The last desktop Mac that was released was the M2 Mac mini, and while it's powerful with the M2 Pro chip within its aluminum frame, it's perhaps not what those looking for something more Studio or Pro shaped might have wanted. It looks now, however, like the more professional consumer will be catered for by M2, by not only a rumored appearance from M2 Ultra, but also some new desktop Macs to stick it in.
In a piece for Bloomberg, Mark Gurman reckons that Apple has been testing new desktop hardware with M2 Ultra at the core. With WWDC just around the corner now, it's very easy to get excited about what new computers could be on the horizon – and perhaps they'll make an appearance at Apple's show.
New Macs incoming
It looks like there are two new Macs being tested internally at Apple, codenamed "Mac 14,13 and Mac 14,14." One of them runs the M2 Max chip that we've already seen in the MacBook Pro 14 and 16-inch, and then the other runs the M2 Ultra chip, which will "replace the M1 Ultra model currently featured in the Mac Studio, a high-end desktop announced in March 2022."
Power users are one of the key parts of Apple's user base, and they've had little to be excited about since the Mac Studio, apart perhaps from the M2 Max MacBooks Pro. Now it looks like there'll be something again for the professional, with more powerful Macs on offer.
We can only speculate what these Macs could be. The first, Gurman tells us, runs an "M2 Max processor with eight high-performance cores — components for the most demanding tasks — as well as four efficiency cores and 30 graphics cores." This is combined with 96GB of memory, and the latest version of macOS Ventura.
The second runs the new rumored M2 Ultra chip, which "sports 24 processing cores, doubles the performance of the M2 Max model. The chip includes 16 high-performance cores and eight efficiency cores, as well as 60 graphics cores." There are also configurations with 64, 128, and 192GB of memory. These two machines could be new Mac Studios – but unlikely to be new Mac Pros.
The Mac Pro remains an interesting model in the current Apple lineup. It's the only Mac that doesn't yet have an M-chip inside, instead continuing to use Intel hardware. Also curious, and the reason why the two Macs being tested aren't likely to be a Mac Pro is the internal model designation that Gurman tells us is Mac 14,8. As the astute may have noticed, that is a different designation to the two Macs being tested.
So there will likely be some new Macs shown at WWDC – but whether that's a new Mac Studio, a new iMac, or even a new iMac Pro remains to be seen in a few days. Which Mac do you hope Apple will unveil at the show? Join our forum to get stuck into the conversation.
