An alleged Geekbench score for the upcoming “M2 Max” chip has surfaced online, offering a closer look at the performance levels and specific details of Apple’s upcoming silicon processor.
Geekbench results, first seen on Twitter, is for a Mac configuration with a M2 Max chip, 12-core CPU, and 96GB of memory. The Mac listed has the identifier “Mac14,6”, which may be the next generation MacBook Pro or Mac Studio. Apple offers a maximum of 64GB of memory on the current 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, while the Mac Studio can be configured with up to 128GB of memory with the M1 Ultra.
According to tests, the M2 Max chip scored 1,853 in single-core and 13,855 in multi-core. In comparison, the M1 Max chip in Mac Studio scored 1,755 in single-core and 12,333 in multi-core. If the M2 Max chip results are accurate, the performance gain will be relatively small for the upcoming chip.
The M2 chip, announced in June 2022, is based on an enhanced version of TSMC’s 5nm process. The manufacturing process for the upcoming M2 Pro and M2 Max chips is not entirely clear. While they may feature the same enhanced 5nm process as standard M2 chips, there have also been rumors that the chips could jump-start to 3nm, offering significant performance and energy efficiency improvements.
According to the results, the chip was tested on a Mac running macOS Ventura 13.2, which has not yet entered developer testing or public beta but is being worked on internally at Apple. The first Macs expected to feature the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips are rumored to be updated to the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, with the Mac Studio to follow sometime next year. The updated MacBook Pro was originally rumored to launch sometime in October to November, but is now expected to launch in early 2023.
Apple has several Macs in the works for 2023, including a revamped MacBook Pro, a revamped iMac, and the long-rumored Apple silicon Mac Pro. For a complete overview of all the new Macs we can expect next year and beyond, be sure to check out our guide.
