Apple is gearing up for an M5 Ultra chip, and the Mac Studio might get it first

[Daniel Sims]

Looking ahead: Apple rolled out its baseline M5 chip across three devices in October, and the roadmap for M5 Pro and M5 Max models is already taking shape. However, little is known about Apple's plans for its next Ultra-tier SoC. With no clear sign of an M4 Ultra and mounting speculation around an M5 Ultra debut, Apple's decisions here will signal how aggressively it plans to push desktop performance, modular silicon design, and its rivalry with Nvidia and Intel.

Apple is reportedly preparing to refresh the Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra options. While the new mid-tier desktops do not yet have a confirmed release window, they could serve as the debut devices for Apple's upcoming top-tier SoCs.

Currently, only the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro are available with the M5 chip – and only in the standard variant. MacBook Pro models featuring the M5 Pro and M5 Max are expected to launch in early 2026, though it remains unclear whether this will occur before or after the Mac Studio refresh.

An M5 Ultra would seemingly confirm that Apple is skipping the M4 generation for its Ultra-tier processors. The last M Ultra device was the M3 Ultra-powered Mac Studio, which, curiously, launched in March alongside an M4 Max variant.

The Ultra chips essentially combine two Max chips to create a massive processor with an unprecedented number of cores for a desktop. The M3 Ultra Mac Studio features a 32-core CPU, a GPU with 80 cores, up to 512 GB of RAM, and up to 16 TB of storage.

Apple may also introduce two major changes to the MacBook lineup over the next 12 – 18 months. The first is expected to be the company's most affordable MacBook ever, starting at $599 or $699, aimed at competing with budget Chromebooks and Windows laptops. Measuring just 12.9 inches and powered by the iPhone 16's A18 Pro chip, the device would target basic tasks such as web browsing and word processing.

The second anticipated change is a MacBook featuring an OLED touchscreen, which could debut alongside Apple's first M6 processor. It remains unclear whether this model, projected for late 2026 or early 2027, will function as a 2-in-1, a long-requested form factor never seen in Apple's lineup.

With high-end iPads growing more expensive and iPadOS increasingly resembling a laptop interface, the line between Cupertino's tablets and laptops may soon blur.

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Apple is gearing up for an M5 Ultra chip, and the Mac Studio might get it first

 

[yRaz]

I'm considering picking up a Macbook just to play with for awhile and they tend to hold their value(and sell quickly) on the used market. I could probably get a used M3 and sell it a few months later for what I paid for it. I haven't used anything mac extensively essentially in almost 20 years. The company I'm working for hasn't 100% decided if they are going to move from Windows to Mac yet as the windows 11 transition hasn't gone horribly so far. We had very few computers have any issue upgrading from 10 to 11, it's just that even though we have enterprise licenses on all our equipment, Windows update seems to wreck havoc with our internal security about once every 6-8 weeks and people will get locked out when working remotely.

I keep hearing everyone sing the praises of the M series chips on the new macs. The thing is, I can't think of anything that I'd do on a Mac that would require that kind of compute. I hear about the Studios doing some AI work with their 512GB of unified memory, but they're 10 grand.

 

[airbornex]

The day Apple finally makes a touchscreen MacBook, half the internet will scream “finally” and the other half will insist Steve would never...

A $599 MacBook with an iPhone chip sounds wild until you realize it’s basically Apple saying “fine, here’s the computer you wanted for writing emails and watching Netflix, please stop buying Chromebooks.”