Mac Studio is a small-form-factor

workstation A workstation is a special computer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by a single user, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems. The term ''workst ...

designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Inc. It is one of four desktop computers in the Mac lineup, sitting above the consumer-range

Mac Mini Mac Mini (stylized as Mac mini) is a small form factor desktop computer developed and marketed by Apple Inc. , it is positioned between the consumer all-in-one iMac and the professional Mac Studio and Mac Pro as one of four current Mac deskto ...

and iMac, and positioned below the

Mac Pro Mac Pro is a series of workstations and servers for professionals that are designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2006. The Mac Pro, by some performance benchmarks, is the most powerful computer that Apple offers. It is one of ...

. It is configurable with either the M1 Max or M1 Ultra

system on a chip A system on a chip or system-on-chip (SoC ; pl. ''SoCs'' ) is an integrated circuit that integrates most or all components of a computer or other electronic system. These components almost always include a central processing unit (CPU), memor ...

Overview

The Mac Studio was announced on March 8, 2022, alongside the

Apple Studio Display The Apple Studio Display (stylized and marketed as Studio Display) is a 27-inch flat panel computer monitor developed and sold by Apple Inc. It was announced on March 8, 2022, alongside the Mac Studio desktop, and was released on March 18, 2022 ...

, 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. Mac Studio (2022) rear

The Mac Studio is designed as a higher-grade machine than the

but lower than the

, and is positioned similarly to the now-discontinued

iMac Pro The iMac Pro is a discontinued all-in-one personal computer and workstation designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Inc. It was released on December 14, 2017. While it was sold, it was one of four desktop computers in the Macintosh lineup, s ...

. There are two models which are driven by ARM-based SoC: the M1 Max or the M1 Ultra, which combines two M1 Max chips in one package. The Mac Studio has an identical width and depth to the

, both about , but is around tall. It has four Thunderbolt 4 ( USB 4) ports, two USB 3.0 Type-A ports,

HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controlle ...

(up to 4K @ 60 Hz), 10Gb Ethernet with Lights Out Management 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 Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices. The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between SanDis ...

bus). 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. Nevertheless, there have been extensive early reports of excessive fan noise. Mac Studio models with the M1 Ultra are heavier than those with the M1 Max as they are equipped with a larger copper

heat sink A heat sink (also commonly spelled heatsink) is a passive heat exchanger that transfers the heat generated by an electronic or a mechanical device to a fluid medium, often air or a liquid coolant, where it is dissipated away from the device, ...

. Apple says the Mac Studio performs 50 percent faster than a

with a 16-core

Intel Xeon Xeon ( ) is a brand of x86 microprocessors designed, manufactured, and marketed by Intel, targeted at the non-consumer workstation, server, and embedded system markets. It was introduced in June 1998. Xeon processors are based on the same arc ...

processor. The Mac Studio supports up to four 6K monitors connected via Thunderbolt, and a fifth monitor via HDMI. It was introduced alongside the

, 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.

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. While it is possible to swap the flash storage card between same size models, with an Apple Configurator restore, upgrading is not supported yet. Some reviewers have criticized this decision as unfriendly for right to repair, while ''

Ars Technica ''Ars Technica'' is a website covering news and opinions in technology, science, politics, and society, created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews, and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, sc ...

'' 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. The positioning of components such as the SSD beneath an exposed

power supply A power supply is an electrical device that supplies electric power to an electrical load. The main purpose of a power supply is to convert electric current from a source to the correct voltage, current, and frequency to power the load. As ...

has also been criticized.

Specifications

References

External links

* {{Apple hardware Computer-related introductions in 2022 ARM Macintosh computers Macintosh desktops