Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core) vs Max GPU (32-core)
We compared two integrated laptop professional GPUs: the Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core) with 256 pipelines and 2048 shaders against the Max GPU (32-core) that utilizes 512 pipelines and 4096 shaders. Here you will find complete details about specs, efficiency, performance tests, and more.
Review
Gaming
Performance in DirectX, OpenCL, and Vulkan games
Workstation
Perf. in 3D modeling, video editing and rendering apps
AI/ML
Capabilities for machine learning and AI-related tasks
Energy Efficiency
Power consumption efficiency in different scenarios
DeviceFacts Final Score
Overall video card score
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Apple M1 Max GPU (32-core)
- Performs significantly better (up to 86%) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
- 2x higher maximum theoretical performance (10.6 vs 5.3 TFLOPS)
- Has 2x higher memory bandwidth: 409.6 vs 204.8 GB/s
- Achieves 70% more points in the GeekBench 6 Compute test (71K vs 42K)
- Has 2x more shading units (4096 vs 2048)
Benchmarks
Graphics cardsโ performance in recent benchmarking apps3D Mark
Steel Nomad Lite Score
| Solar Bay | 12485 | 22586 |
| Wild Life Extreme | 9873 | 19880 |
GeekBench 6 OpenCL
GB6 Compute Score
| Background Blur | 74.5 img/sec | 120.7 img/sec |
| Face Detection | 47.3 img/sec | 78.9 img/sec |
| Horizon Detection | 1.73 Gpixels/sec | 3.18 Gpixels/sec |
| Edge Detection | 3.32 Gpixels/sec | 6.15 Gpixels/sec |
| Gaussian Blur | 1.75 Gpixels/sec | 3.44 Gpixels/sec |
| Feature Matching | 0.47 Gpixels/sec | 0.62 Gpixels/sec |
| Stereo Matching | 131.2 Gpixels/sec | 229.8 Gpixels/sec |
| Particle Physics | 5143 FPS | 8822.9 FPS |
| API | OpenCL | OpenCL |
Cinebench 2024 GPU
Cinebench 2024 GPU
Blender
Blender GPU
Recent User Tests
Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core)
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| ๐ 2026-03-27 (bbffx) | Geekbench 6 OpenCL | 43467 |
| ๐ 2026-03-27 (bbffx) | Cinebench 2024 | 2423 |
| ๐ 2026-03-27 (bbffx) | Steel Nomad Light | 4048 |
| ๐ 2025-02-21 (serhii) | Geekbench 6 OpenCL | 40932 |
Apple M1 Max GPU (32-core)
No benchmark results yet
Artificial Intelligence Tests
Performance in machine learning and artificial intelligence tasksGeekBench 6 ML
GB6 ML Single Precision
GB6 ML Half Precision
GB6 ML Quantized
| Image Classification (SP) | 4112 | 5466 |
| Image Segmentation (HP) | 7488 | 12415 |
| Image Super Resolution (Q) | 9882 | 15930 |
| Face Detection (HP) | 14702 | 23179 |
| Pose Estimation (Q) | 33560 | 58520 |
| Text Classification (SP) | 2289 | 2299 |
| Machine Translation (HP) | 1629 | 1713 |
| Object Detection (SP) | 3633 | 5388 |
| Depth Estimation (Q) | 16986 | 26458 |
| Style Transfer (SP) | 53586 | 98278 |
| Framework | Core ML | Core ML |
| Backend | GPU | GPU |
Specifications
Technical specifications of Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core) and Max GPU (32-core)General
| Vendor | Apple | Apple |
| Build | Integrated | Integrated |
| Released | October 18, 2021 | October 18, 2021 |
| Case | Laptop | Laptop |
| Purpose | Professional | Professional |
| Segment | Mid-range | High-end |
| Architecture | Apple M GPU | Apple M GPU |
| Rival Equivalent | - GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop | - GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop |
| Successor | - Apple M5 Pro GPU (20-core) | - Apple M5 Max GPU (40-core) |
| Recommended CPU | - Apple M1 Pro or above | - Apple M1 Max or above |
| Used in CPUs | - Apple M1 Pro | - Apple M1 Max |
Laptop GPU ranking (79th and 54th place)
Graphics Processing Unit
| Base Clock | 450 MHz | 450 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 1296 MHz | 1296 MHz |
| Shading Units | 2048 | 4096 |
| Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) | 128 | 256 |
| Render Output Units (ROPs) | 64 | 128 |
| Compute Units (Pipelines) | 256 | 512 |
| Ray-tracing Cores | No | No |
| Instructions Per Cycle | 2 IPC | 2 IPC |
Raw Performance
| Pixel Fill Rate | 83 GPixel/s | 166 GPixel/s |
| Texture Fill Rate | 166 GTexel/s | 332 GTexel/s |
FLOPS (FP32)
Physical
| Interface | Custom | Custom |
| TGP | 30 W | - |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
| Fabrication Process | 5 nm | 5 nm |
| Transistor Count | 23.2 billion | 46.4 billion |
| Max. Temperature | 94ยฐC | 94ยฐC |
Memory
| Memory Type | System Shared | System Shared |
| Memory Clock | 6400 MHz | 6400 MHz |
| Effective Memory Speed | 12800 Mbps | 12800 Mbps |
| Bus | 256-bit | 512-bit |
| ECC | No | No |
Memory Bandwidth
API
| Ray Tracing | No | No |
| DLSS | No | No |
Cast your vote
Total votes: 5