Apple M1 Max (MacBook Pro 2021 64GB UMA)
Overview
Apple M1 Max is Apple Silicon's second-generation Max series flagship chip, released 2021-10-26 for MacBook Pro 14"/16" 2021. Built on TSMC 5nm (N5) with 57 billion transistors, it features a 10-core CPU (8P+2E @ 3.2 GHz), 24 or 32-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine (11 TOPS), 32 or 64 GB LPDDR5 unified memory, 400 GB/s memory bandwidth (8× M1's 50 GB/s, 2× M1 Pro's 200 GB/s), and dual ProRes engines (2 encode + 2 decode). The M1 Max was Apple's first MacBook Pro with 64GB UMA, first mobile workstation with 400 GB/s memory bandwidth, and first to support dual ProRes acceleration — Apple's flagship after moving away from Intel.
Core Specifications
| Item | Parameter |
|---|
| Architecture | Apple Silicon (M1 Max single die) |
| Process | TSMC 5nm (N5) |
| Transistors | 57 billion (1.7× M1 Pro's 33.7B, 3.6× M1's 16B) |
| CPU Cores | 10 (8P @ 3.2 GHz + 2E) |
| GPU Cores | 24 or 32 |
| Neural Engine | 16-core, 11 TOPS INT8 |
| Unified Memory | 32GB / 64GB LPDDR5 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 400 GB/s (8× M1's 50 GB/s, 2× M1 Pro's 200 GB/s) |
| FP32 GPU | ~7.8 TFLOPS (24-core) / ~10.4 TFLOPS (32-core) |
| FP16 GPU | ~15.6 TFLOPS (24-core) / ~20.8 TFLOPS (32-core) |
| Media Engine | 2 ProRes encoders + 2 ProRes decoders (2× M1 Pro's 1+1), H.264/HEVC |
| TDP | ~30-60W (laptop) |
| Interface | Thunderbolt 4 (40 Gb/s), USB 4, HDMI 2.0, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Launch Device | MacBook Pro 14"/16" 2021 |
| Launch Date | 2021-10-26 |
| MacBook Pro 16" M1 Max 10C/32C 32GB | $3,099 |
| MacBook Pro 16" M1 Max 10C/32C 64GB | $3,899 |
Comparison with M1 Pro / M1 Ultra
| Metric | M1 Max | M1 Pro | M1 Ultra |
|---|
| Transistors | 57B | 33.7B | 114B (dual M1 Max UltraFusion) |
| GPU Cores | 24/32 | 14/16 | 48/64 (dual M1 Max) |
| Memory Bandwidth | 400 GB/s | 200 GB/s | 800 GB/s |
| Max Memory | 64 GB | 32 GB | 128 GB |
| ProRes Engines | 2 enc + 2 dec | 1 enc + 1 dec | 4 enc + 4 dec |
| FP32 GPU | ~7.8-10.4 TFLOPS | ~4.5-5.2 TFLOPS | ~21 TFLOPS |
| Laptop Price | $3,099-$3,899 | $1,999-$2,499 | Mac Studio $3,999+ |
| Model | Quantization | Performance (tok/s) | Notes |
|---|
| Llama 3 8B | FP16 | ~45 tok/s | Fits in 64GB |
| Llama 3 8B | Q4_K_M | ~60 tok/s | Quantized speedup |
| Llama 3 70B | Q4_K_M | ~3-4 tok/s | 40GB fits (tight) |
| Mistral 7B | FP16 | ~48 tok/s | Fits in 32GB |
| Mixtral 8x7B | Q4_K_M | ~14 tok/s | MoE |
| Stable Diffusion XL | FP16 | 1.3× vs M1 Pro | Image generation |
| Whisper Large V3 | FP16 | 4× real-time | Speech transcription |
Why 400 GB/s matters: The M1 Max's memory bandwidth is 2× M1 Pro and 8× the base M1, enabling large models like Llama 3 70B Q4 to run locally on a MacBook Pro (slower than datacenter GPUs but 1,000× faster than CPU inference). The M1 Max was also Apple's first time bringing "datacenter-grade memory bandwidth" to a laptop.
Use Cases
- MacBook Pro 14"/16" 2021 (pro development, film post-production)
- Professional 3D rendering (Cinema 4D, Blender Cycles, Octane)
- 8K video editing (Final Cut Pro + ProRes dual engines)
- Music production (Logic Pro multitrack mixing + Dolby Atmos)
- Local LLM inference (64GB holds 8B FP16 + large context)
- Scientific computing (numerical simulation, signal processing)
- ML training fine-tuning (MLX + LoRA, small-to-medium models)
| Item | Information |
|---|
| Vendor | Apple Inc. |
| Design | Apple in-house (Cupertino, CA) |
| Fab | TSMC Taiwan (5nm N5 line) |
| Software Stack | macOS 12 (Monterey) — macOS 26 (Tahoe) |
| AI Framework | Core ML, MLX, Create ML |
| Launch Price | MacBook Pro 16" M1 Max 10C/32C 32GB $3,099 |
| Discontinued | 2023-10 (M3 Max launch) |
| EOL Price | Discontinued, used market $1,800-$2,500 |
Key Features
- 5nm (N5) process, 57 billion transistors (Apple's most ever at the time)
- 10-core CPU (8P+2E @ 3.2 GHz) multi-core 2×+ M1
- 32-core GPU (2× M1 Pro) graphics near discrete GPU level
- 16-core Neural Engine 11 TOPS (same as M1)
- 400 GB/s memory bandwidth (8× M1's 50 GB/s)
- 64 GB unified memory (2× M1 Pro's 32 GB)
- Dual ProRes engines (2 enc + 2 dec, critical for video post)
- Thunderbolt 4 (40 Gb/s, 4× USB 3.0)
- HDMI 2.0, MagSafe 3, SDXC card reader
- Liquid Retina XDR display (mini-LED, 1600 nits HDR)
- 1080p FaceTime HD camera
- Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0