Apple (Hacker News):
Mac Studio with M4 Max is up to 3.5x faster than Mac Studio with M1 Max, and is up to 6.1x faster than the most powerful Intel-based 27-inch iMac.
[…]
Mac Studio with M3 Ultra pushes demanding workflows to a whole new level. It delivers nearly 2x faster performance than M4 Max in workloads that take advantage of high CPU and GPU core counts, and massive amounts of unified memory. Mac Studio with M3 Ultra is up to 2.6x faster than Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, and up to 6.4x faster than the 16-core Intel Xeon W-based Mac Pro.
[…]
Mac Studio with M3 Ultra starts with 96GB of unified memory, which can be configured up to 512GB — the most unified memory ever in a personal computer — and up to 16TB of ultrafast SSD storage, so content and data can be kept locally.
[…]
The new Mac Studio features Thunderbolt 5 ports that deliver transfer speeds up to 120 Gb/s, up to 3x faster than the prior generation, enabling faster external storage, expansion chassis, and powerful hub solutions. For those who rely on PCIe expansion cards for their workflows, Thunderbolt 5 allows users to connect an external expansion chassis with higher bandwidth and lower latency. And with M3 Ultra, Mac Studio now drives up to eight Pro Display XDRs at the full 6K resolution.
The only Xcode benchmark mentioned is that the Mac Studio with M4 Max is 2.1× faster than with M1 Max, so perhaps it doesn’t scale as well as other tasks.
Joe Rossignol:
This is the first Mac Studio refresh since it was updated with M2 Max and M2 Ultra chip options in June 2023.
The overall design of the Mac Studio has not changed.
Jason Snell:
It seems like a few things are going on here: first, that the development of the Ultra chip takes longer and that Apple won’t commit to shipping an Ultra chip in every chip generation. Second, that the first-generation three-nanometer chip process of Apple’s chipmaking partner, TSMC, isn’t as dead and buried as generally thought. Just this week Apple also introduced an iPad Air with an M3 processor, and of course the new iPad mini shipped with an A17 Pro processor based on the same process.
[…]
Though the prices for the two base models remain the same at $1999 and $3999, there’s one wrinkle: more memory. The M4 Max Mac Studio starts at 36GB of RAM, up from 32GB on the same-priced M2 Max model. And the M3 Ultra Mac Studio starts at 96GB, up from 64GB on the same-priced M2 Ultra.
Previously:
Update (2025-03-13): Joe Rossignol:
Apple told Ars Technica’s Andrew Cunningham that not every generation of M-series chips for Macs will include an “Ultra” chip.
“When asked why the high-end Mac Studio was getting an M3 Ultra chip instead of an M4 Ultra, Apple told us that not every chip generation will get an ‘Ultra’ tier,” he wrote.
Perhaps that means we will never get an M4 Ultra chip?
Hartley Charlton:
Ahead of time, the first reviews of the device have been shared by select publications and YouTube channels.
Jason Snell:
The new M4 Max Mac Studio is a solid update, given that the Mac Studio hasn’t been updated since the M2 generation. The M4 Max chip performs as you would expect. Apple provided me with a review unit elevated from the base model, with 16 CPU cores, 40 GPU cores, 128 GB of RAM, and 1 TB of storage, which would cost $3699 on Apple’s site.
Max Weinbach:
The Apple Mac Studio featuring the M3 Ultra represents the most powerful AI workstation currently available, tailored specifically toward AI developers’ demanding workflows. With its unprecedented unified memory (up to 512GB) and robust GPU performance, the M3 Ultra Mac Studio excels at running large language models (LLMs) efficiently, surpassing even high-end PCs in practical AI workloads. Its integration with Apple’s MLX framework provides optimized, user-friendly performance, establishing the Mac Studio as a uniquely capable machine for both current and future AI development.
Joe Rossignol:
Given that High Power Mode is offered on MacBook Pro models with the M4 Max chip, it seems like Apple has made a deliberate choice to not offer it on the Mac Studio with the same chip. It could simply be that the Mac Studio is a large desktop computer, meaning that High Power Mode is not necessary due to the lack of battery life or thermal constraints to begin with. However, we have not confirmed Apple's actual reasoning behind this decision.
Joe Rossignol:
The new Mac Studio models with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips support Low Power Mode, according to an Apple support document updated today.
Apple says turning on Low Power Mode reduces the Mac Studio's fan noise, which is useful for tasks that require a quieter environment, and it also allows for reduced power consumption if the computer is left running continuously.
Hassam Nasir (via Helge Heß):
Polysoft Services, a French repair store, launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for developing custom PCBs that users can easily swap in and out at much lower costs than Apple. Luke goes with this concept as he upgrades his Mac Studio from 512GB to a whopping eight TB across two modules, which is expected to retail in the US at $849 (799 Euros). A quick search shows us that Apple is charging $2,400 for a similar upgrade—that’s 2.8x more expensive!
