[wtallis]

> The M5 Max with the 32-core GPU is ~7200MT/s,

Ok, so the problem is you doing the math wrong. Note that the MacBook Pro configuration you're talking about has a DRAM capacity of 36GB, compared to 48+ GB for the ones with all the cores enabled and the full memory bandwidth. That 32-core config isn't running the DRAM slower, it's running with a narrower bus and fewer DRAM chips: https://theapplewiki.com/wiki/MacBook_Pro_(16-inch,_M5_Max)

> There is no "package" here. Apple's processors are soldered to the logic board, as are Intel's in laptops.

Denying the difference between putting the RAM on-package vs on the motherboard doesn't make that difference stop being real.

> Apple being the first to ship LPDDR5-9600 when it was that recent doesn't imply that it needs to be soldered

Apple wasn't even close to being the first to ship LPDDR5-9600. Android phones using DRAM at that speed started shipping at the end of 2023, and moved on to 10700MT/s starting in 2024. The situation here is not anywhere close to being one of Apple paying a premium to get faster DRAM chips that other laptop manufacturers can afford. Rather, for most of the past several years, laptop manufacturers (especially on the x86 side) have been unable to buy DRAM chips with a rating slow enough to match what their processors are capable of running at. It's become quite common to see on a Thinkpad spec sheet that eg. the DRAM parts are rated for 7467MT/s but will only operate at 6400MT/s due to processor limitations, then the next year see that the DRAM parts are rated for 8533MT/s but run at 7467MT/s, and so on. LPDDR speed increases have been driven primarily by flagship smartphones, and even the leftover slower-binned parts are faster than what most laptops can handle.