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Why the M3 Ultra chip is more than it appears to be
Just when we thought the M3 was in the ground and Apple had rapidly moved every single Mac model over to the fresh and new M4 processor, in rolls the high-end Mac Studio, equipped with the impossible-to-predict, never-before-seen M3 Ultra processor.
That’s right—in March 2025, a full 16 months after the M3 Pro and M3 Max chips arrived on the scene, Apple has introduced a new chip in the old, nearly retired family. And it means that the new Mac Studio comes simultaneously in M3 and M4 varieties—with the M3 model being the high-end configuration
So confusing. I admit to being a bit baffled when I heard the news, too. But the more I think about it, the more I have come to grips with the fact that Apple’s chip strategy isn’t quite as straightforward as it would like us to believe. What if I told you that the M3 Ultra isn’t quite an M3 or an M4 chip? Follow me, friend, and let’s see how deep this rabbit hole goes.