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Mac Studio

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Mac Studio
DeveloperApple Inc.
Product familyMacintosh
TypeCompact desktop
Workstation
Release dateMarch 18, 2022; 3 years ago (2022-03-18)
Operating systemmacOS
System on a chipApple M series
RelatedMac Mini, Mac Pro
Websiteapple.com/mac-studio

The Mac Studio is a small-form-factor workstation 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.

Overview

The Mac Studio was announced on March 8, 2022, alongside the Apple Studio Display, and released on March 18. At the time of launch, customers reported shipping delays for the Mac Studio as late as May 2022. The delay has been attributed to the global chip shortage.[1][2]

Rear ports

The Mac Studio is designed as a higher-grade machine than the Mac Mini but lower than the Mac Pro, and is positioned similarly to the now-discontinued iMac Pro.[3][4] The original launch offered two models, all driven by ARM-based SoC: the M1 Max or the M1 Ultra, which combines two M1 Max chips[5] in one package.[6] The Mac Studio has an identical width and depth to the then-current Mac Mini, both about 7.7 inches (200 mm), but is around 3.7 inches (94 mm) tall. It has four Thunderbolt 4 (USB 4) ports, two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, HDMI (up to 4K @ 60 Hz), 10Gb Ethernet with Lights Out Management[7] 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.[8] Nevertheless, there have been extensive early reports of excessive fan noise.[9]

Mac Studio models with the M1 Ultra are 2 pounds (910 g) heavier than those with the M1 Max as they are equipped with a larger copper heat sink.[10] Apple says the Mac Studio performs 50 percent faster than a Mac Pro with a 16-core Intel Xeon processor.[8]

The Mac Studio supports up to four 6K monitors connected via Thunderbolt, and a fifth monitor via HDMI.[11] It 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.[8]

On June 5, 2023, during WWDC, Apple introduced updated Mac Studio models based on the M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips. Updates include Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 6E, the capability of running up to six 6K monitors, and support for 8K displays over Thunderbolt and HDMI.[12]

The Mac Studio was updated with M4 Max and M3 Ultra processors on March 5, 2025, shipping on March 12. The new machines come with Thunderbolt 5, and a maximum RAM ceiling of 512 GB on the Ultra models.[13]

Repairability

A Mac Studio with Studio Display, Magic Keyboard, and Magic Trackpad in an Apple Store

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.[14] While it is possible to swap the flash storage card between same size models, with an Apple Configurator restore,[15][16] upgrading is not supported. 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.[17] The positioning of components such as the SSD beneath an exposed power supply has also been criticized.[17][18]

Reception

Specifications

Model 2022[19] 2023[20] 2025[20]
Chip 10-core Apple M1 Max
24-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine

Configurable to 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine

20-core Apple M1 Ultra
48-core GPU
32-core Neural Engine

Configurable to 20-core CPU, 64-core GPU, and 32-core Neural Engine

12-core Apple M2 Max
30-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine

Configurable to 12-core CPU, 38-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine

