Apple Mac Studio (M2 Max or M2 Ultra) vs Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max or M5 Ultra)

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Mac Studio (M2 Max or M2 Ultra) compared with Mac Studio (M5 Max or M5 Ultra)

	AppleMac Studio (M2 Max or M2 Ultra)	AppleMac Studio (M5 Max or M5 Ultra)
Overview
Released
Released	June 2023	September 2026
Performance
Processor
Processor	Apple M2 Max or Apple M2 Ultra	Apple M5 Max or Apple M5 Ultra
CPU cores
CPU cores	12 or 24	18, 30 or 36
Graphics
Graphics	30-core GPU, 38-core GPU, 60-core GPU or 76-core GPU	32-core GPU, 40-core GPU, 64-core GPU or 80-core GPU
Memory
Memory	32 GB, 64 GB, 96 GB or 192 GB	36 GB, 48 GB, 64 GB, 96 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	512 GB to 8 TB	512 GB to 16 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	M2 Max: 12-core CPU with 8 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores; M2 Ultra: 24-core CPU with 16 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores	M5 Max: 18-core CPU with 6 super cores and 12 performance cores; M5 Ultra: 30-core CPU with 10 super cores and 20 performance cores, or 36-core CPU with 12 super cores and 24 performance cores
GPU
GPU	M2 Max: 30-core or 38-core GPU; M2 Ultra: 60-core or 76-core GPU	Neural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine (M2 Max); 32-core Neural Engine (M2 Ultra)	16-core Neural Engine (M5 Max); 32-core Neural Engine (M5 Ultra)
Memory type
Memory type	–	Apple’s current specification table lists 256GB and 512GB with the 36-core CPU / 80-core GPU M5 Ultra; its configure-to-order section only explicitly restricts 512GB. Current UK store configurator lists memory options up to 256GB, so the maker-confirmed 512GB option is not claimed as currently selectable there.
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	M2 Max: 400GB/s; M2 Ultra: 800GB/s	M5 Max: 460GB/s with the 32-core GPU, 614GB/s with the 40-core GPU; M5 Ultra: 1.2TB/s
Storage type
Storage type	SSD	SSD
Media engine
Media engine	Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; M2 Max: video decode engine, two video encode engines and two ProRes encode and decode engines; M2 Ultra: two video decode engines, four video encode engines and four ProRes encode and decode engines	Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; AV1 decode; M5 Max: video decode engine, two video encode engines and two ProRes encode and decode engines; M5 Ultra: two video decode engines, four video encode engines and four ProRes encode and decode engines
Display
Screen
Screen	None built in	None built in
Connections
Ports
Ports	4 × Thunderbolt 4, 2 × USB-C, 2 × USB-A, HDMI, Ethernet, SD card slot, headphone jack	4 × Thunderbolt 5, 2 × USB-C, 2 × USB-A, HDMI, Ethernet, SD card slot, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	10 Gb/s	10 Gb/s
External displays
External displays	Up to 5	Up to 5
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6E	Wi-Fi 7
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.3	6
Front ports
Front ports	M2 Max: 2 × USB-C (up to 10Gb/s); M2 Ultra: 2 × Thunderbolt 4 (up to 40Gb/s); SDXC card slot (UHS-II)	M5 Max: 2 × USB-C (up to 10Gb/s); M5 Ultra: 2 × Thunderbolt 5 (up to 120Gb/s); SDXC card slot (UHS-II)
Back ports
Back ports	4 × Thunderbolt 4 with Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s), USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s) and DisplayPort; 2 × USB-A (up to 5Gb/s); HDMI with multichannel audio output; 10Gb Ethernet (RJ-45); 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones	4 × Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) with Thunderbolt 5 and USB 4 (up to 120Gb/s), USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s) and DisplayPort 2.1; 2 × USB-A (USB 3, up to 5Gb/s); HDMI 2.1 with multichannel audio output; 10Gb Ethernet (RJ-45); 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones
External displays
External displays	M2 Max: up to five (four at up to 6K 60Hz over Thunderbolt plus one at 4K 60Hz over HDMI), or three (two at up to 6K 60Hz plus one at up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz over HDMI); M2 Ultra: up to eight at up to 4K 60Hz, six at up to 6K 60Hz, or three at up to 8K 60Hz; VRR, HDR and multichannel audio supported	M5 Max: up to five (four at up to 6K 60Hz or 4K 165Hz, plus a fifth at up to 5K 60Hz over HDMI), or three (two at up to 8K 60Hz, 5K 120Hz or 4K 240Hz, plus a third at up to 5K 60Hz over HDMI); M5 Ultra: up to eight at up to 6K 60Hz or 4K 165Hz, or four at up to 8K 60Hz, 5K 120Hz or 4K 240Hz; up to four over a single Thunderbolt port; VRR and HDR supported
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in speaker	Built-in speaker
Microphones
Microphones	None built in	None built in; Apple says an external microphone or headset is needed for calls
Design and power
Type
Type	Compact	Compact
Weight
Weight	2.7 kg	2.7 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	197 × 197 × 95 mm	197 × 197 × 95 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Power supply
Power supply	Built-in; 100–240V AC; 370W maximum continuous power	Built-in; 100–240V AC; 480W maximum continuous power
Power use
Power use	–	M5 Max with 32-core GPU, 36GB and 512GB: 7W idle, 200W maximum; M5 Ultra with 36-core CPU, 80-core GPU, 512GB memory and 16TB: 9W idle, 385W maximum (Apple wall-power test)
Noise
Noise	–	Declared to ECMA-109 as 1.5 B sound power and 7 dB sound pressure at the operator position, at idle and wireless web (M5 Ultra, 30-core CPU, 64-core GPU)
Materials
Materials	–	100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 35% recycled content overall
Colours
Colours	Silver	Silver
In the box
In the box	Mac Studio, power lead	Mac Studio, power lead