All posts tagged: Apple Silicon

Apple Reportedly Building M2 Ultra and M4-Powered AI Servers

Apple Reportedly Building M2 Ultra and M4-Powered AI Servers

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Apple has started building its own AI servers that use the M2 Ultra chip, Haitong analyst Jeff Pu reports. Pu provided the analysis based on supply chain checks in a new note to investors seen by MacRumors. Foxconn is said to currently be assembling Apple AI servers that contain the ‌M2‌ Ultra, with plans to assemble AI servers powered by the M4 chip in late 2025. Last month, a reputable source on Weibo said that Apple was working on processors for its own AI servers made with TSMC’s 3nm process, targeting mass production by the second half of 2025, which may line up with this report about M4-powered AI servers. Apple’s decision to build its own AI server is reflective of the company’s ongoing strategy to vertically integrate its supply chain. Apple will likely use its own chips to enhance the performance of its data centers and future AI tools that rely on the cloud. While Apple is rumored to be prioritizing on-device processing for many of its upcoming AI tools, it is inevitable …

Apple Partner TSMC Unveils Advanced 1.6nm Process for 2026 Chips

Apple Partner TSMC Unveils Advanced 1.6nm Process for 2026 Chips

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Apple chipmaker TSMC has announced plans to produce highly advanced 1.6nm chips that could be destined for future generations of Apple silicon. TSMC yesterday unveiled a series of technologies, including the “A16” process, which is a 1.6nm node. The new technology significantly enhances chip logic density and performance, promising substantial improvements for high-performance computing (HPC) products and data centers. Historically, Apple is among the first companies to adopt new, state-of-the-art chip fabrication technologies. For example, it was the first company to utilize TSMC’s 3nm node with the A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro and ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ Max, and Apple is likely to follow suit with the chipmaker’s upcoming nodes. Apple’s most advanced chip designs have historically appeared in the iPhone before making their way to the iPad and Mac lineups, and ultimately trickling down to the Apple Watch and Apple TV. The A16 technology, which TSMC plans to begin producing in 2026, incorporates innovative nanosheet transistors along with a novel backside power rail solution. This development is expected to provide an …

M3 Max Chip Has Hidden Change That Could Affect Future ‘M3 Ultra’ Chip

M3 Max Chip Has Hidden Change That Could Affect Future ‘M3 Ultra’ Chip

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Apple’s M3 Ultra chip may be designed as its own, standalone chip, rather than be made up of two M3 Max dies, according to a plausible new theory. The theory comes from Max Tech‘s Vadim Yuryev, who outlined his thinking in a post on X earlier today. Citing a post from @techanalye1 which suggests the M3 Max chip no longer features the UltraFusion interconnect, Yuryev postulated that the as-yet-unreleased “M3 Ultra” chip will not be able to comprise two Max chips in a single package. This means that the M3 Ultra is likely to be a standalone chip for the first time. This would enable Apple to make specific customizations to the M3 Ultra to make it more suitable for intense workflows. For example, the company could omit efficiency cores entirely in favor of an all-performance core design, as well as add even more GPU cores. At minimum, a single M3 Ultra chip designed in this way would be almost certain to offer better performance scaling than the M2 Ultra did compared to the …

Apple Silicon Vulnerability Allows Hackers to Extract Encryption Keys

Apple Silicon Vulnerability Allows Hackers to Extract Encryption Keys

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] An unpatchable vulnerability has been discovered in Apple’s M-series chips that allows attackers to extract secret encryption keys from Macs under certain conditions, according to a newly published academic research paper. Named “GoFetch,” the type of cyber attack described involves Data Memory-Dependent Prefetchers (DMPs), which try to predict what data the computer will need next and retrieve it in advance. This is meant to make processing faster, but it can unintentionally reveal information about what the computer is doing. The paper finds that DMPs, especially the ones in Apple’s processors, pose a significant threat to the security provided by constant-time programming models, which are used to write programs so that they take the same amount of time to run, no matter what data they’re dealing with. The constant-time programming model is meant to protect against side-channel attacks, or types of attacks where someone can gain sensitive information from a computer system without directly accessing it (by observing certain patterns, for example). The idea is that if all operations take the same amount of time, …

Chip Details of 16 Upcoming Apple Devices Revealed

Chip Details of 16 Upcoming Apple Devices Revealed

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] The chip details of 16 new Apple devices have been discovered, according to technical information posted on X earlier today by a private account with a proven track record of sharing accurate information about Apple’s plans. Eight unreleased Apple devices with the A14 Bionic, A17 Pro, and M2 chips were among the list of chip identifiers (CPIDs). There are two upcoming A14 Bionic and A17 Pro devices, and four upcoming ‌M2‌ devices. MacRumors believes they relate to the following products: A14 Bionic: iPad (11th-generation) in Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular configurations. The model number does not correlate to what the ‌iPad‌ (11th-generation) is expected to have, so it may be a modified ‌iPad‌ (10th-generation) in Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular configurations instead, or potentially a HomePod with a display. A17: iPad mini (seventh-generation) in Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular configurations. This may be the A17 Pro chip or an A17 variant. M2: iPad Air (sixth-generation) in 10.9- and 12.9-inch display sizes and in Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular configurations. If they relate to a …