24-core Apple M2 Ultra
60-core GPU
32-core Neural Engine

Configurable to 24-core CPU, 76-core GPU, and 32-core Neural Engine

14-core Apple M4 Max
32-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine

Configurable to 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine

28-core Apple M3 Ultra
60-core GPU
32-core Neural Engine

Configurable to 32-core CPU, 80-core GPU, and 32-core Neural Engine

Memory 32 GB
Configurable to 64 GB 		64 GB
Configurable to 128 GB 		32 GB
Configurable up to 96 GB 		64 GB
Configurable to 192 GB 		36 GB
Configurable up to 128 GB 		96 GB
Configurable to 512 GB
Storage 512 GB (Max) or 1 TB (Ultra) SSD
Configurable up to 8 TB 		512 GB (Max) or 1 TB (Ultra) SSD
Configurable up to 8 TB (16 TB for Ultra)
Wireless Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth 5.0 		Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Bluetooth 5.3
Connectivity 4× Thunderbolt 3/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
10Gb Ethernet
3.5 mm headphone jack
SDXC card slot 		6× Thunderbolt 3/USB4 USB-C ports (up to 40 Gbit/s)
2× USB-A ports (up to 5Gb/s)
1× HDMI
10Gb Ethernet
3.5 mm headphone jack
SDXC card slot 		4× 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
10Gb Ethernet
3.5 mm headphone jack
SDXC card slot 		6× Thunderbolt 4/USB4 USB-C ports (up to 40 Gbit/s)
2× USB-A ports (up to 5Gb/s)
1× HDMI
10Gb Ethernet
3.5 mm headphone jack
SDXC card slot 		4× 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 slot 		6× 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 slot
Power 370 W 480 W
Dimensions 3.7 in (9.4 cm) x 7.7 in (20 cm) x 7.7 in (20 cm)
Weight 5.9 lb (2.68 kg) 7.9 lb (3.58 kg) 5.9 lb (2.68 kg) 7.9 lb (3.58 kg) 6.1 lb (2.77 kg) 8.0 lb (3.63 kg)
Greenhouse gas emissions 262 kg CO2e (32 GB memory and 512 GB storage)[21] 375 kg CO2e (64 GB memory and 1 TB storage) 290 kg CO2e (32 GB memory and 512 GB storage)[22] 346 kg CO2e (64 GB memory and 1 TB storage) 276 kg CO2e (36 GB memory and 512 GB storage)[22] 382 kg CO2e (96 GB memory and 1 TB storage)
Announced date March 8, 2022 June 5, 2023 March 5, 2025
Released date March 18, 2022 June 13, 2023 March 12, 2025
Discontinued date June 5, 2023 March 5, 2025 In production
Initial operating system macOS 12 Monterey macOS 13 Ventura macOS 15 Sequoia
Latest supported operating system macOS 15 Sequoia
Timeline of Power Macintosh, Pro, and Studio models
Mac ProMac StudioMac ProMac StudioMac ProMac ProMac ProPower Mac G5Power Mac G5Power Mac G4Power Mac G5Power Mac G4Power Mac G4 CubePower Mac G4Power Macintosh G3#Blue and WhitePower Macintosh 9600Power Macintosh G3Power Macintosh 8600Power Macintosh 9500Power Macintosh 8500Power Macintosh 8100Power Macintosh G3Power Macintosh 7600Power Macintosh 7300Power Macintosh 4400Power Macintosh 7500Power Macintosh 7200Power Macintosh 7100Power Macintosh 6500Power Macintosh 6400Power Macintosh 6200Power Macintosh 6100Power Macintosh G3Twentieth Anniversary MacintoshPower Macintosh 5500Power Macintosh 5400Power Macintosh 5260Power Macintosh 5200 LC
See also: List of Mac models

References

  1. ^ "Delivery Estimates for Mac Studio and Studio Display Slip to April". Mac Rumors. March 8, 2022. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  2. ^ "Mac Studio shipping dates already slipping to April and May". Apple Insider. March 8, 2022. Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  3. ^ "Mac studio: Everything we know about Apple's powerful new desktop computer". The Independent. March 11, 2022. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  4. ^ "Apple's Mac Studio Is the iMac Pro Reboot You've Been Waiting For". PCMAG. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  5. ^ "Apple's new M1 Ultra aims to beat Nvidia's RTX 3090". The Verge. March 9, 2022. Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  6. ^ "Apple M1 Ultra Chip Is Nearly 3 Times Bigger Than AMD's Ryzen CPUs, Benchmarks Show Desktop Intel & AMD CPUs Still Ahead". wccftech.com. March 19, 2022. Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  7. ^ "Lights Out Management MDM payload settings for Apple devices". Apple Support. Archived from the original on April 27, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "Apple's Mac Studio Is a Mightier Desktop for Creative Pros". Wired. March 8, 2022. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  9. ^ Maring, Joe (March 22, 2022). "Mac Studio Fan Noise: Here's How Loud Apple's Latest Mac Gets". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on April 24, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  10. ^ "Apple explains why the M1 Ultra-equipped Mac Studio is two pounds heavier". The Verge. March 9, 2022. Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  11. ^ "Does the Mac Studio have Thunderbolt 4?". XDA Developers. March 10, 2022. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  12. ^ "Apple unveils new Mac Studio and brings Apple silicon to Mac Pro". Apple Newsroom. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  13. ^ Cunningham, Andrew (March 5, 2025). "Apple intros new Mac Studio models with M4 Max and… M3 Ultra?". Ars Technica. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  14. ^ Porter, Jon (March 24, 2022). "iFixit teardown offers a detailed look inside the Mac Studio and Studio Display". The Verge. Archived from the original on April 15, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  15. ^ "iFixit on Twitter". March 23, 2022. Archived from the original on April 21, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  16. ^ "Mac Studio Teardown: No Upgradable Storage … Yet". ifixit. March 21, 2022. Archived from the original on April 20, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  17. ^ a b Cunningham, Andrew (March 22, 2022). "Explaining the Mac Studio's removable SSDs, and why you can't simply swap them out". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  18. ^ "The Mac Studio's removable SSD is reportedly blocked by Apple on a software level". The Verge. March 22, 2022. Archived from the original on June 2, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  19. ^ "Mac Studio (2022) – Technical Specifications". support.apple.com. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Mac Studio – Technical Specifications". apple.com. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  21. ^ "Product Environmental Report Mac Studio (2022)" (PDF). Apple. March 18, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  22. ^ a b "Product Environmental Report Mac Studio (2025)" (PDF). Apple. March 5, 2025. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
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