More details about what to expect from the M3 lineup of chips continue to emerge. We’re expecting the first M3 Macs to hit the market in October, and now Bloomberg has more details on what to expect from the high-end M3 Ultra chip coming in 2024.
In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that the M3 Ultra will offer a major increase in CPU cores, combined with a more modest bump in GPU cores. Here are the reported specs of the M3 Ultra, according to Gurman:
- Base M3 Ultra specs: 32-core CPU with 24 performance cores and eight efficiency cores, 64-core GPU
- Base M2 Ultra configuration: 24-core CPU with 16 performance cores and eight efficiency cores, 60-core GPU
- Top-end M3 Ultra specs: 32-core CPU with 24 performance cores and eight efficiency cores, 80 GPU cores
- Top-end M2 Ultra specs: 24-core CPU with 16 performance cores and eight efficiency cores, 76-core GPU
As you can see, that’s a major increase in CPU cores for the M3 Ultra in comparison to the M2 Ultra, while increase in GPU cores is less impressive. What’s particularly notable about the increase in CPU cores, however, is that the increase apparently comes in the form of additional performance cores rather than additional efficiency cores.
As a refresher, Apple Silicon chips like the M-series chips in the Mac are designed to intelligently manage performance between the efficiency and performance cores. The vast majority of the time, macOS tasks can be handed by the efficiency cores, but when you are really stressing your machine, the performance cores kick in to give you that added boost.
The first M3 Macs are expected in October, including a new 13-inch MacBook Air, a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, and a new 24-inch iMac. The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M3 Pro and M3 Max chips are expected first in 2024, followed by new versions of the Mac Pro and Mac Studio with the M3 Ultra.
Interestingly, Gurman’s newsletter includes that caveat that the M3 Ultra will only come to the Mac Studio and Mac Pro “if Apple continues making those.”
Gurman also reiterates that the M3 lineup could include changes to the amount of memory. The MacBook Pro models that Apple is testing internally feature 36GB and 48GB of RAM, neither of which is offered as a current option for the M2 MacBook Pro (16GB, 32GB, 64GB, and 96GB).
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