Meta releases Muse Spark Open model, built to run on Apple M5 Ultra Mac Studios
Meta released the open-weight Muse Spark Open model, which it calls the most capable US open-weight model. It was developed with Apple to run locally on Mac Studios.
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The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2Meta announced Muse Spark Open on Thursday 15 October 2026, an open-weight AI model that it calls the "most capable US open-weight model to date". The VergeLC “claiming that it’s the “most capable US open-weight model to date.”” Read at The Verge ↗ TechCrunchN “Meta has launched what it calls the “most capable” open-weight model in the United States.” Read at TechCrunch ↗ Left · 1Meta says it is the first model in its class that can run on a desktop, using two Apple M5 Ultra Mac Studios with the latest MLX framework. The VergeLC “run on your desktop using two Apple M5 Ultra Mac Studios with the latest MLX framework.” Read at The Verge ↗ Mixed · 2The model is natively multimodal and has 816 billion parameters and a 1 million token context window; Meta says it excels at long-horizon tasks, complex software engineering and multi-step reasoning. The VergeLC ““natively multimodal model” with 816 billion total parameters” Read at The Verge ↗ TechCrunchN “leverages 816 billion parameters and a 1 million token context window” Read at TechCrunch ↗
Centre · 1TechCrunch says Meta's own evaluation results claim superior performance to other popular open-weight models, though these are Meta's figures. TechCrunchN “claims to offer superior performance to other popular open weight models, according to evaluation results released by Meta on Thursday.” Read at TechCrunch ↗ Left · 1Meta and Apple, typically rivals, worked together on the launch and are publicly backing each other; Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said it runs well on new Mac Studios thanks to work with Apple CEO John Ternus, who replied praising the efficiency of running such a model "right from your desk". The VergeLC “Meta and Apple, typically rivals, worked together on the launch and are publicly supporting each other.”“Amazing to run a model of Muse Spark Open’s caliber and scale this efficiently, right from your desk.” Read at The Verge ↗ Left · 1Meta chief AI officer Alexandr Wang told Axios, which noted the companies had collaborated for several months, "We’re excited for mommy and daddy to be playing nice again." The VergeLC ““We’re excited for mommy and daddy to be playing nice again,” Meta chief AI officer Alexandr Wang said to Axios” Read at The Verge ↗
Left · 1Apple also published a technical post about MLX, Muse Spark Open and two other open models. The VergeLC “Apple also published a new technical post about MLX” Read at The Verge ↗ Centre · 1Running it locally is demanding: TechCrunch, citing Engadget, says it needs at least 1 terabyte of RAM and runs best on a Mac Studio with the M5 Ultra chip. TechCrunchN “with a requirement of at least 1 terabyte of RAM, per Engadget.” Read at TechCrunch ↗ Centre · 1Meta says it paired the model with its AI coding terminal Muse Code and used it for tasks including fixes and new features for a Mastodon client and reviewing and cropping footage in DaVinci Resolve; it is available now through several API platforms. TechCrunchN “Meta says that it paired the model with Muse Code, its AI coding terminal”“Meta is making the new model available now through a number of different API platforms.” Read at TechCrunch ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left1 outlet
- Framing
- The Verge leads on the unusual Meta-Apple partnership between rivals, with executive quotes.
- Emphasis
- Zuckerberg, Ternus and Wang quotes and the collaboration.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Hardware requirements, benchmark claims and API availability.
- Charged language
- “mommy and daddy”
- For example
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“Meta and Apple, typically rivals, worked together on the launch and are publicly supporting each other.” — The Verge
Centre1 outlet
- Framing
- TechCrunch presents it as a product launch, focused on capabilities and practical use, with a note on hardware demands.
- Emphasis
- Specs, memory requirement, demo use cases and open-weight advantages.
- Leaves out or plays down
- The executive quotes and the rivalry angle; Apple's technical post.
- Charged language
- “significant work horse”
- For example
-
“you will still need a lot of power to run the model locally, with a requirement of at least 1 terabyte of RAM” — TechCrunch
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- Meta released Muse Spark Open, an open-weight model with 816 billion parameters.
- Meta calls it the most capable US open-weight model.
- It was built to run on Apple silicon, specifically M5 Ultra Mac Studios.
- Meta and Apple collaborated on the launch.
Left1 article
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Meta and Apple team up to make Muse AI models run better on Macs
Neutral Partnership story about rivals Meta and Apple cooperating, relaying Meta's claims in quotation marks.
Centre1 article
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Meta launches an open-weight AI model that runs on Macs
Mixed Product-launch explainer that attributes claims to Meta, flags the heavy RAM requirement, and is mildly positive about its usefulness.
Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 15 Oct 19:15 First The VergeLC Meta and Apple team up to make Muse AI models run better on Macs
- 15 Oct 21:04 +1h 49m TechCrunchN Meta launches an open-weight AI model that runs on Macs
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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