Apple has officially launched its latest Mac Studio desktop PC, showcasing a significant leap in performance with the introduction of the much-anticipated M3 Ultra chip. This latest processor marks Apple’s most powerful offering to date, designed specifically to cater to the needs of content creators. In addition to enhanced processing capabilities, the new Mac Studio features cutting-edge high-speed SSD storage, advanced Thunderbolt 5 technology, and an upgraded Neural Engine.
The wait for the new Mac Studio has been considerable, as the previous model was unveiled at WWDC 2023, nearly two years ago. This updated machine can be likened to a "Mac mini Pro," serving as a larger and far more powerful variant of Apple’s entry-level desktop. Similar to its predecessors, the new Mac Studio is available in two configurations, featuring either the M3 Ultra or the M4 Max chips, while maintaining the same physical design as the previous M2 model.
The M4 Max version is tailored for a variety of professionals, including video editors, colorists, developers, engineers, photographers, and other creative experts. It boasts a robust configuration with a 16-core CPU and a 40-core GPU, ranging from 36GB to 128GB of RAM. Additionally, it comes equipped with four Thunderbolt 5 ports that deliver an impressive 15 GB/s throughput—three times faster than the previous model. The device also supports over 500 GB/s of unified memory bandwidth.
In terms of connectivity, the new Mac Studio includes two USB-A ports (with speeds up to 5Gb/s), an HDMI port, 10Gb ethernet, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. This powerful setup renders the Mac Studio up to 3.5 times faster than the original Mac Studio M1 Max. With the M4 Max chip, it is the first device to feature Apple’s advanced graphics architecture, enabling functionalities such as hardware-accelerated mesh rendering and a second-generation ray-tracing engine, enhancing both content creation and gaming experiences. Furthermore, the M4 Max chip delivers AI processing speeds that are triple that of the M1 Max version.
On the other hand, the M3 Ultra chip significantly enhances performance with a staggering 32-core CPU, which includes 24 performance cores—50 percent more than any previous Ultra chip and the highest number of CPU cores ever in a Mac. The GPU for the M3 Ultra features up to 80 cores, another record for Apple’s silicon, along with a 32-core Neural Engine designed for on-device AI and machine learning. It supports 96GB to a groundbreaking 512GB of unified memory, alongside a maximum of 16TB SSD storage.
You might be curious as to why Apple is launching the M3 Ultra chip now, especially when other models, including the new MacBook Air, utilize some variant of the M4 processor. The challenge lies in the design and manufacturing of the Ultra processors, which effectively combine two chips using Apple’s Ultrafusion bridge technology. Despite lacking the M4 designation, the M3 Ultra is still approximately twice as fast as the top-performing M4 Max processor under demanding workloads and 2.5 times quicker than the Mac Ultra M1.
The pricing for the Mac Studio with the M4 Max chip starts at a competitive $1,999, which includes 32GB of memory and 512GB of storage. In contrast, the Mac Studio featuring the M3 Ultra chip is priced at $3,999 for the base model, which comes with 96GB of unified memory (up from 64GB) and 1TB of storage. Orders for the new Mac Studio are currently open, with shipping expected to commence on March 12th.
