Today, Apple has revealed a new version of the Mac Studio, marking the second update to the desktop powerhouse introduced in 2022. This new Mac Studio is available in two chip variants: the M4 Max and the M3 Ultra.
Introducing the New Mac Studio
According to Apple:
Apple has announced the new Mac Studio, the most powerful Mac ever crafted, powered by the M4 Max and the new M3 Ultra chip. This ultimate professional desktop promises exceptional performance, extensive connectivity with Thunderbolt 5, and enhanced capabilities within a compact and quiet design that fits neatly on any desk. The Mac Studio can manage even the most demanding tasks, thanks to its robust CPU, Apple’s advanced graphics solution, increased unified memory capacity, ultra-fast SSD storage, and a more efficient Neural Engine. It offers significant performance improvements over the previous generation, while making a substantial leap for users transitioning from older Macs.
Although the M4 Max chip has been available in the MacBook Pro since last fall, the M3 Ultra chip makes its debut in this machine. Here’s what Apple has shared about the M3 Ultra chip:
- Up to a 32-core CPU featuring 24 performance cores and eight efficiency cores, making it the highest core count in any Mac
- Up to an 80-core GPU, surpassing all other Apple Silicon chips
- Nearly twice the performance of the M4 Max for tasks leveraging high CPU and GPU core counts
- Up to 2.6 times faster than the Mac Studio with M1 Ultra
For more comprehensive details about the M3 Ultra chip, check out our complete article here.
The M3 Ultra configuration of Mac Studio begins with 96GB of unified memory, which can be upgraded to 512GB. Additionally, its SSD storage can reach an impressive 16TB.
On the connectivity front, the latest Mac Studio includes two USB-C ports and an SD card slot at the front. The rear hosts four Thunderbolt 5 ports, an HDMI port, a 10Gb Ethernet port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and two USB-A ports.
Apple states:
The new Mac Studio comes equipped with Thunderbolt 5 ports that provide transfer speeds of up to 120 Gb/s—up to three times faster than the previous generation—facilitating quicker access to external storage, expansion chassis, and powerful hub solutions. Users reliant on PCIe expansion cards can leverage Thunderbolt 5 for higher bandwidth and lower latency. With the M3 Ultra chip, the Mac Studio supports up to eight Pro Display XDRs at full 6K resolution. It also offers an extensive range of connectivity options for professionals, including a 10Gb Ethernet port, an HDMI port, and an easy-access SDXC card slot on the front for importing photos and videos, alongside built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support.
The new Mac Studio is priced starting at $1,999 for the M4 Max variant, while the M3 Ultra variant starts at $3,999.
Below are the base configurations associated with each starting price:
M4 Max:
- 14-core CPU
- 32-core GPU
- 16-core Neural Engine
- 32GB unified memory
- 512GB SSD
M3 Ultra:
- 28-core CPU
- 60-core GPU
- 32-core Neural Engine
- 96GB unified memory
- 1TB SSD
Pre-orders for the new Mac Studio are open now, with the first shipments expected to commence on March 12. For those interested, a fully configured M3 Ultra Mac Studio can amount to $14,099.
Favorite Mac Accessories:
Follow Chance: Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastodon.
