Apple M4 Ultra
Status as of September 3, 2025
As of today, Apple has not officially announced an M4 Ultra chip. In the desktop lineup, the current Mac Studio is offered with M4 Max and M3 Ultra (not M4 Ultra). Apple has indicated that not every generation in the M-series receives an Ultra variant.
Where M4 Ultra Fits: Expected Role in the Lineup
With a high degree of probability, M4 Ultra would debut in a refreshed Mac Pro. Multiple reports and code references point to ongoing work on an M4-class Ultra for the next Mac Pro (codename Hidra appears in some findings), with tentative timing discussed as late 2025. Earlier reporting also suggested the Mac Pro would skip M3 and move straight to a top-tier M4 family configuration.
What to Expect in Terms of Configuration (Rumors + Lineup Logic)
Historically, Ultra versions combine two Max dies via the UltraFusion interconnect. The official M4 Max scales up to 16 CPU cores (12 performance + 4 efficiency) and up to 40 GPU cores; by extension it’s logical to expect up to 32 CPU cores and up to 80 GPU cores for a prospective M4 Ultra. Sources also speculate about a higher-throughput Neural Engine focused on Apple Intelligence and other AI workloads. Important: these figures remain unconfirmed until an announcement.
Architecture and Technologies
The M4 family is fabricated on TSMC’s second-generation 3-nm process (N3-class). CPU cores are updated (Apple calls its big core “the fastest single-threaded” in the family), GPU gains hardware-accelerated ray tracing improvements, and the Neural Engine/ML accelerators see major speed-ups. Thunderbolt 5 arrived with M4 Pro/Max—so it’s reasonable to expect it on an M4 Ultra as well.
Memory and Bandwidth
Baseline reference: M3 Ultra supports up to 512 GB of unified memory with ~819 GB/s bandwidth; M4 Max supports up to 128 GB with ~546 GB/s. If Ultra again combines two “Max” dies, then capacity and bandwidth on M4 Ultra would likely be no lower than M3 Ultra’s and probably higher thanks to a faster memory controller and contemporary LPDDR5X modules. Exact numbers will be known only at launch.
Why M4 Ultra Didn’t Arrive in the Spring
When Apple refreshed Mac Studio on March 5, 2025, the pairing of M4 Max + M3 Ultra was described as a deliberate choice, emphasizing that “not every generation gets an Ultra.” In the press and community, some speculated about power/thermal constraints in the compact Studio chassis, but that remains speculation until a Mac Pro update lands.
Performance: Reasoned Expectations
Given Apple’s M4 architecture disclosures and the usual doubling strategy behind Ultra, you can reasonably expect:
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Strong single-thread gains versus M2/M3 Ultra thanks to new M4 performance cores.
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A doubled GPU configuration compared to M4 Max—most impactful for 3D, VFX, and AI inference on the GPU.
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Faster AI throughput via a more capable Neural Engine and increased memory bandwidth.
These are model-based projections; final answers require tests on shipping systems.
Target Workloads
A putative M4 Ultra targets post-production studios, 3D rendering, scientific computing, AI model development, large codebases, and projects where memory footprint and massive parallelism matter most. Given M3 Ultra’s 512 GB UMA and AI-leaning use cases, M4 Ultra would likely push this focus further.
Announcement Timing: What Sources Say
The most likely window is late 2025 alongside a Mac Pro refresh; some reporting allows for a possible slip into 2026 if Apple changes course. Until Apple’s keynote, treat any dates as directional.
Risks and Uncertainties
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Specs (core counts, clocks, memory bandwidth) may deviate from the simple “double the Max” pattern.
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Positioning: Apple could retain the “Ultra” name but introduce another tier above it, altering expectations.
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Availability and pricing will depend on lineup priorities and foundry capacity.
Conclusion
M4 Ultra is the anticipated M4-family flagship aimed at Mac Pro-class, maximum professional workloads. As of now, its existence is supported only indirectly (code traces and reports), with no official specs or dates. By lineup logic, you’d expect roughly 2× the M4 Max resources, an upgraded Neural Engine, and Thunderbolt 5; on memory, at least the M3 Ultra level (up to 512 GB) with potential bandwidth gains. Definitive answers will come only with Apple’s announcement and independent benchmarks showing how far the M4 architecture scales in the Mac Pro form factor.