Apple launches the most powerful Mac ever – new Mac Studio with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips

Hot on the heels of its launch of a new iPad Air yesterday, Apple has just unveiled its most powerful Mac ever. That's an all new Mac Studio, complete with a pair of processing options which pack a lot of firepower into a compact frame.

While the M4 Max chip is one we already knew about – that was launched back in October 2024 and features in the top-end MacBook Pro models – there's an all-new M3 Ultra which can be selected, too.

So, what can you expect in this new model? Well, power. And lots of it. Every facet of the Mac Studio spec sheet looks like it was hand-crafted to offer as much operational horsepower as one could possibly need.

The Thunderbolt ports are upgraded to Thunderbolt 5, for example, while the unified memory – Apple's equivalent for RAM – tops out at a ludicrous 512GB. No, that's not a typo – you can spec an M3 Ultra variant of this device with half a terrabyte of unified memory.

The new Mac Studio is designed to cater for those who are running some seriously powerful software on their machines. It's for the video editors, the software engineers, the music producers and anyone else who might need a computer which performs at the absolute highest level.

New Apple Mac Studio: M4 Max vs M3 Ultra?

Which chip you should opt for depends entirely on your needs and use cases. However, there are a few comparisons we can make right off the bat.

Pre-order the new Mac Studio on the Apple website

First things first, the M3 Ultra version starts at twice the price – £4,199 vs £2,099 for the M4 Max. Oh and FYI, if you did want a top spec M3 Ultra model, expect to shell out a cool £14,299.

The M3 Ultra variant does house some basic upgrades, though. It starts with 96GB of unified memory – up from 36GB on the M4 Max version – and offers double the storage with 1TB as standard.

The two front-facing USB-C ports will be much quicker, too. Those are Thunderbolt 5 ports, as oppose to simply USB-C on the M4 Max variant.

The back panel setup is the same, though – four Thunderbolt 5 ports, a pair of USB-A ports, a HDMI input, a 10Gb Ethernet port and a headphone jack.

Last but not least, we need to consider the display potential of each. The M4 Max is capable of supporting up to five displays, but if that's a little too weedy for you opt for the M3 Ultra – it can power up to eight.

New Apple Mac Studio: Pricing

As mentioned above, the M4 Max version starts at £2,099 / $1,999 / AU$3,499. The barrier to entry for the M3 Ultra version is higher, at £4,199 / $3,999 / AU$6,999.

Of course, with different options waiting to be selected, the sky truly is the limit. Pre-orders are open now, and will ship from the 12th of March.