Unified memory

Apple Silicon for local AI

CPU and GPU share one memory pool. Apple list prices are U.S. starting prices for the exact SKU when Apple published one; configure-to-order memory SKUs stay unknown instead of inventing an upcharge.

Catalogue review recorded 2026-09-04 · individual claims have separate datesStructured datasetSource Methodology

These rows are memory configurations, not SKUs collapsed by product name. 16 GB and 128 GB of the same chip are not equivalent for local AI. Unified memory is shared with the OS — it is not VRAM. First-party tok/s are listed only for configurations that have a validated receipt — currently 0 Apple measurements.

ProductMin unified memory

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MacBook Air 13-inch (M5, 16GB)

16 GB unified · 153 GB/s

MLX: official docs · llama.cpp: community

						MLX	llama.cpp
MacBook Air 13-inch (M5, 16GB) M5	16 GB	$1,099U.S. list · Apple U.S. starting price for 13-inch MacBook Air with M5 (16GB), March 2026 newsroom. Not a street price.	8	153 GB/s	none	official_docs	community
MacBook Air 13-inch (M4, 16GB, 8-core GPU) M4	16 GB	$999U.S. list · Apple U.S. shop price for 13-inch M4 Air, 16GB, 8-core GPU, 256GB SSD.	8	120 GB/s	none	official_docs	community
MacBook Air 13-inch (M4, 24GB) M4	24 GB	Apple configure-to-order. No single published list price for this memory SKU.	10	120 GB/s	none	official_docs	community
MacBook Air 13-inch (M4, 32GB) M4	32 GB	Apple configure-to-order. No single published list price for this memory SKU.	10	120 GB/s	none	official_docs	community
Mac mini (M4, 16GB) M4	16 GB	$599U.S. list · Apple U.S. starting price for Mac mini with M4 (16GB).	10	120 GB/s	none	official_docs	community
Mac mini (M4 Pro, 48GB) M4 Pro	48 GB	Apple configure-to-order. No single published list price for this memory SKU.	16	273 GB/s	none	official_docs	community
Mac mini (M4 Pro, 64GB) M4 Pro	64 GB	Apple configure-to-order. No single published list price for this memory SKU.	20	273 GB/s	none	official_docs	community
MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4 Pro, 24GB) M4 Pro	24 GB	$1,999U.S. list · Apple U.S. starting price for 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Pro (24GB class starting config).	16	273 GB/s	none	official_docs	community
MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4 Pro, 48GB) M4 Pro	48 GB	Apple configure-to-order. No single published list price for this memory SKU.	20	273 GB/s	none	official_docs	community
MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Max 32-core GPU, 36GB) M4 Max (32-core GPU)	36 GB	Apple configure-to-order. No single published list price for this memory SKU.	32	410 GB/s	none	official_docs	community
MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Max 40-core GPU, 64GB) M4 Max (40-core GPU)	64 GB	Apple configure-to-order. No single published list price for this memory SKU.	40	546 GB/s	none	official_docs	community
MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Max 40-core GPU, 128GB) M4 Max (40-core GPU)	128 GB	Apple configure-to-order. No single published list price for this memory SKU.	40	546 GB/s	none	official_docs	community
Mac Studio (M4 Max, 128GB) M4 Max	128 GB	Apple configure-to-order. No single published list price for this memory SKU.	40	546 GB/s	none	official_docs	community
Mac Studio (M5 Max, 128GB) M5 Max	128 GB	Mac Studio with M5 Max starts at $2,499 (Apple newsroom, Aug 2026). This 128GB SKU is configure-to-order — Apple does not publish that SKU’s list price here.	40	614 GB/s	none	official_docs	community
Mac Studio (M5 Ultra, 256GB) M5 Ultra	256 GB	Mac Studio with M5 Ultra starts at $5,499 (Apple newsroom, Aug 2026). Higher memory SKUs are configure-to-order.	80	1200 GB/s	none	official_docs	community
Mac Studio (M5 Ultra, 512GB) M5 Ultra	512 GB	Apple said 512GB unified memory arrives later. No list price published for this SKU.	80	1200 GB/s	none	official_docs	community