Apple M2 Ultra vs Apple M1 Ultra – how big is the difference?
How much better is M2 Ultra? Let's find out
Share this article...
WePC is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
The 2nd generation of the Apple Silicon M-series has come to a close, unless any surprise additions arrive. With that in mind, we take a look at the Apple M2 Ultra vs Apple M1 Ultra chips and see what a generational gap can do. We most recently compared the M1 Pro vs M2 chip, but now it’s time to jump over to the Ultra variants from both the M1 and M2 generations.
In terms of order, the M-series features the base model, followed by the Pro, Max, and finally Ultra variants. Both M1 and M2 generations follow this same pattern. So the Apple M1 Ultra and Apple M2 Ultra are the flagship chips to be included in Apple’s Mac line-up. Let’s see how they match up against each other.
Apple M2 Ultra vs Apple M1 Ultra specs
Comparing the specs is perhaps the first thing to do when wondering about how these two size up. Both of them are part of the Apple Silicon architecture, but there is a noticeable difference in specs between the two generations to check out.
M2 Ultra specs
The M2 Ultra is definitely a powerful SoC (System on a Chip), boasting the very best specs you can get in a Mac at the time of release. To start off, the M2 Ultra features a 2nd generation 5 nm (nanometer) process, and claims to perform 31.6 trillion operations per second with it’s 32-core Neural Engine.
- CPU: 24-core processor (16 high-performance, 8 high-efficiency)
- GPU: Up to 76-core GPU
- Memory: Up to 192GB unified memory
- Memory bandwidth: 800GB/s
M1 Ultra specs
Now moving on to the M1 Ultra specs. Here we’re on the first generation 5nm process, with 114 billion transistors compared to the 134 billion of the M2 Ultra. It still has a 32-core Neural Engine, but this older generation hits it’s limit at 22 trillion operations per second.
- CPU: 20-core processor (16 high-performance, 4 high-efficiency)
- GPU: Up to 64-core GPU
- Memory: Up to 128GB unified memory
- Memory bandwidth: 800GB/s
As you can see, there are some less powerful specs in this older SoC. Even though the memory bandwidth is the same, there is less memory and fewer CPU cores to work with – even though you have the same amount of high-performance cores. The number of GPU cores also saw an upgrade in the jump to M2. It’s obvious that Apple have made some important changes to mark the generational gap.
Apple M2 Ultra vs Apple M1 Ultra performance claims
There is plenty of performance to extract from the M2 Ultra specs. In fact, an early benchmark has arrived over on Geekbench – just before the first desktops featuring the M2 Ultra are shipped. The codenamed Mac 14,14 chip in the new Mac Pro reveals a clock speed of 3.68GHz, with the single-core performance scoring 1,956 and multi-core performance unsurprisingly strong with a score of 27,945 thanks to the 24 cores at work. This is just an early leak though, so more benchmarks will be available to paint a better picture once the desktops are released on June 13th. You can check out a full list of Geekbench 6 M2 Ultra benchmarks here, where you can find benchmarks at different clock speeds.
However, as NotebookCheck report, and Vadim Yuryev tweets, this current benchmark is around a 18% performance boost overall. The M1 Ultra clock speed can reach 3.22GHz in the 2022 Mac Studio. The benchmark here also reports a higher single-core score of 2,433, but the multi-core score is much lower at 18,708.
The M2 and M1 Ultra chips are some of the best out there when it comes to performance. Both the M2 and M1 Ultra are achieved by connecting two dies from their respective Max chip counterparts. Apple’s UltraFusion packing architecture connects the die of two M2 Max chips in order to form the M2 Ultra. This is the same for the previous generation chip too, of course with the M1 Max die instead.
M2 Ultra vs M1 Ultra performance – Apple claims
Apple introduced the M2 Ultra during WWDC on June 5th, 2023. Here, they make many claims regarding the comparative performance between the two flagship chips. First off, they say that the 24-core CPU included in the M2 Ultra can perform 20% faster than M1 Ultra. Likewise, they have a similar stat for the 76-core GPU, this time claiming 30 percent improvement over the M1 Ultra GPU.
These two claims make sense given that the both of these specs have seen an improvement, especially the GPU. The also go on to say that the M2 Ultra Mac Studio can enjoy 50 percent faster video processing in DaVinci Resolve compared to the M1 Ultra Mac Studio. Apple also highlighted the massive increase in memory, which is perfect for hefty machine learning tasks. They also compliment the improved Neural Engine which is 40 percent faster than M1 Ultra based on the specs we discussed earlier.
Apple M2 Ultra vs Apple M1 Ultra price – M2 Ultra & M1 Ultra Macs
You may know Apple for their innovative tech, but all of this comes at a price. However, is there much of a price increase from M1 Ultra to M2 Ultra? Well, there are a few different points to discuss here as not every Mac desktop or laptop was fitted with the flagship chip.
Mac M2 Ultra price
To start off, let’s begin with the newer M2 Ultra Macs. Currently, the M2 Ultra is featured in the following Apple products:
- Mac Studio 2023: from $3,999 / £4,199
- Mac Pro 2023: from $6,999 / £7,199
These are starting prices, as many additional extras are available. Much like the M1 Ultra chip, we don’t expect the M2 Ultra to be included in MacBooks nor the Mac Mini, as they could be jumping straight over to M3. This is just speculation at the moment though based on past releases.
Mac M1 Ultra price
The M1 Ultra is only featured in a single Mac computer, and that’s the 2022 Mac Studio – which also started at $3,999 on release. Not even the MacBook Pro received the Ultra treatment, as those stuck to the Max chip.
Following the release of the M2 Ultra Mac Studio in 2024, the 2022 Mac Studio is no longer sold directly by Apple. Instead, Apple sell a certified refurbished version which you can find from $2,879 on the Apple Store – a considerable price drop.
Apple M2 Ultra vs Apple M1 Ultra FAQs
Are M1 Ultra and M2 Ultra Apple Silicon?
Yes, both the M1 Ultra and M2 Ultra chips from Apple are part of the Apple Silicon series. Apple started moving away from Intel processors in their Macs back in 2020 after unveiling the Apple Silicon M-series with Apple M1.
Apple Silicon products feature Apple-designed chips and ARM64 architecture.
Is there a big difference between M1 Ultra and M2 Ultra?
There is a noticeable difference in the specs between these two chips, and Apple claim that the M2 Ultra CPU can be up to 20 percent faster than the M1 Ultra, with the GPU being up to 30 percent faster than M1 Ultra.
Apple M2 Ultra vs Apple M1 Ultra : Final word
That concludes our comparison of the Apple M2 Ultra vs Apple M1 Ultra. This generational gap marks the next step up for Apple and completes the transition to Apple Silicon for their entire Mac line up. We like to compare all sorts of tech, not just CPUs or chips. Be sure to stick with us if you’re wondering about comparisons for specs, performance, and more.
It’s not been too long since Apple introduced Apple M2 Ultra to the world. Despite that, we’re already looking ahead to Apple M3 – so be sure to check that out too!
