Apple Explains Why the New Mac Studio Doesn't Have an M4 Ultra Chip

[MacRumors]

Apple today updated the Mac Studio with mismatched M4 Max and M3 Ultra chip options. Naturally, this has led people to wonder why Apple opted for an M3 Ultra instead of an M4 Ultra chip, and the answer is fairly interesting.

Apple told Ars Technica's Andrew Cunningham that not every generation of M-series chips for Macs will include an "Ultra" chip.

"When asked why the high-end Mac Studio was getting an M3 Ultra chip instead of an M4 Ultra, Apple told us that not every chip generation will get an 'Ultra' tier," he wrote.

Perhaps that means we will never get an M4 Ultra chip?

Apple's explanation leads us to wonder which chip the next Mac Pro desktop tower will use. Both the Mac Studio and Mac Pro were updated with the M2 Ultra chip simultaneously in June 2023, and many people in the Apple community felt that the Mac Pro was thereby a bad buy since it costs thousands of dollars more than the Mac Studio despite there being a perceived lack of differentiation between the computers.

When the rumor broke yesterday that the Mac Studio would be updated with M3 Ultra chip, there was hope that Apple would eventually update the Mac Pro with an M4 Ultra chip, for increased differentiation between the computers. Apple's explanation doesn't bode well for that possibility, although it does not explicitly rule it out.

The next Mac Pro could simply end up getting the M3 Ultra chip, and maintain that lack of differentiation over the Mac Studio.

To learn more about the M3 Ultra chip, which is effectively two M3 Max chips combined, read our coverage of Apple's announcement.

Article Link: Apple Explains Why the New Mac Studio Doesn't Have an M4 Ultra Chip

 

[VisceralRealist]

Yeah, that sounds like a pretty clear admission that there's not going to be an M4 Ultra.

But then what was all that about the M3 Max not being built for connecting two together in an "Ultra" configuration?

 

[Joe Rossignol]

Yeah, that sounds like a pretty clear admission that there's not going to be an M4 Ultra.

But then what was all that about the M3 Max not being built for connecting two together in an "Ultra" configuration?

That rumor was simply wrong. M3 Ultra does use UltraFusion to combine two M3 Max chips.

 

[jb310]

I had thought maybe they wanted to save the M4 Ultra for the Mac Pro. 🫢

 

[chfilm]

Hmmm, so that either means M4 extreme is coming, or they go straight to m5 ultra on the mac pro but at the end of the year?

 

[Black.Infinity]

I assume technicall difficulties for not delivering M4 Ultra

 

[DrWojtek]

WWDC introduces M5 series and Mac Pro is getting the Ultra iteration.

 

[Jarman74]

Hmmm, so that either means M4 extreme is coming, or they go straight to m5 ultra on the mac pro but at the end of the year?

An M4 Extreme would cater to such a tiny user base that, at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if this were the end of the road for the Mac Pro.

 

[dmr727]

Hmmm, so that either means M4 extreme is coming, or they go straight to m5 ultra on the mac pro but at the end of the year?

Nah - I think the Pro will get the M3 Ultra at WWDC.

 

[BNBMS]

This is a bad news which only proves that Apple cant make high-end or workstation grade chip to compete with others especially since Mac Pro lack advantages.

 

[MayaUser]

So Mac pro will stay with inferior M2 Ultra but a lot more expesinve than Mac studio?
Because i dont see why Apple didnt update the Mac pro with M3 ultra today

 

[9081094]

I assume technicall difficulties for not delivering M4 Ultra

I can think of only one reason not doing so: 💰💰💰

It’s clear Apple isn’t taking its “Pro” Macs serious. My advice: stop wasting money buying one.

 

[nikhsub1]

Why did it take so long to put an M4 max into a desktop? WTF apple?

 

[Rychiar]

so why did the m3 ultra not come out LAST summer Apple makes no sense

 

[ashdelacroix]

Apple is getting a bit messy and confusing in some ways. It's just odd from a nomenclature point of view. I cannot remember Apple doing something like this before.

 

[9081094]

So Mac pro will stay with inferior M2 Ultra but a lot more expesinve than Mac studio?
Because i dont see why Apple didnt update the Mac pro with M3 ultra today

When using the same words of other bloggers about losing the speedrace with iPhone:

“Buyers don’t look at specifications” they buy for the “experience” and “ecosystem”.

🤭😂🤣😂

 

[verniesgarden]

maybe every odd will be Ultra, so Mac Pro will be "M5 Ultra"

 

[Pezimak]

But what if it gets an M5 Ultra…. That’ll differentiate it from the Studio and make it still the most powerful Mac Apple makes, for a price.

 

[Rychiar]

I thought the m3's didn't have the connectors to make ultras or something and that was they weren't making one

 

[vegetassj4]

Money is why:

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Apple is getting a bit messy and confusing in some ways. It's just odd from a nomenclature point of view. I cannot remember Apple doing something like this before.

These names are terrible. I feel like I'm watching 90's Teenage Muntant Ninja Turtles.

 

[iZac]

Low yields or low margins on the fraction of a percentage who drop $4000+ on a desktop mac?

 

[whwang]

Before today, if Apple told us that not every M chip gets an Ultra version, pretty much everyone would think that this means M3 Ultra. Now with M3 Ultra out, this can only imply that there will not be an M4 Ultra.

Given when M4 started to appear on Macs, it's wishful thinking to believe that we will see any M5 Mac in WWDC this year. It's even more so for an M5 Ultra Mac Pro in WWDC 2025.

 

[SWC]

An M4 Extreme would cater to such a tiny user base that, at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if this were the end of the road for the Mac Pro.

I think it will stick around at least for now, it serves a very specific use case for those that need PCIe expansion. I thought Apple was pretty up front originally in basically saying don't buy this unless you really need it and you will know if you do. The mac studio is for everyone else who needs computer power but not the expansion slots. I don't really think the pro needs to be more than that at least as apple silicon exists today.

If they did come out with an ultra they could certainly expand the market beyond pro beyond a/v studios and youtubers who want a flex but I am not sure the ROI is there to do so when they already have a 3k price delta just for a few pci slots and some extra aluminum. If they ever opened up third party GPU support again I think that would create some instant demand but they have shown no interest in that so far.

 

[BNBMS]

Perhaps low yields?

Technically, Apple silicon chip itself is highly not efficient due to large dies. Bigger dies mean low yield and higher price. But Max series are already as big as RTX high-end GPU and Ultra is several times more expensive than Max due to how they create.

This is the biggest downside of apple silicon as they keep making huge chips which will not do well for Mac. They should probably start developing MCM or chiplet asap.