What else is in the air this week: A new Mac Studio with a weird chip

When Tim Cook posted on Monday that “there’s something in the Air” this week, we expected a new iPad Air (which happened), maybe an 11th-gen iPad (which also happened), and a new MacBook Air (coming Wednesday). But surprisingly, we’re hearing that Apple is tossing in a one-more-thing-like announcement into the week in the form of a new Mac Studio.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is planning to update the high-end desktop for the first time in nearly two years. But he also includes a headscratcher: it won’t include an M4 Ultra. Rather, Apple may introduce the M3 Ultra, which most people had thought was as good as dead.

Apple has used M-series Max and Ultra chips in the Studio and Mac Pro but of the same chip generation. Gurman reports that Apple is going to use an M4 Max and an M3 Ultra, rather than M4 versions of both chips. It seems like an odd thing to do, as the M3 Ultra will be faster than an M4 Max, but the gains won’t be as dramatic as they should be.

Why wouldn’t Apple just go with an M4 Ultra? Perhaps there are manufacturing issues. Or perhaps Apple wants to create a distinction between the Mac Studio and the Mac Pro, which is rumored to get the M4 Ultra. We should find out more tomorrow, but for now, you can read all about the rumors of the M4 Mac Studio and the M4 Ultra Mac Pro while we try to figure this one out.