Apple has introduced a new Mac Studio with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chip options. It now includes Thunderbolt 5 ports and increased performance. The M4 Max chip was first launched in the MacBook Pro last year. It features up to a 16-core CPU, a 40-core GPU, and up to 128GB of RAM. Benchmark results show that the M4 Max is 75% faster than the M2 Max chip used in the previous model.
The all-new M3 Ultra chip features a 32-core CPU with 24 performance cores and eight efficiency cores. Apple states that this chip is 1.5 times faster than the previous M2 Ultra chip. It supports up to 512GB of unified RAM significantly higher than the 192GB limit of the older version.
Graphics performance has also improved. The now includes an 80-core GPU, which is twice as fast as the M2 Ultra version. For the first time, Apple has introduced hardware-accelerated ray tracing in the Mac Studio. This upgrade enhances graphics rendering for gaming and creative applications.
Storage options have expanded. The now supports up to 16TB of SSD storage, doubling the previous 8TB limit. The device also gains Thunderbolt 5 support. with the M4 Max chip have four Thunderbolt 5 ports, while those with the M3 Ultra chip have six. Thunderbolt 5 provides data transfer speeds of up to 120 Gb/s.
The overall design remains unchanged. Two Thunderbolt 5 ports and USB-C ports and an SD card slot exist on the front panel of this device. The rear of this device offers HDMI, Ethernet, USB-A and a headphone jack.
The supports up to eight 6K displays, compared to six on the previous model. It also includes Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. Apple Intelligence is available on any Mac with an M1 chip or later.
Customers can begin pre-ordering on this day and the official worldwide launch occurs on March 12. The product pricing starts at $1,999 for M4 Max products while M3 Ultra versions begin at $3,999.
