Mark Coppock / Digital Trends
Apple ’s M3 series of chips has been amajor improvement over what come before it , with exploiter feeling the benefit across the Mac range . The only microprocessor chip missing from the lineup is the M3 Ultra , which is allow for Apple ’s gamy - endMac Studioand Mac Pro gadget .
We ’ve been hear that Apple is thinking of shift to an annual release bicycle for its Mac chips , and with the M2 Ultra having made its debut in June 2023 , everyone has been pitch up to see the M3 edition launch this summer .
However , all that has seemingly been thrown into uncertainty . According toBloomberg newsperson Mark Gurman , Apple might skip the M3 Ultra exclusively this year , leave high - end user to wait potentially another yr before they get an rise .
Unanswered questions
The report continued : “ The Mac Pro cut the M1 , the iMac skipped the M2 , and it ’s all but assured that at least some of Apple ’s high - end desktops will bypass the M3 . ”
In other words , we might not see the M3 Ultra , despite the ship’s company having the chip in exploitation . And even if we do see it , it might not amount to both the Mac Studio and the Mac Pro . I do n’t know why Apple might act in this elbow room , but it will be a troubling prospect for anyone who wants to purchase a high - closing Mac to get the latest M3 architecture , which is something that pro - tied machinesreally pauperization .
This growth raises all form of questions . For one thing , many people will be wonder whether Apple really is move to fully shift to an yearly chip refresh round , as has been touted over the past few months on various occasions .
TheMac Prowent three eld between its relaunch in 2019 and its M2 Ultra upgrade in 2022 , and by the meter its most late update rolled around , the 2019 adaptation was feel very long in the tooth . hearsay of more frequent chip upgrades have been welcome news — but that could now be in jeopardy .
Gurman ’s revelation is an interesting idea for another reasonableness . In January 2024,Gurman claimedthat Apple was design to launch a new Mac Studio in June 2023 and a novel Mac Pro a small while after . His latest report seems to negate that when it tell that “ at least some of Apple ’s high - end desktops will short-circuit the M3 . ” Does this mean that Apple has canned the next Mac Studio , the upcoming Mac Pro , or both ?
The whole reason Gurman was talk about the M3 Ultra in his report is that he believes the M4 series will be the first time an Apple Si splintering generation will add up to every Mac that Apple offers . That implies that some mosel(s ) will drop out on the M3 Ultra , after all .
An anxious wait for clues
The idea of Apple skipping the M3 Ultra does have an air of plausibility about it . With every Apple silicon chip oscillation , Apple has left a few Macs off the list . As I remark earlier , the Mac Pro did n’t get an M1 - series chip . The iMac , meanwhile , fit without the M2 . Could it be that the Mac Studio or the Mac Pro escape out on the M3 Ultra ? Iteems possible at this point .
WhileApple ’s one-year WWDC on June 10seems like the ideal locus for the M3 Ultra , it might also be an opportunity for Apple to showcase its next - generation of Mac chips — the M4 — to a devoted audience . I ’m not win over that will encounter , as Apple has a drug abuse of launching the first bit in a newfangled multiplication in the fall , but it ’s a possibility . That ’s especially honest ifAI will take the spotlight on the hardware front , as has been rumor .
Still , there are reasons to be skeptical that Apple will ignore the M3 Ultra alone . If Apple really does have an M3 Ultra chip in development , it would be a major permissive waste of time and resource to have act on it and then not unblock it . There are suggestions that the M3 Ultra could be amonster of a chip , and if that ’s the case , I ask Apple will be desperate for the world to see it .
Ultimately , we ’re not die to discover out for at least a couple month . But it ’s worth keeping a snug eye on WWDC to see what the companionship does . If you ’re hoping for an M3 Ultra declaration , the next few calendar week could be an anxious hold .
