Apple has introduced its new M3 Ultra and M4 chips, which can be found in two new devices: the MacBook Air and the Mac Studio.
What to Know About the M3 Ultra Chip
The M3 Ultra chip delivers up to 2.6 times the performance of the M1 Ultra, says Apple, along with Thunderbolt 5 connectivity and support for more than half a terabyte of unified memory.
With double the Neural Engine cores, the M3 Ultra is built using Apple’s UltraFusion packaging architecture, which links two M3 Max dies over 10,000 high-speed connections that offer low latency and high bandwidth. This allows the system to treat the combined dies as a single, unified chip for massive performance, says Apple, while maintaining power efficiency.
M3 Ultra features up to a 32-core CPU with 24 performance cores and eight efficiency cores, delivering up to 1.5 times the performance of M2 Ultra, and up to 1.8 times that of M1 Ultra. It also has the largest GPU in any Apple chip, with up to 80 graphics cores that bring up to two-times faster performance than M2 Ultra, and up to 2.6 times faster than M1 Ultra.
The advanced graphics architecture in M3 Ultra features dynamic caching, along with hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing. A powerful 32-core Neural Engine fuels AI and machine learning (ML), and powers Apple Intelligence.
The unified memory architecture of M3 Ultra starts at 96GB and can be configured up to 512GB, or over half a terabyte. Additionally, M3 Ultra brings Thunderbolt 5 to Mac Studio for up to 120 Gb/s data transfer speeds, more than double that of Thunderbolt 4. Each Thunderbolt 5 port is supported by its own custom-designed controller directly on the chip. This provides dedicated bandwidth for each port on Mac Studio, making it the industry’s most capable implementation of Thunderbolt 5.
Apple Mac Studio With M3 Ultra and M4 Max
Along with the M3 Ultra chip, the new Mac Studio also features M4 Max and Thunderbolt 5 along with up to 512GB unified memory and an up to 16TB SSD, all in a compact design.
With a powerful CPU, Apple’s advanced graphics architecture, higher unified memory capacity, ultra-fast SSD storage, and a faster and more efficient Neural Engine, it’s a powerhouse device that affords a big leap in performance from older models.
Mac Studio is capable of running large language models (LLMs) with over 600 billion parameters entirely in memory, thanks to its advanced GPU and up to 512GB of unified memory with M3 Ultra. It’s also built for Apple Intelligence.
The new Mac Studio with M4 Max is the perfect choice for video editors, colourists, developers, engineers, photographers, creative pros, and other users who need to blaze through intensive workflows. It features an up to 16-core CPU, up to 40-core GPU, over half a terabyte per second of unified memory bandwidth, and a Neural Engine that is over three times faster than M1 Max.
The GPU in M4 Max also brings Apple’s advanced graphics architecture to Mac Studio for the first time, including dynamic caching, hardware-accelerated mesh shading, and a second-generation ray-tracing engine for more seamless content creation and gaming. Mac Studio with M4 Max starts at 36GB of unified memory, with support for up to 128GB, so you can do everything from sorting through thousands of images with speed and precision, to producing complex compositions with hundreds of tracks, plug-ins, and virtual instruments, all played in real time. With the powerful Media Engine in M4 Max, which features two ProRes accelerators, Mac Studio performance is fitting for videographers who can work with multiple streams of 4K ProRes.
Mac Studio with M3 Ultra delivers nearly two times faster performance than M4 Max in workloads that take advantage of high CPU and GPU core counts, and massive amounts of unified memory. Mac Studio with M3 Ultra is up to 2.6 times faster than Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, and up to 6.4 times faster than the 16-core Intel Xeon W-based Mac Pro. With the new M3 Ultra, Mac Studio features an up to 32-core CPU with 24 performance cores, 50% more than any previous Ultra chip and the most CPU cores ever in a Mac. It also offers an up to 80-core GPU, more than any Apple silicon chip; a powerful 32-core Neural Engine for on-device AI and machine learning (ML); and a high-bandwidth memory architecture that delivers over 800GB/s of unified memory bandwidth.
Mac Studio with M3 Ultra starts with 96GB of unified memory, which can be configured up to 512GB and up to 16TB of ultrafast SSD storage, so content and data can be kept locally. That’s enough storage for over 12 hours of 8K ProRes video. The advanced graphics architecture brings Dynamic Caching, along with hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing, so graphics workflows like GPU-based renderers are up to 2.6 times faster than Mac Studio with M1 Ultra.
Customers can pre-order the new Mac Studio starting today on apple.com/ca/store and in the Apple Store app in 28 countries and regions, including Canada and the U.S. It will begin arriving to customers and will be in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, starting Wednesday, March 12. Mac Studio starts at $2,699 and $2,399 for education.
Apple MacBook Air With M4 Chip
The new MacBook Air with an M4 chip comes in a new sky blue colour and delivers up to 18 hours battery life along with enhanced external display support. The ultra-thin laptop also comes equipped with a 12MP Center Stage camera.
The MacBook Air can support up to two external displays in addition to the built-in display. It has 16GB of starting unified memory along with macOS Sequoia and Apple Intelligence. Choose from the 13-inch or 15-inch size.
The new MacBook Air is up to two times faster than the M1 model.1 When compared to the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air, the M4 model delivers up to 23 times faster performance. Intel-based upgraders will get up to six additional hours of battery life. The powerful Neural Engine in the M4 chip accelerates AI-based tasks and is also up to three times faster than on MacBook Air with M1.
The new 12MP Center Stage camera affords improved video quality, and automatically keeps users centred in the frame as they move around. It also supports Desk View, which simultaneously displays the user and a top-down view of their desk, making video calls more engaging for those who want to show off their latest DIY project, for example, or present a prototype at work.
MacBook Air can power a multi-display setup, supporting up to two 6K external displays, in addition to its built-in Liquid Retina display.
Finished with a durable aluminum unibody enclosure and less than a half-inch thin, they come with Touch ID and the backlit Magic Keyboard with full-height function row. The display offers up to 500 nits brightness and the laptops Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. There’s MagSafe charging and a pair of Thunderbolt ports for connecting accessories like external storage and security keys, along with a 3.5mm headphone jack. Enjoy the three-mic array with enhanced voice clarity of calls and an immersive sound system that supports Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos.
Next month, macOS Sequoia 15.4 will make it easier to set up the new MacBook Air with iPhone. Bring iPhone close to Mac to sign in to their Apple Account to get files, photos, messages, passwords, and more on their new MacBook Air.
Customers can pre-order the new MacBook Air with M4 starting today on apple.com/ca/store and in the Apple Store app in 28 countries and regions, including the Canada. It will begin arriving to customers and will be in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, starting Wednesday, March 12. The 13-inch MacBook Air with M4 starts at $1,399 and $1,249 for education, and the 15‑inch MacBook Air with M4 starts at $1,699 and $1,549 for education. Both are available in sky blue, midnight, starlight, and silver.