Yes
Example, for the new Macbook Pro M2 pro/max and Mac mini M2, it has been closed for 4 hours before updating the customer version (B2C) ^_^
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Mac Studio Speculation [Merged]
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Example, for the new Macbook Pro M2 pro/max and Mac mini M2, it has been closed for 4 hours before updating the customer version (B2C) ^_^
I’m not sure what you mean by that. It was closed?
Edit: I see you’re referring to when the whole store goes down before they announce a new product. I don’t think a 4 hour difference on a website is really much of a marker.
We’re talking about shipping times, so we’re looking at the next month or so. Right now we don’t have any news of an Apple event or press release coming anytime soon. So a 4 hour difference IMO is sort of irrelevant.
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I meant, during the last Mac updates, the B2B store was closing, but not the B2C one. It has a different structure, and stock too (no possibility to make an order to pick up in store, only by delivery, possibility of payment via bank transfer,...)
It's a good way to see the "corporate" stock
Right. I understand, but that doesn’t really correlate to the Studio getting a refresh soon.I meant, during the last Mac updates, the B2B store was closing, but not the B2C one. It has a different structure, and stock too (no possibility to make an order to pick up in store, only by delivery, possibility of payment via bank transfer,...)
It's a good way to see the "corporate" stock
Putting a faster, but not new, chip in an otherwise identical box might not warrant an Apple event. An M2 Ultra might count as "new" but the process of putting two Max chips together may not have changed, so there wouldn't be that much to talk about.
I'm not seeing any real world tests to see if an M2 pro is faster than an M1 Max. My impression is that it wouldn't be, because the memory access is half as fast, and the "10 cores" include 8 performance cores on the M1 Max, but only 6 on the M2 Pro. The reason this particular comparison is interesting to me is that you can price a Mac Mini at the same cost as an entry level Studio by adding ram and choosing the chip with extra graphics cores. (19, vrs 24 graphics cores, and two extra performance cores, matching the M1 Max.)
Interesting.
26 Studios for sale on the US Refurbished page with delivery in 1-2 business days.
That's the most I've seen at any one time.
26 Studios for sale on the US Refurbished page with delivery in 1-2 business days.
That's the most I've seen at any one time.
I agree a simple spec bump could be done via press release - however, the ultra variant is currently Apples most powerful chip, and I feel Apple would want to make a big deal out of that.
Another big factor here is the making of the ultra chip itself. The ultra chip first requires that the M2 Max variant have Ultrafusion packaging already on it - something AFAIK we don’t know if it does. I truly think the M2 generation will not have the ultra variant. I don’t think Apple sells enough Ultra chips to justify that cost every year.
I don’t think it matters that you can technically spec a Mac mini closer to a Mac Studio either. Aside from the CPU, the M1 Max is still better than a spec’d out M2 Pro. Plus I just don’t think Apple cares because I think their plan is to update the studio with M3 Max/Ultra sooner rather than later.
The entire M2 generation IMO is a stopgap. It’s really not a huge leap forward compared to M1. There’s also major signs that Apple is behind their original schedule. Chip design happens years ahead too, so my whole theory is that Apple needs to play catch-up now to maintain their competitive edge. TSMC is heavily into 3nm so it’s not unrealistic to think this spring we will begin the next generation.
Going forward, if they keep the Mac Studio, I think it’ll get updated every other generation. Apple has done this with the iMac for years, Mac mini notoriously was forgotten about, and Mac Pro had its own issues. Apple has a history of focusing more on laptops and the desktops get updated randomly or whenever apple feels like it. If history shows us anything, apple doesn’t care to update desktops every year.
I'm willing to wait for the a new Studio or a larger iMac, I'm in no way inclined to get a M1 Ultra nor the M2 Mini nor a M1 iMac. I'm sure an update will happen eventually. But I think they want the VR headset to make it's appearance first, especially since it's a new market entrant. If done properly it will take sales from the iPad and some MacBooks if capable of actual workflow. Imagine having an entire VR office with a hanging clock and all through a VR headset. You could be doing workflow with a waterfall in the backdrop or at a beach. Of course this is all depending on what they want to be compatible. It could simply be geared towards games and minor apps that allow you visualize your room with furniture for sale or wall colors or some other tool for sales. After all isn't that all they want to do is sell you a life outside of your own? If they did care, then an M2 Ultra is a simple feat to upgrade both the Studio and the current iMac line ups. Maybe they want to tweak some things so that a simple logic board upgrade on their older machines isn't so easy. Like move where screws line up, hard drive placement, or whatever. I think this all in one design is horrible for people who keep their machines for over 5 years. I'm hesitant to update/upgrade my older machines, but RAM and hard drives are high costs from apple erroneously.
You'd need a better "killer app" than some fake backgrounds and a hanging clock (actual clocks are available & much cheaper) to persuade me to wear goggles for 8 hours a day, even if it runs a spectacular 30 minute demo before the splitting headache and nausea sets in. Then the usable VR office is going to need the sort of careful, scientific user interface design that went into the original GUI concept, and which apparently died out sometime in the 00s in favour of trendy "UX" buzzword bingo and screen designs optimised for powerpoint presentations. Not saying that Apple can't/won't crack it - but I don't think it's going to be cannibalising desktop Mac sales in the next 12 months. Wouldn't be surprised if the first AR announcement is a developer kit.
As for M2/M3 Studios - I have a M1 Max Studio and wouldn't consider upgrading for another year or two by which time we'll probably be talking about the M4 (that, or where to scavenge enough firewood to cook a rat). If I were buying today, it's only the entry-level, 24 GPU, Studio that has really been "lapped" by the M2 Pro Mini so I'd probably just shell out for the 32 GPU Studio - I like the front ports and think it looks more repairable than the Mini (true, it's easier to get the logic board out of the Mini - but then you get to throw the logic board away and replace it, where as the Studio has replaceable daughter boards for most of the connectors and the SSD).
