Apple Mac Studio with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips and two Apple Studio Display monitors.
Apple’s Mac Studio has always been a marvel of compact power, a seemingly weightless aluminum block housing immense processing capabilities. Its minimalist design, with ports tucked neatly away, makes it a stylish addition to any workspace. The new 2025 Mac Studio retains this iconic design while receiving a significant performance boost with the introduction of the M3 Ultra and updated M4 Max chips. This upgrade brings enhanced GPU and Neural Engine performance, making the Mac Studio more powerful than ever. While the price tag has increased, the performance gains promise to justify the investment for users demanding top-tier power.
Release Date, Pricing, and Configurations
Announced on March 5, 2025, the new Mac Studio became available on March 12, 2025. The entry-level model, priced at $1,999, features an M4 Max chip with 14 CPU cores, 32 GPU cores, 36GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. This represents a notable jump from the previous generation’s M2 Max with 12 CPU cores, 30 GPU cores, and 32GB of RAM.
A more powerful M4 Max configuration with 16 CPU cores and 40 GPU cores is available for an additional $300, including a RAM upgrade to 48GB. This configuration also unlocks RAM options of 64GB ($200) and 128GB ($1,000), and storage up to 8TB ($2,400), bringing the top-end M4 Max model to $5,899.
For demanding workflows, the new M3 Ultra chip enters the scene. The base M3 Ultra configuration, priced at $3,999, boasts 28 CPU cores, 64 GPU cores, a 32-core Neural Engine (double the previous generation), 96GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. RAM can be maximized to 256GB ($1,600) and storage to 16TB ($4,600), resulting in a maximum price of $10,199 for this configuration.
The top-tier Mac Studio features an M3 Ultra with 32 CPU cores and 80 GPU cores, also starting with 96GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, for $5,499. This configuration supports a remarkable 512GB of RAM ($4,000) and 16TB of storage, pushing the fully configured price to a staggering $14,099.
Design and Cooling: A Familiar Form Factor
The front of the Apple Mac Studio with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips.
Apple retains the Mac Studio’s signature compact design: a 7.7-inch wide, 3.7-inch tall mini-monolith weighing 6.1 pounds (M4 Max) or 8.0 pounds (M3 Ultra). The silver chassis, elevated by its fan intake, creates the illusion of floating in mid-air. Two Thunderbolt ports and an SD card reader grace the front, with the remaining ports tucked away at the back.
Impressively, the Mac Studio’s renowned cooling system remains remarkably quiet even under heavy load. It will be interesting to see if this impressive silence persists with the increased performance of the new chips.
Power Boost: M3 Ultra and M4 Max
The Apple M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips against a black background.
The 2025 Mac Studio’s most significant upgrade lies in its processing power. The M4 Max offers a substantial leap over the M2 Max, delivering impressive performance gains in both single-core and multi-core workloads. The M4 Max boasts two variants: 14 or 16 CPU cores and 32 or 40 GPU cores, paired with a 16-core Neural Engine. With hardware ray tracing, mesh shading, and Dynamic Caching, the M4 Max elevates gaming performance and overall system responsiveness.
The M3 Ultra utilizes Apple’s UltraFusion architecture, connecting two M3 Max dies. This differs from the M2 Ultra, which essentially doubled the M2 Max’s capabilities. The M3 Ultra comes in two versions, with either 28 or 32 CPU cores and 64 or 80 GPU cores. Notably, the Neural Engine now boasts 32 cores, doubling performance for AI-related tasks.
Another advantage of the M3 Ultra is its support for up to 512GB of RAM and 16TB of storage, significantly exceeding the M4 Max’s 128GB and 8TB limits, respectively. This enhanced capacity enables the M3 Ultra to handle demanding tasks efficiently. Apple claims a 2.6x performance increase over the M1 Ultra and a 2x increase over the M2 Ultra.
Connectivity: Thunderbolt 5 and Ample Ports
The rear of the Apple Mac Studio with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips.
The Mac Studio maintains its comprehensive port selection. The front houses two USB-C (M4 Max) or Thunderbolt 5 (M3 Ultra) ports and an SD card reader. The back panel offers four Thunderbolt 5 ports, two USB-A ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, a 10Gb Ethernet port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and the power button. Thunderbolt 5, integrated via a custom on-chip controller, delivers speeds up to 120 Gb/s.
Display Support: Multi-Monitor Powerhouse
Apple Mac Studio with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips.
The new Mac Studio continues to excel in multi-monitor support. The M4 Max supports up to five displays: four 6K displays at 60Hz via Thunderbolt 5 and one 4K display at 144Hz via HDMI. Alternatively, it can drive two 6K displays at 60Hz and one 8K display at 60Hz or one 4K display at 240Hz via HDMI. The M3 Ultra supports up to eight displays at 4K and 144Hz or 6K at 60Hz. Alternatively, it can support up to four 8K displays at 60Hz or four 4K displays at 240Hz.
Conclusion: Power and Performance Redefined
The 2025 Mac Studio builds upon its predecessor’s strengths, retaining its compact design, comprehensive connectivity, and impressive multi-monitor support while delivering a significant performance boost. The M4 Max provides ample power for most users, while the M3 Ultra caters to professionals requiring ultimate performance. With enhanced GPU and Neural Engine capabilities, the new Mac Studio sets a new standard for power and performance in a compact desktop.
