[fartfeatures]

The M4 Max lacks the UltraFusion interconnect, making an M4 Ultra impossible. We might however see an M5 Ultra due to the new Fusion Architecture in the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips (just announced for the latest MacBook Pro), which uses a high-bandwidth die-to-die interconnect to bond two dies into a single unified SoC—similar in concept to UltraFusion but evolved for better scaling, efficiency, and features like per-GPU-core Neural Accelerators.

Reports and leaks strongly indicate Apple is preparing an M5 Ultra (likely fusing or scaling from the M5 Max using this advanced interconnect tech) for a Mac Studio refresh later in 2026, based on Bloomberg/Mark Gurman and other sources. This would bring back the top-tier "Ultra" option after skipping it entirely for M4.

[JumpCrisscross]

> M4 Max lacks the UltraFusion interconnect

Any idea why? Wasn't that on the M1?

[bombcar]

I suspect that the cost/benefit isn't there. Those who need the "biggest Ultra" will be happy with the previous generation or so, and so they'll refresh that on a 2 or 3 year cycle.

[rbanffy]

Given that generation gains are not sufficient to make a Max twice as fast as the previous-gen Ultra, a longer cycle is rational. The M3 Ultra is still the fastest M-series system.

[hexyl_C_gut]

M5 Max outperforms M3 Ultra.

M3 Ultra, 3.3k single core 27k multicore on Geekbench. https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/16959045

M5 Max, 4.3k single core 29k multicore https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/16956481

[rbanffy]

Fair - one of the fastest. Still, if you need more memory, it’s the M3 Ultra.