The Mac Studio is a small-form-factor workstation made by Apple Inc. It is one of four desktop computers in the Mac lineup, sitting above the consumer-range Mac Mini and iMac, and positioned below the Mac Pro. It is configurable with either the M2 Max or M2 Ultra system on a chip.[1][2]
Overview
The Mac Studio was announced on March 8, 2022, alongside the Apple Studio Display, and released on March 18. At the time of launch, customers reported shipping delays for the Mac Studio as late as May 2022. The delay has been attributed to the global chip shortage.[3][4]
The Mac Studio is designed as a higher-grade machine than the Mac Mini but lower than the Mac Pro, and is positioned similarly to the now-discontinued iMac Pro.[5][6] There are two models which are driven by ARM-based SoC: the M1 Max or the M1 Ultra, which combines two M1 Max chips[7] in one package.[8] The Mac Studio has an identical width and depth to the Mac Mini, both about 8 inches (200 mm), but is around 3.7 inches (94 mm) tall. It has four Thunderbolt 4 (USB 4) ports, two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, HDMI (up to 4K @ 60 Hz), 10Gb Ethernet with Lights Out Management[9] and a headphone jack. The front panel has two USB-C ports (Thunderbolt 4 in M1 Ultra models) and an SD card slot (that supports SDXC cards and UHS-II bus), making it the first desktop Mac since the 2012 Mac Pro to have I/O on the front. It is cooled by a pair of double-sided blowers and a mesh of holes on the bottom and back of the case, which helps reduce the noise of fans spinning.[10] Nevertheless, there have been extensive early reports of excessive fan noise.[11]
Mac Studio models with the M1 Ultra are 2 pounds (910 g) heavier than those with the M1 Max as they are equipped with a larger copper heat sink.[12] Apple says the Mac Studio performs 50 percent faster than a Mac Pro with a 16-core Intel Xeon processor.[10]
The Mac Studio supports up to four 6K monitors connected via Thunderbolt, and a fifth monitor via HDMI.[13] It was introduced alongside the Apple Studio Display, a 27-inch 5K monitor with an integrated 12 megapixel camera, six-speaker sound system with spatial audio and Dolby Atmos support and a height adjustable stand.[10]
On June 5, 2023, during WWDC, Apple introduced updated Mac Studio models based on the M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips. Updates include Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 6E, the capability of running up to six Pro Display XDRs, and support for 8K displays over Thunderbolt and HDMI.[14]
Repairability
Mac Studio has two removable flash storage ports, with one or two of them in use, the latter in models with 4 or 8 TB of storage.[15] While it is possible to swap the flash storage card between same size models, with an Apple Configurator restore,[16][17] upgrading is not supported yet. Some reviewers have criticized this decision as unfriendly for right to repair, while Ars Technica notes this limitation may be due to the design of Apple silicon that implements the SSD controller into the system on a chip rather than the drive itself for encryption purposes.[18] The positioning of components such as the SSD beneath an exposed power supply has also been criticized.[19][20]
Specifications
| Discontinued | Current |
| Model | 2022[21] | 2023[21] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial release operating system | macOS 12 Monterey | macOS 13 Ventura | ||||
| Latest release operating system | macOS 14 Sonoma | |||||
| Cooling system | Dual-fan cooling system with aluminum heat spreader attached on processor | Dual-fan cooling system with copper heat spreader attached on processor | Dual-fan cooling system with aluminum heat spreader attached on processor | Dual-fan cooling system with copper heat spreader attached on processor | ||
| Processor | ||||||
| Chip | Apple M1 Max | Apple M1 Ultra | Apple M2 Max | Apple M2 Ultra | ||
| Technology node | 5 nm (N5) | 5 nm (N5P) | ||||
| CPU | ||||||
| Total Cores | 10 | 20 | 12 | 24 | ||
| High-performance cores | 8 x Firestorm | 16 x Firestorm | 8 x Avalanche | 16 x Avalanche | ||
| Energy-efficient cores | 2 x Icestorm | 4 x Icestorm | 4 x Blizzard | 8 x Blizzard | ||
