Mac Studio Review: Testing Apple’s New Desktop for Creators

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The Mac Studio is virtually identical to the 16-inch Mac Book Pro. They both the M1 Max Chip, it is a combination of CPU and GPU Apple silicon that is in all new Mcs and some new iPads.

Both of these devices are target to creative people like video producers, music producers etc.

The big difference is that the Mac Book Pro is an all-in-one self-contained system whereas the Mac Studio is a small desk which is portable but it is meant to be in one place connected to a separate display and a separate keyboard and mouse or a touch pad.

The Mac Studio comes in two base models you can choose from. One has the M1 Max chip and the other option has a new chip, the M1 Ultra which is basically two M1 Maxes stuck together.

For $2,000 you get the M1 Max AND FOR $4,000 you get the M1 Ultra.

Specs & Features:

M1 Max.                                                               M1 Ultra.

10-Core CPU                                                        20-Core CPU

24-Core GPU                                                        48-Core GPU

16-Core Neutral Engine.                                        32-Core Neutral Engine

32GB Unified Memory.                                        64GB Unified Memory

512GB SSD Storage.                                             1TB SSD Storage

Front:          Two USB-C Ports                              Two Thunderbolt 4 Ports

          One SDXC Card Slot.                        One SDVC Card Slot.

Back:          Four Thunderbolt 4 Ports.                  Four Thunderbolt 4 Ports.

          Two USB-A Ports                             Two USB-A Ports

          One HDMI Port.                                One HDMI Port.

          One 10GB Ethernet Port.                   One 10GB Ethernet Port.

          One 3.5mm Headphone Jack.             One 3.5mm Headphone Jack.

The Mi Max is not really ambitious for those creative pros and the M1 Ultra is really expensive for something that is not upgradeable.

After talking to some creative artists, its safe to say that the M1 Max version of the Mac Studio is exactly the kind of middle ground they might be looking for. It is suitable for aspiring filmmakers and developing music producers.

The Mac Studio is paired with a new product the Studio display WHICH COMES WITH ITS OWN CHIP in it something not seen in a display before.

It has an A13 Chip from Apple which allows you to have a webcam built-in.

The webcam has its own center stage, the Apple Utility, where the webcam can zoom in and follow your face around while you are in a zoom meeting or a facetime call.

It also does spatial audio which is built right into the display.

The M1 Ultra has a heavier heat sink made of copper instead of aluminum inside which makes it heavier that the M1 Max by 2 pounds though their cases are the same size.

The Mac Studio is about 3.7-inches high compared to 1.4-inches of the old Mac Mini.

 You have to pick your upgrades carefully when you are ordering them because this is a totally sealed system which has no user accessible parts inside.

It is not upgradeable unless you plug something in externally through one of the USB-C Ports.

You can spend $4,300 to configure the 16-inch MacBook Pro the exact same way as the Mac Studio which seems better to have everything in a very portable lapop package compare to Studio where you have to buy the keyboard and the touch pad or mouse separately.

Benchmark Testing.

When shooting videos, editing in 4K, music production, designing for 3D printing in cad programs you find out that the performance between the M1 Max and the MacBook pro and the new Mac Studio is very similar.

The Mac Studio is actually a little bit faster thanks to better cooling as half of the whole thing is devoted to cooling.

The Studio display at $1,600 it is much more attainable than the $5,000+ XDR though it doesn’t have the same features. It is not the pro level display the same way the XDR is.

The XDR has a mini-LED screen the Studio only has a regular IPS display.

The studio display does not support HDR content and doesn’t have that promotion variable refresh rate that some of the newer iPads AND MacBooks have. Its basically a 60Hz.

Apple would like you think of the Mac Studio and Studio display as one package which would cost $3,500. They are two products designed to work together and have a lot of synergies between them.