Rumours are saying Apple might drop a Mac Studio with both M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips. But does that lineup actually make any sense?
M3 Ultra? Sounds off to me. Wouldn’t M4 Ultra make more sense?
@Briar
For what it’s worth, this lines up with an old rumour from almost a year ago. I had forgotten about it until I saw this comment.
>Apple plans to bring more M4 Macs in 2025, including updates to the MacBook Air in the spring, Mac Studio in the middle of the year, and Mac Pro later. The MacBook Air got M3 last month, while the Studio and Pro got M2 last year.
>The M4 lineup includes an entry-level chip called Donan, more powerful versions named Brava, and a high-end one called Hidra.
>Apple is reportedly testing the Mac Studio with both an M3-era chip and a version of the M4 Brava chip.
At the time, I assumed it would either get M3 or M4, but not both.
@Briar
No way, the idea of an M3 Ultra makes no sense.
Marley said:
@Briar
No way, the idea of an M3 Ultra makes no sense.
If this turns out to be true, it would be a big win for Gurman since it’s such a strange prediction.
But if he’s wrong, then it means his last-minute leaks aren’t as solid as they seem.
@DrakeBlake
Yeah, and if Apple actually puts out an old high-end chip when the next-gen one is already rolling, that would be just ridiculous.
Marley said:
@DrakeBlake
Yeah, and if Apple actually puts out an old high-end chip when the next-gen one is already rolling, that would be just ridiculous.
I think Apple is struggling with their bigger chips because they can’t sell them in large numbers like others can.
There were rumours of an M1 and M2 Extreme, but nothing ever came of it. Now we’re close to M5, and Ultra is still the top tier. TSMC prices keep going up, so I bet the Ultra chip is getting too expensive to make.
@DrakeBlake
This whole thing feels off.
M3 is already being replaced because of poor yields, especially on bigger chips like the Max. An M3 Ultra wouldn’t just be weaker than an M4 Ultra, it would also be more expensive to manufacture.
If Apple still doesn’t have an M4 Ultra ready nearly a year after the base M4, that’s a bad sign for their chip design.
@Conn
I think Apple miscalculated how much demand Nvidia would take up at TSMC, pushing up costs. Instead of releasing a new Studio, they probably stockpiled last year’s model and are now trying to sell those before moving to the next-gen chips.
@Briar
Gurman suggested that Apple might be doing this to keep the Mac Pro at a higher tier.
>If the Mac Studio gets an M3 Ultra, the Mac Pro could stay ahead with the M4 Ultra. Right now, both machines have the M2 Ultra, making them too similar in performance.
@DrakeBlake
That logic doesn’t add up. The Mac Pro’s main selling point is expandability, not just raw performance. No serious buyer would get a Mac Pro just for a slight speed bump.
Briar said:
@DrakeBlake
That logic doesn’t add up. The Mac Pro’s main selling point is expandability, not just raw performance. No serious buyer would get a Mac Pro just for a slight speed bump.
Yeah, the Mac Pro is for specific needs… like PCI expansion or rack-mounting.
But I can see some enterprise buyers picking a Mac Pro over the Studio if the M4 Ultra isn’t available in the Studio.
Briar said:
@DrakeBlake
That logic doesn’t add up. The Mac Pro’s main selling point is expandability, not just raw performance. No serious buyer would get a Mac Pro just for a slight speed bump.
There used to be rumours about Apple making an even more powerful chip than Ultra, but those never materialised. Now it just looks like they’re trying to stretch the lineup without offering anything really new.