Of the recently announced MacBook Pros and Mac minis, only the Mac Studio (along with the Mac Pro) has yet to be updated with the M2-class chip. However, according to Mark Gurman’s latest report, we may not see an update to this machine anytime soon. Instead, Apple can skip the update for the M2 series and wait until the M3 series.
In addition, Gurman pointed out that the upcoming Mac Pro based on Apple Silicon will be “very similar in functionality to the Mac Studio.” Last month Apple was reported to be working on the “M2 Extreme” chip for this machine. However, it proved too ambitious for production and Apple had to scale back its plans. Consequently, the upcoming machine will have non-user upgradeable storage and the same design as the current Intel-based Mac Pro. With that in mind, it’s highly likely that the M2 Ultra will find its way to the Mac Pro first. This way it will further differentiate the pro from the studio.
Just like the current M1 Ultra, the M2 Ultra will likely double the capabilities of the recently introduced M2 Max chip found in the high-end MacBook Pro models. Therefore, the lineup of desktop Macs will consist of Mac mini with M2/M2 Pro, iMac with M1, Mac Studio with M1 Max/M1 Ultra, and Mac Pro with M2 Ultra. Since the Mac Pro will have the same chip that the Mac Studio would logically feature, the Mac Studio seems to have been a stopgap solution for professionals who couldn’t wait for the next Mac Pro update, much like the introduction of the iMac Pro in 2017. When Apple introduced the redesigned Mac Pro in 2019, the iMac Pro was finally discontinued in 2021. With the next Mac Pro expected, the future of the Mac Studio remains to be seen.
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Source: appleosophy.com