| Clock speed | 3.23 GHz, 2.06 GHz | 3.69 GHz, 2.42 GHz | ||||
| Online configuration | — | |||||
| Cache | ||||||
| L1 cache |
High-performance cores: 192 KB L1i, 128 KB L1d | |||||
| Shared L2 cache | High-performance cores: 24 MB Energy-efficient cores: 4 MB |
High-performance cores: 48 MB Energy-efficient cores: 8 MB |
High-performance cores: 32 MB Energy-efficient cores: 4 MB |
High-performance cores: 64 MB Energy-efficient cores: 8 MB | ||
| System level cache | 48 MB | 96 MB | 48 MB | 96 MB | ||
| GPU | ||||||
| Name | Apple G13C | Apple G13D | Apple G14C | Apple G14D | ||
| GPU family | Apple GPU Family 7 | Apple GPU Family 8 | ||||
| Total cores | 24 or 32 | 48 or 64 | 30 or 38 | 60 or 76 | ||
| EUs and ALUs | 96 (3072) or 128 (4096) |
192 (6144) or 256 (8192) |
120 (3840) or 152 (4864) |
240 (7680) or 304 (9728) | ||
| Hardware-accelerated ray tracing | No | |||||
| Metal support | Metal 3 | |||||
| Online configuration | 32-core GPU (From 24-core GPU) | 64-core GPU (From 48-core GPU) | 38-core GPU (From 30-core GPU) | 76-core GPU (From 60-core GPU) | ||
| Neural engine | 16-core neural engine (11 TOPS) |
32-core neural engine (22 TOPS) |
16-core neural engine (15.8 TOPS) |
32-core neural engine (31.6 TOPS) | ||
| Unified memory | ||||||
| Type | 512-bit LPDDR5 3200 MHz (409.6 GB/s) | 1024-bit LPDDR5 3200 MHz (819.2 GB/s) | 512-bit LPDDR5 3200 MHz (409.6 GB/s) | 1024-bit LPDDR5 3200 MHz (819.2 GB/s) | ||
| Capacity | 32 GB | 64 GB | 32 GB | 64 GB | ||
| Online configuration | 64 GB | 128 GB | 64 GB 96 GB (38-core GPU) |
128 GB 192 GB | ||
| SSD | ||||||
| Type | PCIe 4.0-based SSD with up to 7.4 GB/s read speed | |||||
| Capacity | 512 GB | 1 TB | 512 GB | 1 TB | ||
| Online configuration | 1 TB 2 TB 4 TB 8 TB |
2 TB 4 TB 8 TB |
1 TB 2 TB 4 TB 8 TB |
2 TB 4 TB 8 TB | ||
| Audio | ||||||
| Speakers | Yes | |||||
| 3.5 mm jack | With advanced support for high-impedance headphones | |||||
| Audio output from HDMI | Yes | |||||
| Connectivity | ||||||
| Wi-Fi (802.11) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | ||||
| Maximum Wi-Fi speed | 1.2 Gbit/s | 2.4 Gbit/s | ||||
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.0 | Bluetooth 5.3 | ||||
| Ethernet | With 10Gb speed | |||||
| HDMI port | HDMI 2.0 | HDMI 2.1 | ||||
| SDXC card slot | Yes | |||||
| USB-C/Thunderbolt port | ||||||
| Back | Four Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports supporting charging and DisplayPort protocols among others | |||||
| Front | Two USB-C ports supporting charging | Two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports supporting charging and DisplayPort protocols among others | Two USB-C ports supporting charging | Two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports supporting charging and DisplayPort protocols among others | ||
| USB-A port | Two USB-A ports | |||||
| Transmission speed | ||||||
| Thunderbolt | Up to 40 Gbit/s transmission speed (Thunderbolt 4 or USB4) | |||||
| USB-C | Up to 10 Gbit/s transmission speed (USB 3.1 Gen 2) | — | Up to 10 Gbit/s transmission speed (USB 3.1 Gen 2) | — | ||
| USB-A | Up to 5 Gbit/s transmission speed (USB 3.0) | |||||
| eGPU support | No | |||||
| External display support | ||||||
| Maximum display | 5 | 3/6/8 | ||||
| Max. three display combination | — |
|
| |||
| Max. five displays combination |
|
— | ||||
| Max. six displays combination | — |
| ||||
| Max. eight displays combination | — |
| ||||
| Power | ||||||
| Power adapter | 370 W (Maximum continuous) | |||||
| Dimensions | ||||||
| Height | 3.7 in (9.4 cm) | |||||
| Width | 7.7 in (20 cm) | |||||
| Depth | 7.7 in (20 cm) | |||||
| Weight | 5.9 lb (2.68 kg) | 7.9 lb (3.58 kg) | 5.9 lb (2.68 kg) | 7.9 lb (3.58 kg) | ||
| Total greenhouse gas emissions | 262 kg CO2e (32 GB memory and 512 GB storage)[22] | 375 kg CO2e (64 GB memory and 1 TB storage) | 290 kg CO2e (32 GB memory and 512 GB storage)[23] | 346 kg CO2e (64 GB memory and 1 TB storage) | ||
| Model details | ||||||
| Model number | A2615 | A2901 | ||||
| Hardware strings | Mac13,1 | Mac13,2 | Mac14,13 | Mac14,14 | ||
| Part/order number | MJMV2 (24-core GPU) Build-to-order (32-core GPU) |
MJMW3 (48-core GPU) Build-to-order (64-core GPU) |
