Product Code Database
The Mac Studio is a small-form-factor workstation computer developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is one of four desktop computers in the Mac lineup, sitting above the consumer-range Mac Mini and iMac, and positioned below the Mac Pro. It is configurable with either the M4 Max or M3 Ultra system on a chip.
The Mac Studio was initially offered in two ARM-based SoC: the M1 Max or the M1 Ultra, which combines two M1 Max chips in one package. It has four Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, two USB-A ports, HDMI (up to 4K @ 60 Hz), 10Gb Ethernet with Lights Out Management and a headphone jack. The front panel has two USB-C ports (Thunderbolt 4 in M1 Ultra models) and an SD card slot (that supports SDXC cards and UHS-II bus), making it the first desktop Mac since the 2012 Mac Pro to have I/O on the front. It is cooled by a pair of double-sided blowers and a mesh of holes on the bottom and back of the case, which helps reduce the noise of fans spinning. Nevertheless, there have been reports of excessive fan noise.
Mac Studio models with the Ultra SoC are heavier than the Max-equipped models, as they exchange the aluminum heat sink for one composed of copper. Apple says the Mac Studio performs 50 percent faster than a Mac Pro with a 16-core Intel Xeon processor.
The Mac Studio was introduced alongside the Apple Studio Display, a 27-inch 5K monitor with an integrated 12 megapixel camera, six-speaker sound system with spatial audio and Dolby Atmos support and a height adjustable stand. Customers reported months-long shipping delays for the Mac Studio, attributed to a global chip shortage.
On March 5, 2025, updated Mac Studio models were announced with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips, which began shipping on March 12. Updates include Thunderbolt 5, and memory configurable up to 512 GB and storage configurable up to 16 TB on the M3 Ultra models.
! Chip
! Storage
! Wireless
! Connectivity
! Power
! Dimensions
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Repairability
Mac Studio has two removable flash storage ports, with one or two of them in use, the latter in models with 4 or 8 TB of storage. While it is possible to swap the flash storage card between same size models, with an Apple Configurator restore, upgrading is not supported officially. Some reviewers have criticized this decision as unfriendly for right to repair, while Ars Technica notes this limitation may be due to the design of Apple silicon that implements the SSD controller into the system on a chip rather than the drive itself for encryption purposes. The positioning of components such as the SSD beneath an exposed power supply has also been criticized.
Reception
Specifications
10-core Apple M1 Max
24-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
20-core Apple M1 Ultra
48-core GPU
32-core Neural Engine
12-core Apple M2 Max
30-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
24-core Apple M2 Ultra
60-core GPU
32-core Neural Engine
14-core Apple M4 Max
32-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
28-core Apple M3 Ultra
60-core GPU
32-core Neural Engine
512 GB (Max) or 1 TB (Ultra) SSD 512 GB (Max) or 1 TB (Ultra) SSD Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth 5.0Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Bluetooth 5.34× Thunderbolt 4/USB4 USB-C ports (up to 40 Gbit/s)
2× USB-C ports (up to 10Gb/s)
2× USB-A ports (up to 5Gb/s)
1× HDMI 2.0
10Gb Ethernet
3.5 mm headphone jack
SDXC card slot6× Thunderbolt 4/USB4 USB-C ports (up to 40 Gbit/s)
2× USB-A ports (up to 5Gb/s)
1× HDMI 2.0
10Gb Ethernet
3.5 mm headphone jack
SDXC card slot4× Thunderbolt 4/USB4 USB-C ports (up to 40 Gbit/s)
2× USB-C ports (up to 10Gb/s)
2× USB-A ports (up to 5Gb/s)
1× HDMI 2.1
10Gb Ethernet
3.5 mm headphone jack
SDXC card slot6× Thunderbolt 4/USB4 USB-C ports (up to 40 Gbit/s)
2× USB-A ports (up to 5Gb/s)
1× HDMI 2.1
10Gb Ethernet
3.5 mm headphone jack
SDXC card slot4× Thunderbolt 5/USB4 USB-C ports (up to 120 Gbit/s)
2× USB-C ports (up to 10Gb/s)
2× USB-A ports (up to 5Gb/s)
1× HDMI 2.1
10Gb Ethernet
3.5 mm headphone jack
SDXC card slot6× Thunderbolt 5/USB4 USB-C ports (up to 120 Gbit/s)
2× USB-A ports (up to 5Gb/s)
1× HDMI 2.1
10Gb Ethernet
3.5 mm headphone jack
SDXC card slot370 W 480 W x x
Software and operating systems
The macOS operating system has been pre-installed on all Mac Studio computers since release, starting with version macOS Monterey, which is the first release of macOS to ship with the original Mac Studio.
+Supported macOS releases
Notes
External links
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