With tech giant Apple planning to update its entire line of Mac products with the M4 chip from late 2024 to 2025, including the mid-range desktop model Mac Studio, there is much anticipation in the industry.
Overview of M4 Chip Rumors
It is reported that Apple is developing a series of M4 chips, including the standard M4, M4 Pro, M4 Max, and a high-end version codenamed “Hidra.” This high-end chip might be an “Ultra” version equivalent to the M2 Ultra, or even a more powerful version.
In the M2 series, the M2 Ultra is actually composed of two M2 Max chips. There is currently no M3 Ultra, but the architecture of the M3 Max chip has led to speculation that future Ultra chips may be standalone chips rather than composed of two Max chips.
Since the M3 Max seems to lack the UltraFusion interconnect technology that allows the M2 Max chip to be used as an Ultra, an Ultra chip may need to be developed specifically, tailored for heavy workloads. Apple may adjust the number of performance cores and efficiency cores, focus on increasing power, and add more GPU cores.
Given that the current Mac Studio models use the M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips, we can expect the M4 models to be equipped with M4 Max and M4 Ultra (or their equivalent versions) chips. Apart from the Mac Pro, the Mac Studio is the only Apple model to use an “Ultra” chip.
The Mac Studio is designed for Mac users who need advanced computing and graphics processing capabilities for system-intensive workflows. Currently, there is not much difference between the Mac Studio and the Mac Pro, so Apple may plan to introduce a more powerful M4 Ultra version for the Mac Pro.
Apple plans to invest heavily in artificial intelligence technology across its product line in the coming months, so it is expected that the M4 will focus on enhancing AI and machine learning performance. Rumors suggest there will be an updated neural engine with more cores to handle AI tasks.
Memory Updates
The next generation of Mac Studio and Mac Pro may support up to 500GB of unified memory, compared to the current maximum of 192GB.
Questions about the M3 Chip
With Apple planning to refresh the Mac Studio with the M4 chip in 2025, it is unclear whether there will be an M3 update this year.
The iMac, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air series have been updated to the M3 chip, but the Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro still use the M2 chip. With M4 updates planned, Apple may skip the M3 update for its desktop models, but it is also possible that we will get an M3 update this year and then an M4 update next year, with a year’s gap between each update.
Apple is testing Mac Studio versions equipped with M3 processors, so it is feasible to have an update this year and another update next year.
Design Changes
Since its initial launch in March 2022, the Mac Studio has not undergone any design updates, but it has not been long enough to warrant a refresh. Apple tends to wait several years before making significant changes to Mac hardware, so we do not expect the Mac Studio to receive a design update in the near future.
It may not be until 2026 or 2027 that Apple considers updating the design, or possibly even longer. The Mac mini has not seen significant design changes since 2010.
Release Date
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the Mac Studio with the M4 chip is expected to be released in mid-2025, which may mean it could be unveiled at the 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference.
