| Cult of Mac

WWDC22 predictions and those disappointing M1 Ultra speed tests [The CultCast]

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The CultCast Apple podcast: We have a date for WWDC22! Our WWDC22 predictions, M1 Ultra speed tests and more.
Our big peek into Apple's future plans is just two months away!
Image: Killian Bell
WWDC22 - Brought to you by CleanMyMac X

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: We’ve got a date for WWDC22! Now, the only question is, what tricks will Apple pull out of its virtual hat this year?

Also on The CultCast:

  • Is Apple’s M1 Ultra chip ultra-disappointing? The first speed tests look underwhelming.
  • The latest on Apple’s quest to develop a folding iPhone.
  • Ukrainians use Find My to locate thieving Russian troops.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video livestream, embedded below.

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  • The new Jamf Fundamentals plan gives small-to-midsize businesses the tools they need to easily manage all their Apple devices. CultCast fans can manage three devices free! Sign up at jamf.com/beyond.
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Wait times for Mac Studio stretch into April

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Colleen Novielli, the Mac product line manager, details the new Mac Studio.
The Mac Studio was recently unveiled and wait times are already into April. And into May in some cases.
Photo: Apple

The launch date for the Mac Studio is March 18, but preorders placed today won’t arrive until well after that. The wait for the version with the M1 Ultra processor is six weeks or more.

Just because the new desktop is already backordered doesn’t automatically mean there’s huge demand. But it’s not a bad sign, either.

Why M1 Ultra adds 2 pounds of heavy metal to Mac Studio

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Why M1 Ultra adds 2 pounds of heavy metal to the Mac Studio
Mac Studio with M1 Ultra weighs a third more than with an M1 Max. He’s why.
Photo: Apple

Configure the new Mac Studio with a super-fast M1 Ultra processor and the weight goes up a full 2 pounds. Weight doesn’t matter for a desktop, but people have been curious what about where all the extra comes from.

Apple has an answer. And it all comes down to heat and heavy metal.

How is Mac Studio with M1 Ultra so darn expensive?!

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Apple blew our minds this week with its all-new and somewhat unexpected Mac Studio. The diminutive desktop, which has the same footprint as Mac mini but is almost three times as tall, is by far Cupertino’s most powerful machine to date when you buy it with the incredible new M1 Ultra chip.

There’s just one problem with that. The impressive M1 Ultra model, which is significantly more powerful than even the fastest Mac Pro, starts at a whopping $3,999 — a considerable jump from the M1 Max model, which starts at $1,999. And I can’t work out how it’s so darn expensive!

Apple calls new M1 Ultra ‘world’s most powerful chip for a personal computer’

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Apple's new M1 Ultra chip is the most powerful one ever in a personal computer.
Apple's new M1 Ultra chip is the most powerful one ever in a personal computer.
Photo: Apple

When Apple rolled out the first M1 chip in late 2020, it seemed like a pretty big jump forward. Then the new M1 Pro and M1 Max in MacBook Pro models blew people away in October 2021. Now the Cupertino tech giant calls its latest M1 Ultra chip in the new Mac Studio desktop computer “the next giant leap for Apple silicon and the Mac.”

It’s almost like when Neil Armstrong got back from taking “one giant leap for mankind” on the moon in 1969 — if someone had told him, “you can toss that jalopy you went up in. Now we’ve got a real spaceship for ya.”

Apple said at its “Peek Performance” event Tuesday that the M1 Ultra is “the world’s most powerful chip for a personal computer.”

Apple’s new Mac Studio is a blazing-fast desktop with an M1 Ultra chip

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Apple Mac Studio
Mac Studio is by far Apple's fastest desktop to date.
Photo: Apple

Apple on Tuesday gave us our first glimpse at its brand-new Mac Studio — its first desktop featuring the M1 Ultra chip. It’s bigger than a Mac mini but smaller than a Mac Pro, and it’s the most powerful machine Apple has built to date.

Its M1 Ultra chip makes Mac Studio twice as fast as a high-end MacBook Pro, with a 20-core CPU, 64-core GPU, and up to 128GB of unified memory. And it’s still amazingly efficient.