Mac Studio
The key to the new Mac Studio starts inside, where the company offers either the powerful M1 Max chip or the just-announced M1 Ultra, which is the company’s most powerful processor yet.
Using its own silicon aided the company in creating a shockingly small desktop with a square footprint of just 7.7″ and a height of only 3.7″. That means it can easily fit in spaces where other desktop computers can’t. Think of it as a Mac Mini on steroids. Sure, it’s bigger, but it’s also substantially more powerful.
And before concern about the small size sets in, Apple says the case is designed with over 4,000 perforations on the back and bottom that allow air to flow, keeping the computer nice and cool.
During the event, Apple offered some comparisons to existing Macs to show how powerful the Mac Studio with the M1 Max actually is:
Up to 2. 5x faster CPU performance than the fastest 27-inch iMac with a 10-core processor. Up to 50 percent faster CPU performance than Mac Pro with a 16-core Xeon processor. Up to 3. 4x faster graphics performance than the 27-inch iMac, and over 3x faster than Mac Pro with its most popular graphics card. Up to 7. 5x faster than the 27-inch iMac and up to 3. 7x faster than 16-core Mac Pro when transcoding video.
Apple even included the Mac Pro and cited the substantial gains you’ll get with the Mac Studio. However, the company did tease a new Mac Pro at the end of its presentation, implying that something even more powerful is coming.
It also compared the new M1 Ultra-toting Mac Studio, and the numbers are even more impressive (and the price is much higher):
Up to 3. 8x faster CPU performance than the fastest 27-inch iMac with a 10-core processor. Up to 90 percent faster CPU performance than Mac Pro with 16-core Xeon processor. Up to 60 percent faster CPU performance than 28-core Mac Pro. Up to 4. 5x faster graphics performance than the 27-inch iMac and up to 80 percent faster than the fastest Mac graphics card available today. Up to 12x faster than the 27-inch iMac and up to 5. 6x faster than 28-core Mac Pro when transcoding video.
It’s hard not to be impressed by those numbers, but the price is something to behold. If you go with the M1 Max version, the price starts at $1,999. If you want the new M1 Ultra processor, you’re looking at a $3,999 investment as the starting point, with the price jumping as you add more power. However, that base price includes 64GB unified memory and a 1TB SSD, so there isn’t much else to add.
Mac Studio Display
Apple also announced a new monitor called the Mac Studio Display, and it comes with features designed to make the most of the Mac Studio computer. It comes with a 27-inch 5K Retina display, a 12MP Ultra-Wide camera with Center Stage, and a high-fidelity six-speaker sound system with spatial audio.
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It looks like a gorgeous monitor, but it’s not cheap, coming with a $1,599 price tag.
Availability
You can order the Mac Studio and the Mac Studio Display today, and they’ll arrive on Friday, March 18, so you won’t have to wait long to get your hands on your device if you’re willing to shell out the money.
