Presumably the issue that was reported to affect the M1/M2 and M3 chips at a fundamental level has been fixed in the M4 which is one other reason Apple are skipping the M3 for most of the new models and going straight to M4.
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Apple's M4 Mac Studio: What We Know So Far
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Maybe it's me and my age, maybe my life's priorities, but when I read "Max, Ultra, Extreme" my brain goes 🤪 Am I the only one who thinks the marketing group who decided on these names have only done word processing and spreadsheets?
I agree. My 2018 Intel runs like a champ. Maybe I'll jump on an M5?
At least Blue-ray!
And that is because there is no need. These machines are used by people actually doing work, not teenagers that are just interested in looking good.
Maybe the Mini will be M3 while the Studio gets M4?
Maybe Apple does this as a new level of hardware and cost delineation?
M4?
Its laggy, has jelly scroll and underpowered AI.
M5 is better, M6 is even better but M7 is great. M8 is perfect and M9 is fantastic.
But M10 is what we need!
Its laggy, has jelly scroll and underpowered AI.
M5 is better, M6 is even better but M7 is great. M8 is perfect and M9 is fantastic.
But M10 is what we need!
Another way is to stack them in all 3 classic spatial dimensions and make M4 Dimension Classic
Comes with 8 GB tri unified memory which is equivalent to 128 GB in each single dimension.
I think it’s likely Apple will only allow a lower variant of the M4 Ultra in the Mac Studio, such as the lower CPU/GPU core count variant that supports less maximum memory. Either that or they will offer an even higher end option such as an M4 Extreme that is custom made for the Mac Pro. They need something to upsell or else they’ll just cancel the Mac Pro entirely because right now there is little reason to buy one. I also think the new Mac Pro will have a bit smaller, updated design that better pairs with this internal hardware.
I've been holding off on upgrading to an M2 Studio in favor of a possible M3 Studio. I'm a little bummed that it sounds like Apple will either forgo the M3 Studio or do a super-quick refresh to the M4 by the end of the year or early next year. While this is all speculation, I now may just wait until the M4s are released before upgrading. It may just be time to replace my aging iPads.
3D/DCC could benefit from a Mn Extreme configuration, the more GPU horsepower the better...?
Despite people saying this rumour doesn't say anything, the fact is that it does say something: That Apple seems to plan getting rid of the M3 in the Mac as soon as possible. This marks a difference with the strategies followed for M1 and M2. Last year, the new Macs with the M2 were not cancelled because the M3 was close to release, and there were reasons enough for doing so (new 3nm process, hardware raytracing).
Now, M4 is not that big advantage from M3. It will be still 3nm, even if it's an enhanced 3nm. We only hear it's because of AI. Really? Does better AI performance justify accelerating the removal of the M3? I feel like we are not having all the facts, and there are some additional reasons for this change.
Now, M4 is not that big advantage from M3. It will be still 3nm, even if it's an enhanced 3nm. We only hear it's because of AI. Really? Does better AI performance justify accelerating the removal of the M3? I feel like we are not having all the facts, and there are some additional reasons for this change.
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Honestly (and more seriously) I would consider any version of Mac Studio it if there were consistent stories about the coil/fan noise being gone.
Same here. I'm waiting for a Mac Studio with hardware raytracing. Now, even if a M3 Studio is released, all this heavy push for the M4 makes me think I shouldn't invest in a new Mac Studio until the M4 is released. A very strange strategy by Apple, if you ask me.
It really shocks me that writing "getting rid of the M3 as soon as possible" instead of "getting rid of the M3 in the Mac as soon as possible" kicked a reply 😄 (I just edited my comment, adding "in the Mac", to avoid diverging to iPads, which would be a different unrelated topic).
Well, I wasn't being pedantic. For example, it could be that they want to stop using a certain TSMC process, perhaps because it's expensive, or because TSMC themselves are phasing it out. But if they then use the same chip on, presumably, the same process in another product, that wouldn't be an option.
And given that the M3 was introduced to the MBA just a few months ago, I think it's here to stay even on the Mac for at least a year.
We've known the answer to this question since before the M3 shipped.
N3B is more expensive than N3E (modulo any early-ramp issues, which aren't significant long-term). The M4 is likely to be on N3E, and that would provide a strong justification for dropping the M3 ASAP.
This does make the timing on the forthcoming iPad Pros pretty interesting. I don't think they could have M4s- I think N3E isn't ramped yet - but I'm not certain. There's also the possibility that Apple has reimplemented M3 on N3E. That also seems unlikely - that's a lot of money to spend on a chip with limited future utility.
This all means that next month's event and WWDC carry a much higher possibility of big surprises than is usual.
Reports are that you cannot move an SoC designed on N3B to N3E so Apple would have to fully redesign M3 for N3E and I do not see Apple spending that money.
It fits in perfectly with their aesthetic. I’m wondering what you’d think it should look like? A trash can, beige? The design is inspired imo and looks gorgeous.
M6, M7, M8, M9, and M10 exist already, and have been around for a long time.
Of course, they are not Apple's hardware, but Leica's.