Last week , Apple revealed anew Mac Studioequipped withM4 Max and M3 Ultra chips . No , that ’s not a typo — the fellowship really did found a new Mac with chips from two different multiplication , where the less brawny chip is from the new iteration . As I ’ve write before , it ’s aconfusing , preposterous situation , and one that must be drive Apple ’s marketing division mad .

But at first , it seemed like there was a glimmer of argue behind the decision : Apple could pull through the rumoredM4 Ultra chipfor theMac Proand bring back some right specialisation to the Mac lineup . rather of having theMac Studioand the Mac Pro offer the same maximum performance ( as we have now ) , the Mac Pro would finally get a goodish boost to tempt power - hungry pro users .

Except it now bet like we ’ll never see that state of affairs come to realisation , as Gurman says the M4 Ultra is likely wholly off the cards .

Over the last few days , Apple toldArs Technicathat it wo n’t be proffer an Ultra chip in every Apple Si propagation . If that did n’t hint that the M4 Ultra is n’t on the way , the company also confirm to French siteNumeramathat the M4 Max is n’t built with Apple ’s UltraFusion technical school , which intend Apple ca n’t just combine two M4 Max chips together to make the M4 Ultra . Apple used conjoined M2 Max chips to make the M2 Ultra , but it looks like that wo n’t be befall with the M4 propagation .

Gurman ’s newssheet contribute that Apple is reluctant to create an M4 Ultra chip from gelt . Doing so would require a unmanageable , expensive production outgrowth and lead in a recess chip that probably would n’t deal well , making it knockout to rationalize for Appe .

Why buy the Mac Pro?

So , where does this leave us ? regrettably , pretty much right back to where we were before . In the M2 propagation , the Mac Studio and the Mac Pro were capable of the same maximum public presentation , yet the Mac Studio came with a much lower asking cost .

Why would you buy the Mac Pro , then ? It has more PCIe enlargement and additional ports , but does that really justify the much higher toll ? For most hoi polloi , probably not .

Previously , Gurman speculate that the Mac Pro would get the M4 Ultra to differentiate it from the Mac Studio . Now , they ’ll have the same chip again . And once again , it ’s very heavy to free the Mac Pro over the Mac Studio .

And it ’s not just about the mightiness . As Gurman points out , other specification are affected . Right now , the Mac Studio tops out at 512 GB memory and 16 TB of storage . The Mac Pro , on the other hand , maxes out at 192 GB of memory and 8 TB of storage .

Ironically , those configurations make the Mac Studio more expensive than the Mac Pro , despite it being positioned as the less - high - closing product . If you go on the base configurations , though , the Mac Studio ( M3 Ultra ) is more powerful than the Mac Pro ( M2 Ultra ) despite costing almost half the price .

The Mac Pro ’s memory and storage options will improve when it gets the M3 Ultra , but that might not beuntil the fallat the early . Until then , the option of desktop Macs direct at professionals is a bit of a muss .

The good tidings is that the Mac Studio will still get you a incredibly potent computer ( even if its chip situation is on the baffling side ) that be a fraction of the Mac Pro . If you ’re in the market for a Mac Studio and do n’t need the Mac Pro ’s PCIe slot or extra Thunderbolt port , there ’s no compelling reason to get the Mac Pro , and there likely wo n’t be one for the foreseeable future .

But for Mac Pro fan , the situation is far less attractive . With Apple waiting two chip generation and at least two twelvemonth between pro - unwavering Mac upgrades , it search like we ’ll have a long while before the Mac Pro can in good order abide above the Mac Studio .