Apple Hardware Announcement Apple M3 Ultra Apple M4 Max Mac Mac Studio macOS 15 Sequoia
Apple (Hacker News, MacRumors):
M3 Ultra is built using Apple’s innovative UltraFusion packaging architecture, which links two M3 Max dies over 10,000 high-speed connections that offer low latency and high bandwidth. This allows the system to treat the combined dies as a single, unified chip for massive performance while maintaining Apple’s industry-leading power efficiency. UltraFusion brings together a total of 184 billion transistors to take the industry-leading capabilities of the new Mac Studio to new heights.
[…]
It features up to a 32-core CPU with 24 performance cores and eight efficiency cores, delivering up to 1.5x the performance of M2 Ultra, and up to 1.8x that of M1 Ultra. It also has the largest GPU in any Apple chip, with up to 80 graphics cores that bring up to 2x faster performance than M2 Ultra, and up to 2.6x faster than M1 Ultra.
[…]
The unified memory architecture of M3 Ultra integrates the most high-bandwidth, low-latency memory ever available in a personal computer. Starting at 96GB, it can be configured up to 512GB, or over half a terabyte.
Previously:
Update (2025-03-14): Joe Rossignol:
Apple said the M3 Ultra chip is the “highest-performing chip it has ever created,” and the unverified benchmark result seems to confirm that. In the single result, the 32-core M3 Ultra chip achieved a multi-core CPU score of 27,749, which makes it around 8% faster than the 16-core M4 Max chip that previously held the performance record. The result also reveals that the M3 Ultra chip is up to 30% faster than the 24-core M2 Ultra chip.
As expected, the M4 Max chip tops the M3 Ultra chip in terms of single-core CPU performance by nearly 20%, according to the result.
Joe Rossignol:
In one Geekbench 6 result for the new Mac Studio, the M3 Ultra with an 80-core GPU achieved a Metal score of 259,668, up from 222,582 for the M2 Ultra chip with a 76-core GPU in the previous-generation Mac Studio. If that single result is accurate, then the M3 Ultra offers up to 16% faster graphics performance than the M2 Ultra.
Jason Snell:
The M3 Ultra chip is very much modeled on the M3 Max and offers twice as many CPU and GPU cores, Neural Engine cores, and the like. But look closer: The M3 Ultra offers a maximum of 512GB of RAM, four times the maximum 128GB of the M3 Max. And the M3 Ultra supports the faster Thunderbolt 5 specification, not the older Thunderbolt 4 of the rest of the family.
That means the M3 Ultra is an in-between chip, mostly based on the older M3 generation, but with a few high-end additions that push it up toward the M4 in terms of capability.
[…]
Still, the M3 Ultra’s arrival is weird enough to make it feel like we’re all missing part of the bigger picture. If there’s no other shoe to drop, why did the M2 Ultra-based Mac Pro not get its own M3 Ultra chip bump?
Update (2025-03-17): treblewoe (Threadreader):
When challenged why on earth in 2025, Apple is shipping an M3 Ultra when the M4 has been out for ten months, they spun, “not every chip generation will have an Ultra config.” While technically true due to Tim’s greed, it is conscious deception on their part.
Here’s what really happened. Jumping back to late 2020, Apple shipped the very first M1 silicon in Macs alongside the A14 Bionic from the iPhone 12 upon which it is heavily based. Chip design is an incredibly difficult task, and reuse of elements is key to making variants.
[…]
When the Studios and Mac Pro sold poorly, Apple made the call in the last quarter of ’23 to cancel revising the Studio or Mac Pro with an M3 Ultra – too low volume to be worth it. Tragically this was the precise moment when Apple was realizing local compute was vital.
By mid ’24 when all those high-memory configs were selling like crazy (relatively) due to LLMs, Apple had already made two terrible mistakes: killed the M3 Ultra that could’ve sold right into that demand. And worse, they had deleted the UltraFusion from the M4 entirely.
There will never be an M4 Ultra not due to some policy, but due to one of the worst near-misses in computing history. And given how long it took them to emergency ship the M3 Ultra (which was probably initially for Private Cloud Compute), the M5 might not be interposed either.
Previously:
Apple Hardware Announcement Apple M3 Ultra Mac Processors
Apple (Hacker News, MacRumors, ArsTechnica):
Apple today announced the new MacBook Air, featuring the blazing-fast performance of the M4 chip, up to 18 hours of battery life, a new 12MP Center Stage camera, and a lower starting price. It also offers support for up to two external displays in addition to the built-in display, 16GB of starting unified memory, and the incredible capabilities of macOS Sequoia with Apple Intelligence — all packed into its strikingly thin and light design that’s built to last. The new MacBook Air now comes in an all-new color — sky blue, a metallic light blue that joins midnight, starlight, and silver — giving MacBook Air its most beautiful array of colors ever. It also now starts at just $999 — $100 less than before — and $899 for education, making it an incredible value for students, business professionals, or anyone looking for a phenomenal combination of world-class performance, portability, design, and durability.
The previous model started with only 8 GB of memory and went up to 24 GB. Between the RAM increase and the price decrease, the base model is much better than before. Upgrading to 32 GB of memory costs $400, though, and of course the SSD prices are still outrageous.
