After the release of the M3 iPad Air and an upgraded base-model iPad, it seems Apple plans to release the long-anticipated MacBook Air with an M4 chip tomorrow. However, this might not be the only new Mac unveiled this week.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the release of a new Mac Studio is “imminent.” However, while this new model will feature the new M4 Max chip, it will actually get the unreleased M3 Ultra processor instead of the M4 Ultra option we’d be expecting.
Here’s what he said on X: “It’s not an ‘Air’ — but the new Mac Studio, codenamed J575, appears to be imminent. It could be announced as early as this week along with the new MacBook Airs. There are signs these will come with an M4 Max but that its new Ultra chip will actually be an M3 Ultra.”
While Apple has released M1 Ultra and M2 Ultra iterations of the Mac Studio, it would be odd if the new generation doesn’t follow suit with the latest Ultra processor or if Apple launches an M3 option that might be better in some tasks but on par with others when compared the M4 Max option.
Gurman gives an interesting explanation for why Apple might add an unreleased M3 Ultra processor instead of the M4 Ultra variant we expect: “With an M3 Ultra going into the Mac Studio, Apple could differentiate from the Mac Pro, which could then get the M4 Ultra. Right now, the Mac Studio and Mac Pro oddly both have the M2 Ultra and same overall performance.”
That being said, Apple could make a future Mac Pro the only computer with the company’s best chip. While this makes sense, I’d assume Apple would be planning to redesign the Mac Pro to make it enticing to professional users, as it doesn’t currently feature the modularity of its predecessor.
