M3 Ultra Mac Studio Rumored to Launch in Mid-2024, But No Sign of New Mac Pro

A new Mac Studio model with the M3 Ultra chip—which could be more powerful than expected—will launch in mid-2024, according to a new report.

M3 Mac Pro and Studio Feature
The report comes from Taiwanese research firm TrendForce citing ICsmart. The current ‌Mac Studio‌, which contains M2 Max and ‌M2‌ Ultra chip options, was introduced at WWDC in June 2023. With TrendForce forecasting another mid-year update for the ‌Mac Studio‌, a repeat appearance at WWDC seems likely this year.

The Mac Pro is the only other Mac model that contains an "Ultra" Apple silicon chip, so its absence from today's report discussing the M3 Ultra is noticeable. While, logically, the ‌Mac Pro‌ should receive an update to add the M3 Ultra chip alongside the ‌Mac Studio‌, just like it received the ‌M2‌ Ultra chip last year, there have been no rumors to suggest this will be the case again this year as of yet.

Interestingly, TrendForce claims that the M3 Ultra chip will be fabricated with TSMC's N3E node, just like the A18 chip that is expected to debut in the iPhone 16 lineup later in the year. This means it would be Apple's first N3E chip. The M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips are fabricated with TSMC's N3B process, just like the A17 Pro. N3E is an enhanced version of TSMC's 3nm process, offering slightly better performance and higher production yield.

It would be somewhat odd for Apple to make the M3 Ultra its first N3E chip, since Apple's "Ultra" chips comprise two "Max" chips linked via its UltraFusion chip interconnect technology, meaning that an N3E M3 Ultra would effectively be two M4 Max chips. To date, each generation of Apple's custom silicon chips have used the same fabrication process across the lineup, since the chip architecture is simply scaled up. Using different nodes in the same family of chips, especially on the "Ultra" chip variant, would be an unprecedented move.

The only explanation if Apple does opt for this route would be that the company plans to introduce the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips sooner rather than later, perhaps in late 2024, and would want to ensure that the M3 Ultra ‌Mac Studio‌ remains competitive with the newer chips. Even so, in this instance, it would surely be more straightforward to brand the chip "M4 Ultra" and skip the M3 Ultra entirely.

As a result, this part of the report should be treated with some skepticism. Nevertheless, a mid-year time frame for the launch of a new ‌Mac Studio‌ seems likely.

Related Roundup: Mac Studio
Buyer's Guide: Mac Studio (Caution)
Related Forum: Mac Studio

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full Release Notes for iOS 18.2

Thursday December 5, 2024 11:48 am PST by
Apple seeded the release candidate version of iOS 18.2 today, which means it's going to see a public launch imminently. Release candidates represent the final version of new software that will be provided to the public should no last minute bugs be found, and Apple includes release notes with the RC launch. The iOS 18.2 release notes provide a look at all of the new features that are coming...
Apple AI Command Center Concept Mock 3

Apple Expected to Launch This All-New Device Next Year

Wednesday November 27, 2024 1:05 pm PST by
Apple is expected to kick off 2025 by launching an all-new smart home hub, also referred to as a "command center," as early as March. The hub is expected to feature around a six-inch display that can be attached to a tabletop base with a speaker, or mounted on a wall. The device is said to run a new "homeOS" operating system with a customizable widget-focused home screen, and it is expected...
airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3 Expected Next Year: Here's What We Know

Thursday November 28, 2024 3:30 am PST by
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch sometime in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for. Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as...
Tim Cook WWDC 2024

Apple CEO Tim Cook Opens Up About AI Plans, Vision Pro Future, and More in New Interview

Wednesday December 4, 2024 5:40 am PST by
WIRED today shared in an in-depth interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook, asking questions about AI, Vision Pro sales, pre-recorded keynotes, and more. The wide-ranging interview covers Apple's pivot toward AI technology, including what Apple Intelligence features Cook finds most useful, Apple's partnership with OpenAI, and the environmental impact of AI. For example, WIRED asked Cook about...
Generic iOS 18

Apple Seeds Release Candidate Versions of iOS 18.2 and More With Genmoji, Image Playground and ChatGPT Integration

Thursday December 5, 2024 10:03 am PST by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 updates to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, two weeks after releasing the fourth betas. Alongside the release candidate versions of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac operating system updates, Apple has also seeded the watchOS 11.2, tvOS 18.2, and HomePod Software 18.2 RCs....
Whatsapp Feature

WhatsApp to Drop Support for These iPhones Starting May 2025

Monday December 2, 2024 2:57 am PST by
WhatsApp is set to end support for iOS versions older than iOS 15.1 from May next year, removing the chat platform's compatibility with several iPhone models in the process. From May 5, 2025, WhatsApp will no longer be compatible with iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus models. Users with those devices won't be able to access the encrypted chat service after the specified date unless they ...
open ai logo

OpenAI Launches $200/Month ChatGPT Pro Plan

Thursday December 5, 2024 4:19 pm PST by
OpenAI today announced the launch of ChatGPT Pro, a $200 per month subscription service that provides unlimited access to OpenAI o1, the company's newest and most advanced large language model. The plan includes unlimited use of OpenAI o1, o1-mini, GPT-4o, and Advanced Voice, along with o1 pro mode, an o1 version that uses more compute to provide better answers to the hardest problems. In...

Top Rated Comments

sunny5 Avatar
12 months ago
Apple Silicon itself is a failure for Mac Pro especially for SoC design. Clearly, Apple doesn't know how to make a workstation just like Mac Pro 2013.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
darngooddesign Avatar
12 months ago
If you can't buy an M3 SoC to drop in your existing MacPro then really what's the point of it.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CraigJDuffy Avatar
12 months ago
Who’s buying the AS Mac Pro? It’s a terrible product.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacDevil7334 Avatar
12 months ago
There is no way Apple will leave the Mac Pro on sale with a M2 Ultra while the Mac Studio gets the M3 Ultra and sells for less money. Either the Mac Pro will also get the newer chip or it will be discontinued. My money is on discontinuation, as the AS Mac Pro had little reason to exist beyond Apple saying early on in the transition that they would be making one.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bokito Avatar
12 months ago
The Mac Pro is dead. My guess is that some engineers working on the Mac Pro left the company when Apple decided that the Mac Pro would just be a Mac Studio with PCI-E, that’s why it took so long. The current Mac Pro won’t sell enough to make a profit from, so they’ll axe it. Just like they did with Xserve: blame the buyers, not themselves.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
azentropy Avatar
12 months ago

If you can't buy an M3 SoC to drop in your existing MacPro then really what's the point of it.
Exactly. They "took" away other upgrade options and I really thought they were going to change the paradigm in that they would instead have it use a daughter card in which consumers could easily upgrade (through apple of course) that SoC daughter card if they wanted more memory, or faster processor etc. at a later time.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)