Apple is testing two high-end Mac computers with the M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips—likely the next-generation Mac Studio that could be unveiled at the WWDC.
- Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman recently said Apple might unveil “several new Macs” at WWDC, and now he suggests that the M2 Mac Studio could be one of them.
- He’s learned that the Cupertino company is currently testing a pair of high-end Mac systems using the current M2 Max and the unreleased M2 Ultra chips.
- The Mac Studio currently runs Apple’s M1 Max and M1 Ultra homegrown chips. It’s also the only machine with the M1 Ultra.
WWDC2023: The next Mac Studio looms
The machines have the “Mac14,13” and “Mac 14,14” identifiers not used before, suggesting a major refresh. Apple does offer M2 Max systems, such as the 16-inch MacBook Pro, but has yet to release a computer with an M2 Ultra processor.
“That second processor would replace the M1 Ultra model currently featured in the Mac Studio,” Gurman speculated in a last-minute rumor on Bloomberg.
The well-informed reporter claims the M2 Ultra features 24 CPU and 60 GPU cores, supporting up to 192 gigabytes of unified memory. As mentioned, the M2 Max version in testing is virtually the same chip as the one powering the 16-inch MacBook Pro with up to 12 CPU cores, 3 GPU cores and 96GB of unified RAM.
What about an Apple silicon Mac Pro?
It’s unlikely that one of these computers is an Apple silicon Mac Pro. Even though it’s overdue by a year, an Apple silicon Mac Pro is understood to have been postponed as Apple focuses its energies on the rumored headset. Also, Apple probably prefers to give the Mac Pro workstation an M3 treatment.
The M1 Ultra chip currently only powers the Mac Studio, which was released over a year ago in March 2022. Gurman also expects a 15-inch MacBook Air laptop to be unveiled at the WWDC. Of course, the star of the show should be Apple’s heavily rumored mixed-reality headset and the new xrOS software powering it.
The weeklong event runs June 5-9, with the keynote scheduled on Monday, June 5, at 10am PT / 1pm ET; the same day trade-ins for three new Macs should start.