Apple introduced a new generation of the Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips, expanding the desktop's performance mainly in artificial intelligence and professional tasks. The models go on pre-order in the United States for US$ 2,499 and US$ 5,499, respectively, and begin shipping on September 22, said the company on Tuesday (25).
The M5 Ultra is presented by Apple as its most powerful chip yet. The most advanced version of the Mac Studio can be configured with a CPU of up to 36 cores, a GPU of up to 80 cores and 512 GB of unified memory.
M5 Ultra expands focus on local AI
The main change is in performance for artificial intelligence. According to tests carried out by Apple itself, the Mac Studio with M5 Ultra achieves up to 4.3 times more AI computing capability than the model equipped with M3 Ultra.
The chip uses a new four-die architecture formed by connecting two M5 Max chips via UltraFusion technology. The interconnection exceeds 4.4 TB/s and allows the four components to function as a single processor.
Memory bandwidth reaches 1.2 TB per second, a 50% increase over the M3 Ultra. The capacity of up to 512 GB allows running large language models locally and keeping extensive data sets in memory, without necessarily relying on cloud processing.
In Apple's tests, the M5 Ultra also offers CPU up to 1.3 times faster in multithreaded workloads and graphics performance up to 1.8 times higher than the M3 Ultra, depending on the application and configuration used.
The Mac Studio with M5 Max, in turn, has an 18-core CPU, a GPU with up to 40 cores and support for up to 128 GB of unified memory. Apple says AI performance can reach 3.9 times that of the previous generation equipped with M4 Max.
Faster storage and Wi-Fi 7
The new generation keeps the Mac Studio's compact format, but receives connectivity and storage updates. The SSD uses a PCIe Gen 6-based architecture and can achieve performance up to twice as high as the previous generation's, according to the company.
The desktop also now offers Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 for the first time, as well as Thunderbolt 5 with bandwidth up to 120 Gb/s. Depending on the configuration, the computer can drive up to eight monitors or four Studio Display XDR monitors at 5K resolution and a 120 Hz refresh rate.
Thunderbolt 5 also allows connecting multiple Mac Studio units in a cluster to divide artificial intelligence workloads. Apple says that four units working together can achieve up to three times the AI inference performance of a single machine.
Price and launch
The Mac Studio with M5 Max starts at US$ 2,499 in the United States, while the version with M5 Ultra starts at US$ 5,499. Pre-orders opened on August 25 in 30 countries and regions.
The first units arrive in stores and to consumers on September 22. The configuration with 512 GB of unified memory will launch later, scheduled for the end of October.
The new computers will launch with macOS 27 and reinforce Apple's strategy of using the Mac Studio as its main high-performance machine for development, content creation, graphics processing and local execution of artificial intelligence models.
