- A MAC PRO is again rumored about launching later in the year
- It comes with an M4 Ultra based on clues drawn from Apple’s internal code
- M4 Uitra could run with a 32-core CPU and an 80-core GPU in theory
The next iteration of Mac Pro can see Apple turning on the computer with an M4 Ultra chip we’ve heard again.
It’s been a few years since the last incarnation of Mac Pro that used M2 Ultra, so it would be a significant jump in the performance to upgrade to a theoretical M4 Ultra – but Macworld reports that is what is in the cards.
This is based on Apple’s internal code, which Macworld got a glimpse of somehow that contained the identifier ‘T8152’ – and we are told that this suggests the use of the M4 Ultra, the codename ‘Hidra’ (a name previously sent on the rumor mill via Bloomberg).
There is not much else with this rumor, and Macworld has no details of spec, although it theorizes that the M4 Ultra could run with a 32-core CPU and an 80-core GPU.
As always with this kind of leakage it could be real and yet never get to execute. It may just show us that Apple has tested a Mac Pro configuration in these lines – but it is possible that this machine may never see the light of day that ends at some point in prototype.
Analysis: M4 or wait for M5?
This leak tells us a few things. First, Apple staff can’t spell ‘Hydra’ (yes, okay, alternatively let’s say Apple engineers can’t think up decent code names). And by being serious that it seems to be more and more likely that a new Mac Pro design will look up later in the year.
In fact, Mac Pro, which came out later in 2025, was complete with the M4 Ultra, proposed over a year ago now, so this latest block of speculation is backing the previous hum on grapevine.
On top of the weight of rumors starting to add, there is also the fact that for Apple is Mac Pro in something of a strange situation right now. This is due to the M4 Pro, which bends some significant performance muscles and surpasses MAC Pro’s M2 Ultra. The result is that you can buy a Mac Mini (with M4 Pro) and get better performance – at least in terms of raw CPU power – than Mac Pro, which is not a good look for the seriously expensive computer.
Not that MAC Pro compete with Apple’s compact Mac Mini, of course-it is a heavy-weight pro-targeted PC that offers a lot of benefits in terms of memory loads and PCIE expansion options. It’s actually a very different beast, but still Apple has to keep Mac Pro on a reasonable foot in relative performance conditions – again which means the rumored update with an M4 Ultra seems more likely.
A two-year gap also seems to be a fair enough timeframe for an update, and it feels somewhat unlikely to me that Apple will wait for the M5 series before pushing a new Mac Pro considering the above reasons.
That said, there are those who have argued that the M4 Ultra will not happen -due to problems around clamping two M4 Max chips together, which is what Ultra Chips do -and that Apple will actually wait for the M5 series to make another Ultra model.
So everything is pretty up in the air for now – but if an M4 Ultra will happen, it will definitely be in a new Mac Pro and we will probably see more leaks fast enough. If Whispers goes quietly over the next few months, it tells its own story.
