Apple M3 Ultra CPU might blow away M3 Max – but we won’t find out for a long time yet

MacBook Pro 16-inch with screen open in an office
(Image credit: Future)

Apple’s M3 Ultra chip could be quite some way off even though the company launched a clutch of fresh silicon right out of the gate this time around.

This is according to Mark Gurman, who drops some info on the future Apple SoC in his newsletter for Bloomberg (as noticed by 9to5Mac).

As you likely saw, Apple launched the vanilla M3 alongside M3 Pro and M3 Max processors, with the latter two being a surprise (normally there’d be a gap between the release of the basic model and these turbocharged spins on the SoC).

Gurman notes the reason for this triple launch was that Apple needed to have the Pro and Max variants for use in the high-end MacBook Pros that the company unleashed at its recent ‘Scary Fast’ event.

The well-known leaker further explains that there’s only a certain amount of 3nm silicon available for Apple to use, most of which goes towards the high-demand iPhone, so the company needed lower volume products for the new M3 chips – pricey MacBooks, in other words.

Gurman then notes that the Mac Studio and Mac Pro are even slower selling products, but they would need a successor to the M2 Ultra – and this hasn’t yet gone into ‘broad testing’ we’re told.


Analysis: An ultra-long wait, then?

In other words, Apple is still a long way off releasing an M3 Ultra, and even though we got the M3 Pro and Max immediately, it’s likely going to be a long wait before we see an Ultra spin on the new silicon.

When the M3 Ultra arrives, if Apple sticks to its current way of doing things, the chip is likely to be very impressive, as it’ll presumably be a pair of M3 Max SoCs bolted together (as is the case with the M2 Ultra). And that current top-end offering, the M3 Max, is nicely peppy already, whereas the M3 Pro is not that much of an improvement over the M2 Pro, so Apple is favoring making the gap wider between its middling and high-end silicon, it seems.

A new Mac Studio is underway at Apple, Gurman tells us, but the next M3 products – arriving in 2024 – should be MacBook Air models (13-inch, 15-inch) and a revamped Mac mini. Notably, the leaker doesn’t say that a Mac Pro is in the works, even, so that could be even further out than any Mac Studio.

You might also like

TOPICS

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).

Read more
Mac Studio from above.
New benchmark suggests Apple's M3 Ultra may not be much faster than the M4 Max - only a minor uplift in multi-core performance
Sergii Figurnyi
Apple's M5 chip is rumored to be in mass production - but we're still waiting for M4 MacBook Airs
Mac Studio M4 Max (2025)
Apple levels up the Mac Studio with the M4 Max and unveils its most powerful chip ever, the M3 Ultra
A mockup of the possible Apple M3 Ultra logo
Performance isn't the only reason you should buy Apple's M3 Ultra Mac Studio - it's reportedly one of the most power-efficient processors too
smiling person freelancer outdoors working on laptop computer MacBook by Apple with smartwatch Apple Watch, iPhone smiling, show thumb up, like gesture.
Apple fans, get ready for another MacBook refresh - M4 MacBook Air reportedly set to launch this year, amid M5 chip rumors
MacBook Pro 16-inch (2023) in use in a studio
The MacBook Pro could get Apple’s M5 chip before the iPad Pro, but don’t expect groundbreaking changes
Latest in CPU
The main battle pass characters in Fortnite Lawless, including Midas, Sub Zero and a large wolf-man
You'll finally be able to play Fortnite on Windows 11 Arm-powered laptops as Epic Games partners with Qualcomm
Ryzen 9000 promotional material
AMD's most powerful processor ever actually runs better on Windows 10 than Windows 11
An AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D on its retail packaging
I've reviewed three generations of 3D V-cache processors, and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is the best there is
AMD Ryzen 9000 3D chips
AMD officially announces price and release date for Ryzen 9 9900X3D and 9950X3D processors
A chip wafer manufactured at Intel Foundry
Can 18A save Intel from being devoured by its rivals – and Wall Street?
A stock photo of a man saying 'no thank you' to a gift box bearing the AMD Ryzen logo.
I'm tired of waiting for AMD's entry-level Ryzen 9000 series chips
Latest in News
Super Mario Odyssey
ChatGPT is the ultimate gaming tool - here's 4 ways you can use AI to help with your next playthrough
Brad Pitt looks over his right shoulder with 'F1' written behind him
Apple Original Films will take you behind-the-scenes of a racing cockpit in this new thrilling F1 movie trailer
AI writer
Coding AI tells developer to write it himself
Reacher looking down at another character from the Prime Video TV series Reacher
Reacher season 3 becomes Prime Video’s biggest returning show thanks to Hollywood’s biggest heavyweight
Finger Presses Orange Button Domain Name Registration on Black Keyboard Background. Closeup View
I visited the world’s first registered .com domain – and you won’t believe what it’s offering today
Image showing detail of the Leica D-Lux 8
Still can't get a Fujifilm X100VI? This premium Leica compact costs less, and it's in stock