Apple will power some of its upcoming iOS 18 features with data centers that use servers equipped with Apple Silicon chips, “part of a sweeping effort to infuse its devices with AI capabilities,” according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
He says the tech giant is placing high-end chips — similar to ones it designed for the Mac — in cloud-computing servers designed to process the most advanced AI tasks coming to Apple devices, according to people familiar with the matter. Simpler AI-related features will be processed directly on iPhones, iPads and Macs, Gurman added, quoting people “who asked not to be identified because the plan is still under wraps.”
This lines up with a previous report from analyst Jeff Pu — as noted by MacRumors — that said Apple has started building its own AI servers that use the M2 Ultra chip.
Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn is said to 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.
Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Technologies, says the M2 Ultra is the largest and most capable chip Apple has ever created. It’s built using a second-generation 5-nanometer process and uses Apple’s UltraFusion technology to connect the die of two M2 Max chips, doubling the performance.
