Mac Studio with M5 Ultra next year
Apple's workstation currently comes in a strange configuration: M4 Max meets M3 Ultra. Next year, everything should land on the M5.
A Mac Studio, here an older model.
(Image: Apple)
Apple plans a faster version of its compact high-performance computer Mac Studio for the coming year. The desktop workstation is said to switch from the M3 Ultra directly to the M5 Ultra, according to a report by the Bloomberg financial news agency. This means there will be no M4 Ultra model (anymore), which observers had already expected. It remains unclear how Apple's most expensive desktop, the Mac Pro, will fare.
Last Mac Studio on the market for a year in spring
The Mac Studio was last updated in March 2025 – in an unusual way. Instead of equipping all models with the then-current M4 chip, Apple decided to include an Ultra variant of the M3 alongside an M4 Max variant. In practice, this meant that the fastest model did not receive the latest chip. There was therefore no Ultra variant of the M4, and it is now unlikely to be released. Instead, Apple is moving directly to the M5 Ultra.
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So far, the chip series only exists in the standard variant as M5, used in the iPad Pro M5 and as the only Mac so far in the MacBook Pro M5. M5 Pro and M5 Max variants are expected in spring 2026 – then in the MacBook Pro. A Mac mini M5 and M5 Pro, as well as an iMac M5 and a MacBook Air M5, are also on Apple's list. The M5 is based on TSMC's third-generation 3-nanometer technology and promises more performance with lower power consumption. AI functions have also been improved.
UltraFusion M5 Ultra also in the Mac Pro?
An M5 Ultra would consist of two combined M5 Max chips, internally connected by Apple's virtually latency-free UltraFusion technology. Apple did not succeed in implementing this with the M4, so the company switched to the older M3. Once the M5 Ultra is available, it would be easy for Apple to use it in the Mac Pro as well.
This has stalled at the now outdated M2 Ultra, but the manufacturer continues to sell it at full price of at least 8299 Euros (Tower, Rack version 8999 Euros). The machine is expandable, but Apple still does not allow external GPUs. This is likely to remain the case with the M5 Ultra in a future Mac Pro – the on-chip GPUs take precedence.
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