This week, Tim Cook promised something related to the Air lineup. After yesterday’s iPad Air, we all thought he was done. We didn’t realize that he still has two “one more things” up his sleeve. While one still belongs to the Air lineup, the other is the complete opposite, pushing the boundaries of technology. Ladies and gentlemen, say hi to the M3 Ultra.

Breaking the boundaries of a personal computer

Usually, a new chipset isn’t the most glamorous thing. However, the M3 Ultra is breaking barriers. Right now, it will give the most powerful CPU and GPU ever available for a Mac. It will also give the segment twice the Neural Cores. Finally, it will bring out the most unified memory ever in a personal computer.

The new Mac chip features up to a 32-core CPU with 24 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores. It delivers up to 1.5 times the performance of the M2 Ultra and 1.8 times that of the M1 Ultra. For GPU, the chip will have up to 80 cores available, delivering twice the performance of the M2 Ultra.

The chip also comes with a 32-core Neural Engine. It’s the most powerful system available for Apple Intelligence, AI, and machine learning.

Finally, the M3 Ultra can start with a whopping 96GB of high-bandwidth, low-latency memory. If that’s not enough, users can configure the system with up to 512GB of unified memory — a record for personal computers. It can handle large amounts of 3D rendering, visual effects, and AI.

Right inside the new Mac Studio

Today, Apple unveiled the new Mac Studio. This is the first device to drop with the M3 Ultra.

But first, users can also get a variant with M4 Max. This model features up to a 16-core CPU and an up to a 40-core GPU. Users can start with 36GB of unified memory but can go as high as 128GB.

Now, the Mac Studio with M3 Ultra is another beast entirely. Besides the impressive M3 Ultra, the machine can deliver 800GB/s of unified memory bandwidth. It also supports up to 16TB of SSD storage.

Both models of the new Mac Studio comes with Thunderbolt 5. It can deliver speeds of up to 120Gb/s. It also has a 10Gb Ethernet port, an HDMI port, an SDXC card slot, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.

Preorders for the new Mac Studio are now available. Units will start shipping on March 12. It will start at US$ 1,999.