MQH73 (30-core GPU) Build-to-order (38-core GPU) |
MQH63 (60-core GPU) Build-to-order (76-core GPU) | ||
| Timeline | ||||||
| Announced Date | March 8, 2022 | June 5, 2023 | ||||
| Released Date | March 18, 2022 | June 13, 2023 | ||||
| Discontinued Date | June 5, 2023 | In Production | ||||
| Unsupported Date | Supported | |||||
| Timeline of Power Macintosh, Pro, and Studio models |
|---|
 |
References
- ^ Dillet, Romain (March 8, 2022). "Apple introduces a brand new Mac, the Mac Studio". techcrunch. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
- ^ Cunningham, Andrew (March 8, 2022). "Apple announces $1,999 Mac Studio workstation with new 20-core M1 Ultra chip". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
- ^ "Delivery Estimates for Mac Studio and Studio Display Slip to April". Mac Rumors. March 8, 2022. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
- ^ "Mac Studio shipping dates already slipping to April and May". Apple Insider. March 8, 2022. Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
- ^ "Mac studio: Everything we know about Apple's powerful new desktop computer". The Independent. March 11, 2022. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ "Apple's Mac Studio Is the iMac Pro Reboot You've Been Waiting For". PCMAG. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
- ^ "Apple's new M1 Ultra aims to beat Nvidia's RTX 3090". The Verge. March 9, 2022. Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
- ^ "Apple M1 Ultra Chip Is Nearly 3 Times Bigger Than AMD's Ryzen CPUs, Benchmarks Show Desktop Intel & AMD CPUs Still Ahead". wccftech.com. March 19, 2022. Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
- ^ "Lights Out Management MDM payload settings for Apple devices". Apple Support. Archived from the original on April 27, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Apple's Mac Studio Is a Mightier Desktop for Creative Pros". Wired. March 8, 2022. Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
- ^ Maring, Joe (March 22, 2022). "Mac Studio Fan Noise: Here's How Loud Apple's Latest Mac Gets". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on April 24, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
- ^ "Apple explains why the M1 Ultra-equipped Mac Studio is two pounds heavier". The Verge. March 9, 2022. Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
- ^ "Does the Mac Studio have Thunderbolt 4?". XDA Developers. March 10, 2022. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
- ^ "Apple unveils new Mac Studio and brings Apple silicon to Mac Pro". Apple Newsroom. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ Porter, Jon (March 24, 2022). "iFixit teardown offers a detailed look inside the Mac Studio and Studio Display". The Verge. Archived from the original on April 15, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
- ^ "iFixit on Twitter". March 23, 2022. Archived from the original on April 21, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
- ^ "Mac Studio Teardown: No Upgradable Storage … Yet". ifixit. March 21, 2022. Archived from the original on April 20, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
- ^ Cunningham, Andrew (March 22, 2022). "Explaining the Mac Studio's removable SSDs, and why you can't simply swap them out". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
- ^ "The Mac Studio's removable SSD is reportedly blocked by Apple on a software level". The Verge. March 22, 2022. Archived from the original on June 2, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
- ^ "Explaining the Mac Studio's removable SSDs, and why you can't simply swap them out". Ars Technica. March 22, 2022. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
- ^ a b "Mac Studio (2022) – Technical Specifications". support.apple.com. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) Cite error: The named reference ":1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ "Product Environmental Report Mac Studio (2022)" (PDF). Apple. March 18, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Product Environmental Report Mac Studio (2022)" (PDF). Apple. June 5, 2023. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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