Apple has unveiled two new processors, the M5 Ultra and M6, as it steps up the computing power available for artificial intelligence and other demanding workloads on its Mac computers.

The M5 Ultra, described by Apple as its most powerful chip to date, combines two dual-die M5 Max processors to create the company's first quad-die design. It can be configured with up to a 36-core CPU and an 80-core GPU, while providing 1.2 terabytes per second of unified memory bandwidth. 

Apple said the bandwidth represents a 50% increase over the M3 Ultra. The M5 Ultra is aimed primarily at professional workloads, including complex 3D rendering, visual effects and running large artificial intelligence models locally. 

The M6, meanwhile, is positioned for a broader range of users. Apple says the processor is manufactured using a 2-nanometre process and includes a new CPU design, additional CPU and GPU cores and two 16-core Neural Engines.

Its 12-core CPU adds two cores compared with the M5, while Apple says the new processor can deliver nearly 30% more peak GPU compute performance for AI tasks. The company said the additional performance should help speed up prompt processing when large language models are run directly on a device. 

Apple is increasingly promoting local AI processing as part of its computing strategy. The company says developers can use its hardware and software frameworks to run and fine-tune large AI models on Macs, distributing workloads across the CPU, GPU and Neural Engine rather than relying entirely on remote cloud infrastructure. 

The chips will power new Mac models, including updated versions of the Mac Mini and Mac Studio. New Mac Mini models are already available for pre-order, according to Apple, with shipments due after 22 September.