A new report indicates that Apple is charting an uneven upgrade path for its high-end desktop, the Mac Studio. According to Bloomberg, the company has two new models in the pipeline, but they will arrive on an unusual timeline that skips an entire processor generation. This strategy comes shortly after a recent round of Mac price increases and a notable specification change: the Mac Studio with Apple M3 Ultra now tops out at 96 GB of unified memory, a sharp reduction from the 512 GB maximum offered when the flagship desktop first launched.
An M5 Ultra debut arrives behind the curve
The first of the two upcoming models will feature an Apple M5 Ultra chip and is reportedly on track to reach the market later this year. However, its launch is timed alongside the introduction of the MacBook Pro with Apple M6, meaning the Mac Studio will once again ship with a CPU that is a full generation behind Apple’s latest mobile processor. While the M5 Ultra will still represent a performance leap for the desktop, the scheduling reinforces a pattern where the Mac Studio lags behind the company’s laptop silicon cadence.
Apple skips the M6 generation to focus on AI
Looking further ahead, Bloomberg’s sources claim that Apple is already developing a Mac Studio with an M7 Ultra, expected to debut in 2028. Notably, the company is said to be bypassing not only the M6 Ultra but also the M6 Pro and M6 Max chips entirely. The decision is reportedly driven by a strategic reallocation of engineering resources toward artificial intelligence. By scaling back the M6 series, Apple aims to invest more heavily in the M7 architecture, which is expected to deliver substantially better AI performance and keep the company competitive in an accelerating arms race for on-device machine learning capabilities.
Cooling and design considerations for 2028
The M7 Ultra model is anticipated to bring a redesigned, more powerful cooling system to handle increased thermal demands. Beyond the thermal solution, it remains an open question whether the Mac Studio’s external design will see a meaningful overhaul. Observers have drawn parallels to the Mac mini, which retained its fundamental appearance for 15 years before receiving a visual refresh, suggesting that the Mac Studio could stick with its current compact aluminum form factor for the foreseeable future. In the nearer term, the M5 Ultra model is not expected to introduce significant cosmetic changes, with a true redesign more likely tied to the increased power requirements of the 2028 M7 Ultra machine.
Sources: www.bloomberg.com, unsplash.com