A few days ago, Apple presented theM3 Ultraa new processor designed to enhance theartificial intelligence local, reducing dependence on cloud. The chip allows you to transfer data with speed up to 120 Gbps (Gigabit per second) bringing Thuderbolt 5 technology on Mac Studio. The growing cost of cloud infrastructures is pushing the big names in the sector towards a new AI size, capable of working locally, directly on computers and smartphones, without depending on external servers. But what exactly does it mean “work locally“For artificial intelligence and why will it represent a revolution?
What is Apple’s M3 Chip M3 Chip
The M3 Ultra represents the top of Apple engineering in the series m Thanks to the design with 3 nanometer architecture. This technology allows you to place more transistor In a reduced space (think, 184 billion), drastically increasing energy efficiency and performance compared to previous chips.
A chip born substantially thanks to the owner technology Ultrafusionwhich combines two chips M3 max In a single logical unit, creating a processor with unprecedented power for a Mac. The result? Higher performance, greater processing capacity and above all the ability to perform directly on the computer of LLM, or the large language models that are the basis of generative artificial intelligence, and therefore of creatures such as chatgpt or deepseek.
Another distinctive feature is the unified memorywhich can go up to 512 Gigabytewith a minimum configuration of 96 gigabytes. It is important to speak of “unified memory” and not properly of RAM, because this is the element that allows M3 Ultra to manage advanced workloads, such as the local execution of artificial intelligence models up to 600 billion parameters and also up to 1,000 billion parameters with some compromises.
The AI revolution locally
Artificial intelligence is increasingly present in our lives, but to date many advanced operations have been performed on remote servers. With the M3 Ultra, Apple aims at bring the processing IA directly to the deviceseliminating the need for Internet connections to perform complex calculations. Because this is important:
- Immediate speed and performance: When the IA is performed in the cloud, there are inevitable lances due to the transmission of data between the device and the server. With the elaboration locally, everything happens in real time, without expectations. This means instantaneous vocal recognition without the need to send the data to the servers, generation of images or videos in a few seconds directly on the device and simultaneous translations without internet connection.
- Greater privacy and security: The cloud IA implies that the data is transmitted and analyzed by external servers, with all the risks related to privacy. The local execution, on the other hand, allows you to keep the sensitive data on the device without having to share them with third companies, process images, audio and texts directly on the Mac, reducing the risk of information escapes.
- Energy efficiency and sustainability: Another big problem of the cloud is the energy consumption of the data centers. With the elaboration locally, dependence on these infrastructures is reduced, allowing you to perform advanced calculations with a lower environmental impact. Thanks to 3 -nanometer technology, the Ultra M3 consumes less energy than previous models, can perform advanced IA operations without overheating and extends the battery life in portable devices.
The synthesis of all this is the saving. The M3 Ultra is a processor for the professional market, able to sensitively reduce the cost of artificial intelligence locally. Wanting to opt for base solutions Windows Able to emulate the ability to execute the LLM, it should opt for graphic cards which, alone, would cost over 3 0oo euros.
The technologies that make M3 ultra perfect for the IA: the characteristics
The success of the AI in local depends on several technical factors, and the M3 Ultra satisfies them potentially all:
- Neural engine at 32 cores: It is the heart of artificial intelligence in the chips. The version present in the M3 Ultra is twice more powerful Compared to previous models, with an elaboration capacity of Over 50 trillions of operations per second. This allows: Best Machine Learning skills For facial recognition, the Text-to-Speech and other applications, one Fast management of Deep Learning modelseven the most complex ones and a minor Impact on the general performance of the systemavoiding slowdowns.
- GPU with Dynamic Caching: with up to 80 coresthe M3 Ultra GPU is designed to manage advanced graphics And IA models. Thanks to technology Dynamic Cachingthe GPU memory is used more efficiently, avoiding waste and improving performance in the heaviest tasks such as: 3D rendering in real time for design and production, Advanced video processing with IA for assembly and special effects e simulations and modeling ai for scientific research and engineering.
- Ultra-Welce’s unified memory: the Ultra M3 can support up to 192 GB of unified memorywith a bandwidth up to 800 GB/s. This means that IA models can be loaded entirely in the RAMavoiding having to continuously access the ASD, and drastically reducing processing times.
Practical applications of the M3 Ultra in the AI in local
Thanks to these characteristics, the M3 Ultra opens the way to new possibilities:
- Video editing and advanced photos with IA in real time: software such as Final Cut Pro and Photoshop will be able to take advantage of the IA in local for: automatically improve the quality images and videos, apply advanced effects without the need for an external GPU and process videos in 8K in real time.
- Ultra-Potent vocal assistants: thanks to the local elaboration, Siri can become Much faster and intelligentwithout the need to send data to the Apple servers. This will lead to: interactions more natural and immediate, Personalized answers Based on the data in the device, greater privacy and security in conversations.
- Generation of IA content: with the M3 Ultra, developers will be able to perform IA models directly on the Macs, allowing: creation of images and videos With Ia without depending on cloud platforms, development and training of neural networks directly on laptop or desktop e advanced automation for coding, writing and creation of music.
- Machine learning and scientific research: thanks to its power, the Ultra M3 will be perfect for research and development in fields such as: medicineAnd biotechnologyaccelerating the discovery of new drugs; physics And engineeringwith complex simulations in reduced times; financial analysis And Economic forecasts with advanced ia.
The future of the AI is on our devices
The M3 Ultra It is not only an evolution in the calculation power, but a real revolution for the way we use artificial intelligence. Thanks to his ability to perform IA locallyApple is opening the way to a future in which we will no longer need cloud to have advanced performance.
This technology will not only improve speed and safety, but will also make the IA most accessible to everyone.