Apple Silicon Security Flaw Discovered in iPhone 12 and M2 MacBook Air

Apple Silicon Security Flaw Discovered in iPhone 12 and M2 MacBook Air

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] A security vulnerability that could allow attackers to access sensitive data has been discovered in some Apple silicon GPUs. A recent investigation by cybersecurity firm Trail of Bits discovered the security flaw, named “LeftoverLocals,” which allows attackers with local access to a device to retrieve data processed in the GPU’s local memory. The issue is particularly concerning because of the expanding use of GPUs in processing Large Language Models (LLMs) for AI applications. According to the firm, the vulnerability enables an attacker to eavesdrop on another user’s interactive LLM session, potentially accessing sensitive information. Apple told Wired that newer devices with the A17 Pro and M3 chips have received patches to address this flaw, and Trail of Bits found that the third-generation iPad Air had also received a fix. Most older models with vulnerable GPUs, including the iPhone 12 and M2 MacBook Air, are still vulnerable. While Apple has taken steps to patch certain devices, it remains unclear if and when all impacted models will receive security updates to directly address the problem. The …

Next-Gen Apple Chip Technology on Track to Reach Production in 2025

Next-Gen Apple Chip Technology on Track to Reach Production in 2025

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Next-generation 2nm chip technology destined for future Apple devices is on schedule to begin production next year, DigiTimes reports. TSMC chip fabrication facilities will begin installing equipment designed for 2nm chip production in April at the earliest. Apple was the first company to utilize TSMC’s initial 3nm technology with the A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro and ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ Max, and the company is likely to follow suit with the chipmaker’s 2nm chips. With production set to begin in 2025, 2nm chips are likely to make their first appearance in Apple devices soon after. Last month, the Financial Times reported that TSMC had already demonstrated prototype 2nm chips to Apple ahead of their expected introduction in 2025. Apple is said to be closely aligned with TSMC in the race to develop and implement 2nm chip technology, which will surpass their current ‌3nm‌ chips and associated nodes in terms of transistor density, performance, and efficiency. Today, DigiTimes added that the chip supplier is also believed to be evaluating which of its plants …

Apple Working on Next-Gen Mac Studio and Mac Pro

Apple Working on Next-Gen Mac Studio and Mac Pro

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Apple is working on a new Mac Studio that is likely to launch in the second half of 2024, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman believes. Gurman mentioned the details in this weekend’s edition of the “Power On” newsletter. He explained that the new ‌Mac Studio‌ is likely to be offered with the as-yet-unannounced fourth variant of the M3 chip. This will, like previous generations, double the components of the “Max” version, meaning that it will feature up to 32 CPU cores and 80 GPU cores. Taiwanese research firm TrendForce believes that Apple will launch a new ‌Mac Studio‌ featuring the M3 Ultra chip at WWDC in June, just as it did with the M2 Max and ‌M2‌ Ultra ‌Mac Studio‌ last year. Prior to the launch of these models in 2023, Gurman reported that Apple was already working on two follow-up machines. Gurman also believes, contrary to suggestions earlier in the week, that Apple is likely to refresh the Mac Pro with this new high-end chip. He does not believe that Apple is likely to again …

M3 Ultra Mac Studio Rumored to Launch in Mid-2024, But No Sign of New Mac Pro

M3 Ultra Mac Studio Rumored to Launch in Mid-2024, But No Sign of New Mac Pro

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] A new Mac Studio model with the M3 Ultra chip—which could be more powerful than expected—will launch in mid-2024, according to a new report. The report comes from Taiwanese research firm TrendForce citing ICsmart. The current ‌Mac Studio‌, which contains M2 Max and ‌M2‌ Ultra chip options, was introduced at WWDC in June 2023. With TrendForce forecasting another mid-year update for the ‌Mac Studio‌, a repeat appearance at WWDC seems likely this year. The Mac Pro is the only other Mac model that contains an “Ultra” Apple silicon chip, so its absence from today’s report discussing the M3 Ultra is noticeable. While, logically, the ‌Mac Pro‌ should receive an update to add the M3 Ultra chip alongside the ‌Mac Studio‌, just like it received the ‌M2‌ Ultra chip last year, there have been no rumors to suggest this will be the case again this year as of yet. Interestingly, TrendForce claims that the M3 Ultra chip will be fabricated with TSMC’s N3E node, just like the A18 chip that is expected to debut in …