An updated version of the Mac Studio could launch as soon as this week, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The new machine is expected to be equipped with the M4 Max chip that we first saw in the 2024 MacBook Pro models, but Apple apparently does not have an M4 Ultra chip ready to go.
Instead, there could be a version of the Mac Studio that uses an M3 Ultra chip. Apple didn't release an M3 Ultra chip alongside the M3 chip lineup, so it would be a new chip even though it's not part of the current M4 family. The current Mac Studio has an M2 Ultra chip, as does the Mac Pro.
Apple's "Ultra" chips have historically been two of the "Max" chips linked together, but the M3 Max does not have the UltraFusion interconnect feature that allows the Max chips to be doubled up. The M3 Ultra would likely be a standalone chip that is a departure from the prior Ultra chips that Apple has come out with.
As the M3 Ultra is not likely to be a doubled up M3 Max chip, it's not entirely clear what we can expect in terms of performance, but Apple has more flexibility to tweak processor cores and add additional GPU power. Gurman suggests that Apple might opt to go with an M3 Ultra in the Mac Studio in order to distinguish it from a Mac Pro with a future M4 Ultra chip.
Gurman has faced some difficulty predicting the Mac Studio's launch timeline, perhaps due to Apple's shifting plans. Last year, he said the Mac Studio would come out in mid-2025 around WWDC. He later said that the timing would place it after the MacBook Air, a machine that he suggested would launch before the iPhone 16e and the new iPad Air.
Earlier this week, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased new product launches with a "There's something in the air" graphic on social media, and Apple has so far updated the iPad Air and the low-cost iPad. The MacBook Air is also rumored to be getting a refresh this week, and now we may also get the Mac Studio even though it doesn't have "Air" in the name.