Howard Oakley:
In Apple’s current M4 models, the smallest internal storage on offer is 256 GB. For the great majority, that’s barely adequate if you don’t install any of your own apps.
[…]
Don’t be tempted to skimp with a USB 3.2 Gen 2 external SSD if that’s going to be your main storage. While it might seem a reasonable economy now, in 3-5 years time you’ll regret it. Besides, it may well have severe limitations in not Trimming as standard, and most don’t support SMART health indicators.
Thus, your expected saving by buying a Mac with only 512 GB internal storage, and providing 2 TB main storage on an external [Thunderbolt] SSD, is around $/€/£ 200-220, and that’s really the only advantage in not paying Apple’s high price for an internal 2 TB SSD.
Using an external boot drive just doesn’t work very well these days, in my experience, especially with a laptop and if you want to put the Mac to sleep. On the other hand, if you mostly need the storage for a media library, USB is fine and much less expensive. A 2 TB Samsung T7 is currently only $130 vs. $800 for Apple’s 2 TB upgrade.
Many noticed rapid changes in their SSD wear indicators, and some were getting worryingly close to the end of their expected working life after just three years. Users also reported that SSD performance was falling. The reasons for those are that SSDs work best, age slowest, and remain fastest when they have ample free space. One common rule of thumb is to keep at least 20-25% of SSD capacity as free space, although evidence is largely empirical, and in places confused.
Jason Snell:
The M4 also completely unlocks a feature that some MacBook Air fans have been clamoring for since the Apple silicon era began: The ability to drive two external displays and its own display, simultaneously.
[…]
A big quality-of-life upgrade in this model is the addition of a new 12-megapixel camera that supports Center Stage. These specs are identical to those found in the recently upgraded M4 iMac and M4 MacBook Pro. If this upgrade is anything like those, it’ll be a major improvement.
Christian Selig:
New MacBook Airs look great but Apple really needs to R&D the tech to add an extra USB-C port so you can charge from either side
Basic Apple Guy:
The Apple Color Czar needs to get Apple’s Blue Accessory Department under control. 11 current products, all with different blues…
Previously:
Update (2025-03-14): Tim Hardwick:
The Mute key, a staple on Mac keyboards since the PowerBook G3 'Lombard' debuted in 1999, has finally received a logical redesign on the new MacBook Air with M4 chip. As spotted by iCulture, the key now displays a speaker with a strike through it – matching the actual on-screen indicator that appears when you press it in macOS.
Jason Snell:
The new M4 MacBook Air is the Mac most people should buy.
[…]
I decided to run some benchmark tests on all four generations of Apple silicon MacBook Air, along with a last-generation Intel model from 2020. The charts are below, but the results are what you’d expect—there’s a huge leap from Intel to Apple silicon, and Apple’s been pushing performance forward with each generation of chip. (This new M4 actually offers the largest jump in processor performance between generations in the Apple silicon era.)
[…]
In normal lighting, the new MacBook Air camera didn’t appear that different from previous generations—it offered a little better contrast. As the lighting got worse, it showed that it could do a better job. Those statements give short shrift to the versatility of the camera, however. Because it’s a 12MP widescreen camera, the default, comparable webcam view is actually zoomed in via Center Stage—and zooming out exposes that the camera covers much more ground than its predecessors.
[…]
I really don’t mean to give Apple a hard time, but I had to double-check my shipping manifest because I was convinced the company had sent me a silver laptop to review. But when I placed the MacBook Air next to other modern Apple silver products, it’s clearly a different shade, and at certain viewing angles the blue undertone becomes more pronounced.
Joe Rosensteel:
“Could you tell me which one is the new sky blue?” (Points at silvery one) “And that MacBook Pro is the regular silver?” “Yes.” “Ok…”
Joe Rossignol:
Ahead of time, the first reviews of the laptop have been shared by selected publications and YouTube channels, offering a closer look at new features and changes.
Update (2025-03-18): Tanner Bennett:
PSA: you can buy 192 GB of high-end DDR5 RAM for $600.
Apple still charges $400 for 16 GB.
Apple Hardware Announcement Apple M4 Mac MacBook Air macOS 15 Sequoia Multiple Displays Solid-State Drive (SSD) Storage
Florian Albrecht:
Taska is a beautiful and versatile Mac native app for issue tracking.
Since working on issues typically is a team effort, it’s not an isolated or proprietary app. Instead, it acts as a frontend to the popular services GitHub and GitLab, maintaining full compatibility with other users of those services, whether they are using Taska or not.
[…]
We are celebrating our acquisition of Taska by providing 50% on all our products. We even set up a promotion page for that.
Zac Hall:
The app is available as a free download from the Mac App Store with a 14-day free trial and an unlimited read-only mode. Users can purchase the full app for a single $119.99 charge, or subscribe annually for $39.99/year.
Previously:
Acquisition Bargain Bug Tracking Business GitHub Kaleidoscope Mac Mac App macOS 15 Sequoia Programming Taska
