Apple today announced the new Mac Studio, featuring the M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips. The desktop computer offers improved performance, enhanced connectivity with Thunderbolt 5, and new features in a compact design. It is designed for professional users who require high performance for demanding workloads.
Apple says that the Mac Studio is capable of running large language models with over 600 billion parameters in memory, thanks to its GPU and up to 512GB of unified memory with the M3 Ultra chip. It also supports Apple Intelligence, a system aimed at improving productivity while maintaining privacy. The new Mac Studio is available for pre-order, with availability beginning March 12.
“The new Mac Studio is the most powerful Mac we’ve ever made,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. “A complete game-changer for pros around the world — powering both home and pro studios — Mac Studio sits in a class of its own, offering a staggering amount of performance in a compact, quiet design that fits beautifully on your desk. With this new Mac Studio, we’re delivering even more extreme performance with M4 Max and M3 Ultra, support for half a terabyte of unified memory, up to 16TB of superfast storage, and Thunderbolt 5 connectivity. Mac Studio truly is the ultimate pro desktop.”
Mac Studio price and availability
Mac Studio starts at a price of Rs 2,14,900 in India. For education, it can be purchased for Rs 1,94,900. Additional configure-to-order options are available at apple.com/in/store.
Customers can pre-order the new Mac Studio starting March 5 on apple.com/in/store and in the Apple Store app. It will begin arriving to customers, and will be in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, starting March 12.
Mac Studio with M4 Max features
The Mac Studio with M4 Max is designed for professionals such as video editors, developers, and creative users. It features a 16-core CPU, a 40-core GPU, and a faster Neural Engine, providing significant performance gains over previous models. The M4 Max also supports up to 128GB of unified memory and includes a Media Engine for improved video processing.
Mac Studio with M4 Max starts at 36GB of unified memory, with support for up to 128GB. Apple claims that Mac Studio with M4 Max is up to 3.5x faster than Mac Studio with M1 Max, and is up to 6.1x faster than the most powerful Intel-based 27-inch iMac.
Mac Studio with M4 Max enables:
- Up to 1.6x faster image processing in Adobe Photoshop when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Max, and up to 2.9x faster when compared to the 27-inch iMac with Core i9.
- Up to 2.1x faster build performance when compiling code in Xcode when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Max, and up to 3.1x faster when compared to the 27-inch iMac with Core i9.
- Up to 1.2x faster ProRes transcode performance in Compressor when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Max, and up to 2.8x faster when compared to the 27-inch iMac with Core i9.
- Up to 1.6x faster video processing performance in Topaz Video AI when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Max, and up to 5x faster when compared to the 27-inch iMac with Core i9.
Mac Studio with M3 Ultra features
The M3 Ultra version offers a 32-core CPU, an 80-core GPU, and a 32-core Neural Engine. It supports up to 512GB of unified memory and 16TB of SSD storage. The M3 Ultra is built for demanding workflows, offering nearly double the performance of the M4 Max in certain tasks.
It also offers an up to 80-core GPU, more than any Apple silicon chip; a powerful 32-core Neural Engine for on-device AI and machine learning (ML); and a high-bandwidth memory architecture that delivers over 800GB/s of unified memory bandwidth.
Mac Studio with M3 Ultra enables:
- Up to 16.9x faster token generation using an LLM with hundreds of billions of parameters in LM Studio when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, thanks to its massive amounts of unified memory.
- Up to 2.6x faster scene rendering performance in Maxon Redshift when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, and up to 6.4x faster when compared to the 16-core Intel-based Mac Pro with Radeon Pro W5700X.
- Up to 1.1x faster basecalling for DNA sequencing in Oxford Nanopore MinKNOW when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, and up to 21.1x faster when compared to the 16-core Intel-based Mac Pro with Radeon Pro W5700X.
- Up to 1.4x faster 8K video rendering performance in Final Cut Pro when compared to Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, and up to 4x faster when compared to the 16-core Intel-based Mac Pro with Radeon Pro W5700X
The new Mac Studio includes Thunderbolt 5 ports with transfer speeds up to 120 Gb/s, enabling faster external storage and expansion options. Additional connectivity includes a 10Gb Ethernet port, HDMI, and an SDXC card slot, along with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Apple Intelligence tools, integrated into Mac Studio, include Writing Tools, Priority Notifications, live transcription in Notes, and new Siri improvements. These features aim to enhance productivity for professional users.
