Apple took a different approach earlier this year when, instead of announcing the base M3, it unveiled three different SoCs, all based on TSMC’s advanced 3nm process. However, given the company’s previous launches, we expect an M3 Ultra, which will likely be found in the new Mac Studio and Mac Pro. Unfortunately, according to the latest report, both powerful machines are not expected to launch until the end of 2024, and there is also a possibility that they will be further delayed.

Updated Mac Studio and Mac Pro launch may be extended to 2025, with early information stating that the M3 Ultra has yet to go into broader testing

It has only been a few months before we got the M2 Ultra version of the Mac Studio and Mac Pro, so Apple probably wishes to milk the revenue from these high-end Macs before it prepares to offer the updated variants sporting the M3 Ultra. According to Mark Gurman’s latest ‘Power On’ newsletter, neither model may arrive before the end of 2024, though he hints that the launch might be delayed to 2025, depending on Apple’s plans.

An earlier report from Gurman mentioned that the M3 Ultra has not gone into broader testing yet, which suggests that Apple may take its sweet time with the unveiling as it attempts to take advantage of the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max releases. After all, the tape-out process alone for the three chipsets was estimated to have cost Apple $1 billion, so the M3 Ultra launch could be deliberately delayed as the technology giant attempts to recoup its investment caused by TSMC’s expensive 3nm process.

Fortunately, the development cost for the M3 Ultra might be lower compared to the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max, which might be another reason why the updated Mac Studio and Mac Pro might be delayed. TSMC is said to ramp up its 3nm ‘N3E’ process for various clients, including Qualcomm and MediaTek, so it is highly probable that Apple will give chip orders to the Taiwanese manufacturer for this technology, too.

N3E is said to have higher yields and a more appropriate pricing than the N3B process used to fabricate and mass produce the A17 Pro, M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max, so the M3 Ultra’s lower cost will benefit Apple, but according to the performance numbers, there is no need to rush with the launch. After all, when the M3 Max can perform faster than the 24-core M2 Ultra in multi-core tests while running in a notebook chassis, Apple can choose its own timeline. Also, since the M3 Ultra is likely based on two M3 Max SoCs fused together, the performance gap will be significant, making it worth the wait.