Apple M-series chips are the processors Apple designs for Mac and iPad, combining CPU, GPU, Neural Engine and shared memory on one chip.
In plain words
Apple began moving Macs from Intel processors to its own chips, called Apple silicon, in late 2020, starting with M1. Each M chip puts many parts on one piece of silicon, with unified memory that the CPU, GPU and Neural Engine all share. Later generations added faster Neural Engines, and M5 put AI accelerators into each GPU core.
A quick example
Imagine running an open language model on a MacBook. Because the GPU can use the same large pool of unified memory as the CPU, the model fits and runs without a separate graphics card.
Where you'll meet it
- Mac laptops and desktops, and iPad Pro.
- Running AI models locally on a Mac.
Related
Sources
- DocsMac computers with Apple silicon, Apple Support · read 29 Sept 2026
- DocsApple unleashes M1, Apple Newsroom · read 29 Sept 2026
- DocsApple introduces M4 chip, Apple Newsroom · read 29 Sept 2026
- DocsApple unleashes M5, Apple Newsroom · read 29 Sept 2026
Checked by WhatIsAI against the sources above · 29 Sept 2026. Spotted an error? Report it.