The Mac Studio is one of Apple’s most innovative products.
It combines a sleek, simple design with exceptional performance thanks to its M-series chips. In March 2022, Apple released the first Mac Studio with M1 Max and M1 Ultra chips. In June 2023, it was updated with M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips. Rumours about the next Mac Studio with the M3 chip are now starting to appear as WWDC 24 approaches.
Release date
and price
The Cupertino company usually releases new Mac Studio models during its spring events or at WWDC in March or June. According to Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, the next Mac Studio may launch in the second half of 2024, most likely at WWDC. Another report from the site ICsmart also says the new Mac Studio is expected around mid-year.
There are no reports yet of possible price changes. Current Mac Studio prices are:
- Mac Studio with M2 Max costs $2,499
- Mac Studio with M2 Ultra costs $4,999
Apple may keep these prices with the M3 chip upgrade, but a price increase is also possible, as happened with the MacBook Pro M3 Max, which went up by $100 compared with the previous model.
Design and features
For the next Mac Studio, there is no information suggesting any design changes. Since this is only its third year on the market, it is unlikely that the company will alter the current design. The only recent exception in the Mac lineup is the new Space Black colour option for the MacBook Pro.
All other Mac Studio features should remain the same. That means ports, connectivity, SSD sizes and display support are not expected to change.
M3 Max and Ultra chip
The main, and likely only change in the next Mac Studio will be the chip. The M3 Max and M3 Ultra are the latest chips that the Mac Studio is expected to adopt.
The current MacBook Pro with M3 Max comes in configurations with a 14-core CPU / 30-core GPU or a 16-core CPU / 38-core GPU. Apple’s Ultra chips double the CPU and GPU core counts of the Max versions. Mark Gurman said in January 2024 that this pattern should continue, with the M3 Ultra offering up to 32 CPU cores and 40 GPU cores. In addition, according to a report from The Elec, the M3 Ultra will use an improved 3 nm manufacturing process.
Conclusion
The next Mac Studio, equipped with Apple’s M3 chip, is designed to be a powerful and versatile device capable of handling the most demanding tasks. We still do not know the exact launch date, but June at WWDC 24 is the most likely window. Features and design should remain unchanged, despite a potential price increase. The M3 Max and M3 Ultra chips, which should deliver substantial gains in performance and energy efficiency, are what will truly make the difference. If you are considering buying a Mac Studio, it is worth waiting for the new model.
