I think it's far more strange that they skipped updating the M1 iMac. That seems odd to me. Much more so than not updating a product that is less than a year old.
For some reason the studio did not get the m2 chip update.
To me the studio is the perfect form and package and a good spiritual successor to the trash can Mac Pro.
But it’s sad that there is no m2 update, or at least sell the m2 pro along side the m1 ultra.
Could this be apples signal that the studio is over and would be replaced by the rumored Mac Pro update? I hope not. That thing is way to large
Apple rarely updates all of their macs at once. None of this is unusual.
If you look at the last 10 years of macs, apple very consistently updates macs throughout the year. Usually in small chucks (like they did today with 3 new Macs). Sometimes they only announce one new Mac.
Also, in the intel days, Apple very often updated their desktops on a 2-year cadence, even though intel had processors they could use every year. The iMac for example went years where it was updated every 2 years. The Mac mini famously went 4 years without an update.
Of course since the transition, there have been so many variables that it has become hard to predict: apple creating their own chips, supply shortages, the pandemic, etc. but my assumption is that once things settle and Apple can maintain consistency in their routine, we will see that desktop computers will get updates every 2ish years, while laptops will get updates every year. Of course the big variable now is Apple makes their own chips so they need to have those ready to release.
My other speculation here is that on even number chip years (M2, M4, M6) Apple is not going to create the ultra variant of their chip. The Ultra is a very niche chip that doesnt sell in high volumes, so for Apple they likely would put the ultra chips on a 2 year cycle (so M1, M3, M5). This tracks with my prediction that desktops will get updates every 2 years.
So if I’m right; the iMac should get an update this year if they announce M3. I think this is likely as I think Apple is now done with all M2 products. I think M3 will come at WWDC this year with the MacBook Air and maybe iMac. Later this year or maybe next year they’ll announce M3 Pro/Max/Ultra and bring this to MBP, and the Mac Studio. They may even tease the Mac Pro this year which would be built off M3 too (maybe M3 Extreme??)
TL;DR - it’s not unusual for apple to only update some macs and not others
