Mac Studio’s unchanged shell houses four generations of Apple silicon
Engadget’s review charts rising memory capacity and chip upgrades since 2022, alongside a compact design and higher prices.
Apple’s Mac Studio has kept the same 7.7-inch-square aluminium enclosure, standing 3.7 inches tall, through four generations, according to Engadget. Inside, the desktop has moved from M1 Max and M1 Ultra chips at its March 2022 launch to M5 Max and M5 Ultra models released in August 2026.
The first-generation M1 Ultra offered up to 128GB of memory. Engadget says the M5 Ultra configuration will reach 512GB, with memory bandwidth of 1.2TB/s, nearly 50 per cent above the M3 Ultra. The top memory configuration is due in late October, the publication reports.
Apple introduced M2 Max and M2 Ultra versions in 2023. The March 2025 update paired an M4 Max with an M3 Ultra, and added Thunderbolt 5 across both models, according to Engadget. The Mac Studio’s port layout has otherwise remained unchanged since launch.
The August models bring both tiers onto the same silicon generation for the first time since 2023. Engadget reports the M5 Max has up to 128GB of memory, while the M5 Ultra reaches 512GB. Apple’s performance comparisons with the M3 Ultra are company claims cited by Engadget.
Prices have also risen. Engadget reports the M4 Max entry price increased from $1,999 to $2,499, and the M3 Ultra from $3,999 to $5,299, amid higher memory costs. The publication lists the new M5 models from $2,499 and $5,499 respectively.
After Apple discontinued the Mac Pro, Engadget describes the Mac Studio as the company’s most powerful computer. Its evolution has largely been a story of greater chip and memory capacity inside a familiar enclosure.
