“Most powerful processor”
Apple M1 Ultra is said to be a “monster”.
03/09/2022 06:13 am
Apple launches a strike against the competition and challenges the chip giant Intel in particular. The chip presented by Tim Cook is called the M1 Ultra and according to Apple it is the most powerful on the market. It is used directly in the newly presented Mac Studio computer.
Apple is showing off another powerful processor for its computers, thereby increasing the pressure on the chip giant Intel. The group describes the new M1 Ultra chip as the most powerful ever developed for personal computers. He comes first in the new computer Mac Studio, which was also presented on Tuesday in a video presentation.
For the M1 Ultra, two smaller M1 Max chips are connected together – with a connection technology also developed by Apple. This is also a blow against Intel: The chip leader is particularly proud of its so-called packaging techniques, with which parts of processors are connected.
The compact Mac studio computer was dubbed an “absolute monster” at the event, in a somewhat uncharacteristic choice of words for Apple. He is 80 percent faster than the previous top model Mac Pro in the top configuration. The Mac Pro is the only Apple computer still stuck in the Intel world. He, too, will be converted, said hardware boss John Ternus – “but that’s for another day”.
In-house production
Apple is gradually converting its Mac computers from Intel processors to chips it has developed itself. The group can thus benefit from a common technical basis for its devices from iPhone to iPad to Mac. All Apple processors run on architectures from the British chip designer Arm and are therefore not directly compatible with the Intel world. The chip group Qualcomm now wants to increasingly bring ARM processors into Windows computers from other manufacturers.
For the first time in years, Apple is offering its own computer monitor for the Mac Studio, which is a little cheaper. The Studio Display with a screen diagonal of 27 inches is sold in Germany from 1749 euros. So far, the group only offered a display designed for professional users at prices starting at around 5,500 euros.
Mac computers have been selling better than ever since the corona pandemic. Because people are increasingly working and learning from home, more companies and households are buying notebooks. New versions of the entry-level iPhone SE smartphone and the iPad Air tablet were also presented on Tuesday. As usual, they will be equipped with new chips and functions. Apple boss Tim Cook did not comment on the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine during the recorded presentation. However, he wore the colors of the Ukrainian national flag in a subtle way: blue sweater, yellow strap for his Apple Watch.
Competition for Netflix?
In the streaming competition with Netflix and other services, Apple is also focusing on sports for the first time. Apple TV + will show two games of the American professional baseball league MLB in several countries on Fridays, as Cook announced. The timing of the announcement isn’t entirely happy for Apple: Major League Baseball’s season won’t start on its scheduled March 31 date after collective bargaining failed.
On Apple TV+, Friday Night Baseball will initially be available in the US, Canada, Australia, Brazil, the UK, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico and South Korea. Other countries are to follow later, it said. Of the streaming competitors, Amazon, for example, shows soccer games of the Champions League in its Prime service. No user numbers are known for Apple TV+, but market observers assume that the service is well behind rivals such as Netflix, Disney+ or Amazon Prime Video.