Apple is said to announce another 3nm chipset in the future, and according to earlier tests of the M3 Max, it could offer the largest performance leap of a single generation. Unfortunately, according to the latest report, the M3 Ultra, which would be Apple’s fourth SoC mass produced on the cutting-edge manufacturing process, has not gone into broad testing, suggesting that its launch will happen after some time.
Assuming Apple sticks with the same ‘UltraFusion’ process, the M3 Ultra could offer an even higher number of performance and efficiency cores
Apple started with its M3 transition with the newest 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models because they are low-volume products, according to Mark Gurman’s ‘Power On’ newsletter that was spotted by 9to5Mac. Since there are a limited number of 3nm wafers available, much of the supply goes towards mass producing the A17 Pro found in the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, as these sell in higher numbers. Since the Mac Studio and Mac Pro are sold even less than the MacBook Pro, it makes sense that broader testing of the M3 Ultra has not commenced yet.
It was previously reported that the tape-out costs alone of the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max are around $1 billion, and adding the M3 Ultra to the mix might have raised that initial investment. With such a mammoth sum allocated towards developing an SoC that will be found in low-volume hardware, it is not a business strategy that Apple wishes to pursue, as the company would no doubt be at the losing end of the profit battle. Regardless, if the technology giant employs the same ‘UltraFusion’ process for the M3 Ultra as it has for the M2 Ultra and M1 Ultra, we could witness one of the biggest performance leaps between a single chipset generation.
For one thing, the M3 Max’s 16-core CPU is a thoroughly impressive configuration, being able to beat the M2 Ultra’s 24-core CPU configuration in Geekbench 6’s multi-core testing, with its 40-core GPU being only marginally slower than a laptop RTX 4080 in GFXBench’s Aztex Ruins benchmark. The M3 Max also features the highest transistor count difference compared to any direct predecessor, with a 37 percent gap, whereas the M2 Ultra and M1 Ultra share just an 18 percent difference. Thanks to the increased transistors of the M3 Max, we can see Apple outfitting the M3 Ultra with almost double that amount, leading to incredible performance-per-watt metrics.
Unfortunately, since the M3 Ultra’s development work has not proceeded beyond the broader testing phase, it is unclear when Apple intends to launch it. Regardless, we will keep our readers updated on the latest information.
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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