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Apple Mac Studio (M4 Max or M3 Ultra) · Photo source

Apple Mac Studio (M4 Max or M3 Ultra)
Photo 1 of 6

Apple Mac Studio (M4 Max or M3 Ultra) · Photo source

Apple · Mac Studio

Mac Studio (M4 Max or M3 Ultra)

Released March 2025

The 2025 Mac Studio is a compact desktop with the M4 Max or M3 Ultra chip, for professionals working on 3D, video, audio and code who need lots of cores, memory and Thunderbolt 5 ports.

Model history · 3 models, 2022–2025
  1. 2022Mac Studio (M1 Max / M1 Ultra)Compare
  2. 2023Mac Studio (M2 Max or M2 Ultra)Compare
  3. 2025Mac Studio (M4 Max or M3 Ultra)
Type
Compact
Processor
Apple M4 Max or M3 Ultra
Memory
36 GB – 512 GB
Storage
512 GB – 16 TB
Screen
–
Weight
2.74 kg

What reviewers say

Reviewers praise the very compact case, excellent processor performance, silent running under load and a good range of ports, and Tom's Hardware found it strong value for its performance. Tom's Guide and Tom's Hardware criticise the 512GB base SSD and costly memory and storage upgrades that can't be made later; PC Gamer notes it is an expensive way to play games.

From tomshardware.com, tomsguide.com and pcgamer.com

Specifications

Report a wrong or missing spec

Performance

Processor
Apple M4 Max or Apple M3 Ultra
CPU cores
14, 16, 28 or 32
Graphics
32-core GPU, 40-core GPU, 60-core GPU or 80-core GPU
Memory
36 GB, 96 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB
Storage
512 GB to 16 TB
CPU
M4 Max: 14-core CPU with 10 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, or 16-core CPU; M3 Ultra: 28-core CPU with 20 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores, or 32-core CPU
GPU
M4 Max: 32-core or 40-core GPU; M3 Ultra: 60-core or 80-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracing
AI engine
16-core Neural Engine (M4 Max); 32-core Neural Engine (M3 Ultra)
Memory type
M4 Max: 36GB; 48GB, 64GB or 128GB with the 16-core CPU / 40-core GPU. M3 Ultra: 96GB or 256GB in the current specification table. Apple announced 512GB at launch and documents a 32-core CPU / 80-core GPU, 512GB, 16TB system in its power test; that historical option is retained separately.
Memory bandwidth
M4 Max: 410GB/s with the 32-core GPU, 546GB/s with the 40-core GPU; M3 Ultra: 819GB/s. M4 Max takes 36GB (32-core GPU) or 48GB, 64GB or 128GB (40-core GPU); M3 Ultra takes 96GB or 256GB, and was offered with up to 512GB at launch
Storage type
SSD
Media engine
Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; AV1 decode; M4 Max: video decode engine, two video encode engines and two ProRes encode and decode engines; M3 Ultra: two video decode engines, four video encode engines and four ProRes encode and decode engines

Display

Screen
None built in

Connections

Ports
4 × Thunderbolt 5, 2 × USB-C, 2 × USB-A, HDMI, Ethernet, SD card slot, headphone jack
Ethernet
10 Gb/s
External displays
Up to 5
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth
5.3
Front ports
M4 Max: 2 × USB-C (up to 10Gb/s); M3 Ultra: 2 × Thunderbolt 5 (up to 120Gb/s); SDXC card slot (UHS-II)
Back ports
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
M4 Max: up to five (four at up to 6K 60Hz over Thunderbolt plus one at 4K 144Hz over HDMI), or three (two at up to 6K 60Hz plus one at up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz over HDMI); M3 Ultra: up to eight at up to 6K 60Hz or 4K 144Hz, or four at up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz; VRR, HDR and multichannel audio supported
Speakers
Built-in speaker
Microphones
None built in

Design and power

Type
Compact
Weight
2.74 kg
Width × depth × height
197 × 197 × 95 mm
Operating system
macOS
Power supply
Built-in; 100–240V AC; 480W maximum continuous power
Colours
Silver
In the box
Mac Studio, power lead

Configurations

ProcessorMemoryStorage
Apple M4 Max, 14-core CPU, 32-core GPU36 GB512 GB
Apple M4 Max128 GB8 TB
Apple M3 Ultra, 28-core CPU, 60-core GPU96 GB1 TB
Apple M3 Ultra256 GB16 TB
Apple M3 Ultra, 32-core CPU, 80-core GPU512 GB16 TB

Pros and cons

Pros

  • M3 Ultra option with up to a 32-core CPU, 80-core GPU and 256GB of unified memory (512GB at launch)
  • Four Thunderbolt 5 ports on the back (six in total with M3 Ultra), plus 10Gb Ethernet, HDMI 2.1 and a UHS-II SD card slot
  • Drives up to five external displays with M4 Max, or eight with M3 Ultra

Cons

  • The entry M4 Max with the 32-core GPU is limited to 36GB of memory
  • M4 Max models have 10Gb/s USB-C ports on the front rather than Thunderbolt 5
  • Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, and only a basic built-in speaker with no microphone

Closest rivals

Model
TypeProcessorMemoryStorageScreenWeightReleased
AppleMac Studio (M5 Max or M5 Ultra)
CompactApple M5 Max or Ultra36 GB – 512 GB512 GB – 16 TB–2.7 kgSept 2026
AppleMac Studio (M2 Max or M2 Ultra)
CompactApple M2 Max or Ultra32 GB – 192 GB512 GB – 8 TB–2.7 kgJun 2023
FrameworkDesktop (AMD Ryzen AI Max 300 Series)
CompactAMD Ryzen AI Max 385 or Ryzen AI Max+ 39532 GB – 128 GB500 GB – 8 TB–3.1 kgAug 2025

Previous model: Mac Studio (M2 Max or M2 Ultra).

Sources

  1. support.apple.com/en-gb/122211
  2. apple.com/uk/newsroom/2025/03/apple-unveils-new-mac-studio-the-most-powerful-ma…
  3. apple.com/uk/newsroom/2025/03/apple-reveals-m3-ultra-taking-apple-silicon-to-a-…
  4. support.apple.com/en-gb/102027

Photo: store.storeimages.cdn-apple.com

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