Right now, its only really the entry-level, 24 GPU, Studio that's being lapped by the M2 Pro Mini, and, post-Apple Silicon, 18 months seems to be the minimum time between updates, so an update is hardly overdue. I think the short-term future of the Mac Studio is probably tied up with what is going to happen with the Mac Pro, which is currently one of life's mysteries and could be anything between Apple pulling some new silicon out of the hat to make a true 2019 MP replacement or releasing M2 versions of the Studio and rebranding them as "Mac Pro" (if Apple can stick "Mac Pro" on a Trashcan they can stick it on a Studio). Some Mac Pro possibilities would clash with the Studio, some wouldn't.
8 Refurbished Mac Studios just popped up on the Apple Australia refurb page, more than I've ever seen. Perhaps a refresh is going to happen?
The headset is not going to replace those devices, at least not this year. If all the main rumors are true, this device seems like it’s going to have limited battery life, and is going to lack a major tent pole app. I also don’t think many people are going to want to wear this device for long periods of time.
It’s also likely that they only announce the headset at WWDC, but they don’t actually ship the product until early next year. Since this is a brand new category for Apple, looking back at their history, they have often announced new products, months, and months before they are ready to ship, when it is a brand new product category.
Of course, Apple isn’t going to delay their new lineup of Mac and iPad until next year. Even if they do start shipping the headset shortly after WWDC, again, I don’t think it’s supposed to replace those devices, especially at the price point we have been hearing.
Eventually, one day, I do think some type of headset or glasses will eventually replace most Apple products, but I think that is still a ways away.
Feel like an updated Mac Studio could get a press release, or be a final part of a presentation that covers the Mac Pro, assuming the Mac Pro is ready!
I think a headset like you describe is years (maybe even decades) away (even on a tech standpoint) from replacing a device like an iPad, given well documented issues with a software platform/interface (hello Facebook VR avatars!), packing display tech, CPU, connection (of some sort to the interweb) and most importantly battery life!
You have to wonder how sales of Mac Studios are going with it still having the M1 chip and I assume a number of buyers holding off for an updated version. Seems strange to have everything move to M2 except their "top" system (excluding Mac Pro which is still open to debate).
No one cares about the iMac. But lots of people (myself included) are just waiting for an updated Studio to purchase. It's insane that it's still M1 only.
Me too, was just confirming the desktop line up. Ready to get the studio just not sure how long I’ll wait for M2, I think there was a few months between the m1 launch and the studio. I’m lucky in that I can wait, so hope we will not be waiting too long
Same boat here, my 6,1 pro is chugging along, an M2/M3 Studio is my next Mac I think.
Same here but it is my 5.1 Mac Pro (w/Open Core and Big Sur) that will hopefully keep going until an M2/M3 Studio.
not sure if it means much but Expercom is showing out of stock for base studio and 3-8 weeks for custom for ultra version. 1-2 weeks delay for the max model, supply chain or April event to chat about pro and refreshed studio?
The Mac mini was on a 4-year-old chip generation and yet Apple still sold it. Mac Pro took 6 years to get updated.
Apple always weighs the cost of RnD and manufacturing over updating. In those 4 years of the Mac mini, could Apple have easily put in new intel chips? Of course. Did they? No.
For years the iMac was updated every-other generation on intel. Again, could they have done updates every year? Of course. Did they? No.
I know Apple silicon could be a different era for the Mac in terms of update cycles, but I don’t want my eagerness for new products to cloud my judgement on what’s realistic here. Until we see Apple update all their products every generation, I’m going to stay skeptical.
Are you basing that off of what you see on macrumors? This site is highly biased and likely not a good indicator on what the actual market wants.
If you have some good statistics though I’d love to see them!
It’s about one year old right now. It’s not that odd it hasn’t been updated yet, especially if Apple plans to wait until The M3 generation.
What I meant by "no one cares about the iMac" is that it's not the kind of Mac people choose when they care about having the most powerful Mac they can get... therefore updating the CPU is not exciting.
I cannot disagree with you more with your statement that it's not odd the Studio hasn't been updated. The length of time it has been out is irrelevant. Once the Mac Mini was updated to M2, the Studio should have been also updated as quickly as possibly because it's beyond stupid we have to choose between an M2 Pro Mac Mini and an M1 Mac Studio. That choice is so dumb that most people including myself are still holding off buying a new Mac because it just doesn't make any sense right now.
This about sums it up for me. I figure once they finally announce the Mac Pro, the Studio would be most likely to get an update around the same time— even if they switch gears and make the Ultra exclusive to the Mac Pro. (Which would facilitate easier Studio updates in the future when Max variants are ready for the laptop line, etc.). Even if that weren’t the case, if those chips are available (M2 Max already is, and M2 Ultra supposedly is what the Pro will feature), I don‘t see why a performance-based segment wouldn’t be updated.
Hoping for but not holding my breath for some kind of April announcement or press release. (Ross Young still seems to think a 15” Air is going to be released in April. Until he doesn’t, of course. So it seems like there’s yet some potential for an April Mac event or release of some kind.)
If considering how the AS Soc's are evolving.
2022 Mac Studio M1 Max provides 10 CPU core, 32 GPU cores or M1 Ultra 20 core CPU, 48 GPU core
2023 14/16 MBP M2 Max provides 12 CPU core, 38 GPU cores.
Would assume it won't be to 2nd half of 2024 for M3 Max, or a M3 Ultra provided they still want to? You can see that a M3 Max will likely be faster than the M1 Ultra by then, may not have as many CPU cores or GPU cores but more than equal to anything M1 Ultra benchmarks.