If M4/M5 Ultra chip will come only in Mac Pro this will be so dissapointing. Apple trying to milk their customers to the max. Happened already with MBP's by locking 64 and 128GB RAM options only to the highest specs.
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Mac Studio With M4 Max and M3 Ultra Chips Could Launch This Week
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Aw man, I hope not. Everybody seemed so certain it would be June/WWDC. I put off upgrading as long as I could but couldn't wait any longer so bought a Mac Mini M4 Pro instead only a couple of weeks ago.
This rings true. Gurman’s tweet yesterday just recycled his old April 2024 rumor about Studios being tested. Doubtful that the M3 variant is still being tested now.
This fits with the remaining known Sequoia model identifiers:
Mac16,9 = M4 Max Mac Studio
Mac17,1 = Ultra Mac Pro
Mac17,2 = Ultra+ Mac Pro
But I still think it’s more likely to be the following:
Mac16,9 = M4 Max Mac Studio
Mac17,1 = Ultra Mac Studio
Mac17,2 = Ultra Mac Pro
The Ultra+ Mac Pro would come later in the cycle, in 1H 2026.
I tend to buy the idea that all M4 family chips have to fall under 16 umbrella, so 17 has to be already on M5. Then the fact there is only a single space of 16,9 heavily suggested no M4 Ultra exists. If M3 Ultra or any other form of unreleased chip still based on M3 tech or is on N3B fab, it probably should be under the 15 umbrella even.
So: Gurman has some outdated info, if not plain wrong.
nope the only truth i known is there are only m4 max studio my friend had been test. (it may have another variants, but not in my friends office)
Yes, M5 is the simplest explanation. And while M5 Ultra introducing the M5 generation would be unprecedented (to say the least), N3P stands to be a widely-adopted node with a lot of capacity, so it’s not a crazy idea, as far as I know.
But there is one other possibility, which is why I didn’t specify M5 earlier. That would be taking the next step with regard to the Ultra — the adoption of CoWoS-L advanced packaging. So “Hidra” could be a sort of hybrid, containing not only M4 but also other elements that are not compatible with the rest of the M4 family.
Well, that might be the reason for the Studio delay. A base Studio with a Max makes an upgraded Mini sound like a terrible value.
I know myself and others have mentioned that there is no way we would upgrade a Mini while a new a Studio was on the way. Way better value.
The base Mini and the base Studio are the way to go. And if you need even more storage and power, upgrade a Studio, not a mini.
Anyone that needs the fastest performing Mac can’t skip it.
You’re right
This makes me really think that we won’t see an updated Mac Pro until later this year, like he and others had said. At that point, they’d update the Studio again with whatever M5 Ultra-class chip they’re planning.
WWDC could be software-only focused, maybe with new displays announced.
WWDC could be software-only focused, maybe with new displays announced.
No. Power Users with a deep x86/Nvidia workflow would not flock to a Mac Pro. Power Users that need the fastest Mac (not very many) would flock to, literally, whatever Apple releases as the fastest Mac.
The Ultra IS still around! It will cost a pretty penny, sure, but for those that need the best performance from a macOS system (very few with very deep pockets), there’s just no other option.
Anyone who'd not consider it because of the chip name most likely doesn't really need that much power anyway and just wants bragging rights. True power users would judge it based on actual performance specs.
I think this still holds. I’ll bet the identifier for the M3 Ultra Mac Studio will be Mac15,1 or Mac15,14 (Mac15,2 is also available)
So Mac17,1 and Mac17,2 are Mac Pro.
This beg the question, the Mac Pro will be updated later this year, if it does use an M4 Ultra then we need another 16 identifier. If it is already on M5 then how come there are two 17 identifiers already spotted. The Mac Pro will need some big changes to warrant 2 default SKUs.
This thread is now full of fun. Gurman has put most posters to shame
Exactly. I think it’s because M5 will take the next step beyond the Ultra, into the realm of CoWoS-L — it’s actually reassuring in this respect that M3 Ultra now exists, since it shows Apple succeeding with the most difficult part of this (InFO-LSI) on a 3nm node. Nvidia’s Blackwell is still back on 5nm. That success should translate well to N3P.
The M5 Ultra+ (whatever they call it) could be something as simple as combining two M5 Ultras, but with the need for Private Cloud Compute hardware, all bets are off. I do think it’s reasonable to hope they’ll announce it at WWDC.