M4 Ultra: Everything We Know About Apple's Enigmatic Hydra Chip.
The Apple Hydra chip, also known as M4 Ultra, is expected to arrive this year. Here are all the relevant details about its performance, price, features, and more.
Apple's Mac engineers have been working intensively in recent years, achieving the launch of high-performance chips. This activity has led to speculation about upcoming innovations that may be in development, including a secret chip known as "Hydra." If you're interested in learning more about what to expect from this chip, below is a summary of the latest theories and rumors.
Regarding the Mac models that will receive the Hydra chip, it is believed to be an "Ultra" level chip, specifically the M4 Ultra. It is anticipated that this chip will be available for the Mac Studio and the Mac Pro, although its inclusion in other models is not expected. Historically, only high-power Macs have had Ultra chips, as models like the MacBook Pro and the Mac mini do not require or could not support that level of processing power.
As for its price and release date, rumors suggest that the launch of the Hydra chip could happen in 2025. However, the exact date will vary depending on the Mac model. The Mac Studio is expected to be the first to receive this chip, with reports suggesting a release between March and June 2025. The Mac Pro, on the other hand, would debut in the second half of the same year. Additionally, there is speculation that Apple might announce the Hydra chip during its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June 2025, as has happened in previous years.
Regarding performance and specifications, the M4 Ultra is expected to significantly outperform the previous M2 Ultra. It is anticipated to feature a CPU with up to 32 cores and a GPU with up to 80 cores. In comparison, the current M2 Ultra has a 24-core CPU and a GPU that can be configured with up to 76 cores. There has been speculation that Apple might allow its high-end Macs to have up to half a terabyte of memory, which would be a significant advancement over the current limit of 192GB.
While specific performance remains uncertain, some analyses predict that the M4 Ultra could surpass benchmark results such as Geekbench, with an estimated score of around 37,315 in single-core performance, an increase from the M4 Max. Similarly, scores in Metal are also expected to increase significantly.
On the other hand, there has been talk of an "Extreme" chip that never materialized. Sources within Apple suggest that the company has shelved the development of this chip due to its complexity and high production costs, making it economically unviable. The report indicates that there are at least three tiers for the M4 chips, including the basic "Donan," the "Brava" (M4 Pro), and the "Hydra" (M4 Ultra). The absence of references to the Extreme chip at those levels suggests that its release is unlikely in the short term.
This information gives us an interesting outlook on what Apple may bring in the future, highlighting its focus on quality and performance over the speed of release.
