.
Well yeah but NVidia just released a contender to their silicon and the M6 is probably already set in stone. Best to reshift resources to a great M7 than having a mediocre M6 and M7.
(This is assuming Apple will deliver, but this area is one of the biggest ones they have in AI, and they need the developer ecosystem to exist and survive)
Re: Apple to skip high-end M6 Mac chips in favor of AI-focused M7 line
#39The article says base M7 memory bandwidth is targeted at 240GB/s. M1 had 70 GB/s, M1 Pro: 200, M1 Max 400, M1 Ultra 800. Modern RTX 6000: ~1,600 or so. If we get a 1,200-1,500 GB/s bandwidth M7 variant in late 2027 with 512GB of RAM, that will be a very interesting chip. Tracking LLM size and performance improvements, I can imagine that being a sort of inflection point for local inference. I wonder what the power bud…
That would cost as much as a new car.
Don't worry, they'll just make cars more expensive
Re: Apple to skip high-end M6 Mac chips in favor of AI-focused M7 line
#40Bro just give me a new iPhone mini
You will have a massive phone and you will be happy.