Apple unleashes all-new Mac Studio and Studio Display

Apple has achieved what it wasn’t ever expected to. Not only has it returned from near extinction in the mid-90’s, but it now offers the best PC processor in the business, and it has tucked this inside the new Mac Studio.

Apple unleashes all-new Mac Studio and Studio Display

Apple’s big Mac announcement in March is the introduction of the Mac Studio with either an M1 Max or all-new M1 Ultra chip.

These processors promise unprecedented performance and extensive connectivity in an incredibly compact design. The company also introduced Studio Display, which brings a nice big 27-inch 5K Retina screen, an advanced camera with Centre Stage, and amazing high-fidelity audio.

Let’s quickly crunch what we know so far.

Mac Studio sets a new bar for desktops

Apple modestly claims the M1 Ultra to be the world’s most powerful chip for a personal computer.

Available as an option in Mac Studio, the chip brings unprecedented level of performance, an extensive array of connectivity, and completely new capabilities in an unbelievably compact design that sits within arm’s reach on the desk.

Apple is really applying its control of hardware and software in Mac Studio.

The company says every element of the computer was designed to optimise the performance of M1 Max and M1 Ultra. What this means is astonishing computational power in a system that’s just 7.7 inches square and 3.7 inches high.

Steve Jobs would be thrilled because the square silver box twins’ power and performance with an innovative thermal design to keep the computer cool, but also quiet.

It achieves this thanks to its unique system of double-sided blowers, precisely placed airflow channels, and over 4,000 perforations which work together to guide air through the internal components and help cool the high-performance chips.

What about the M1 Ultra chip?

Available with either M1 Max or M1 Ultra, Mac Studio delivers extraordinary CPU and GPU performance, more unified memory than any other Mac, and new capabilities other desktops can’t, apparently, achieve.

As explained a little here, M1 Ultra builds on M1 Max and makes use of a new architecture the company calls UltraFusion, which interconnects the die of two M1 Max chips, creating a system on a chip (SoC) with unprecedented levels of performance and capabilities.

In sum it provides 114 billion transistors, the most ever in a personal computer chip.

What this means in terms of, you know, getting things done:

M1 Max brings:

• Up to 2.5x faster CPU performance than the fastest 27-inch iMac with 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
• 3x faster than Mac Pro with its most popular graphics card.
• Up to 7.5x faster than the 27-inch iMac.
• Up to 3.7x faster than 16-core Mac Pro when transcoding video.

M1 Ultra brings:

• Up to 3.8x faster CPU performance than the fastest 27-inch iMac with 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
• 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.

These are astonishing performance claims that drive Apple to lead the industry.

Mac Studio with M1 Ultra can play back 18 streams of 8K ProRes 422 video, which no other computer in the world can do. Mac Studio also sets new ground with up to 64GB of unified memory on systems with M1 Max and up to 128GB of unified memory on systems with M1 Ultra. Since the most powerful workstation graphics card available today only offers 48GB of video memory, having this massive amount of memory is game changing for pro workloads.

As if that isn’t enough, the SSD in Mac Studio delivers up to 7.4GB/s of performance and a capacity of up to 8TB, allowing users to work on massive projects with incredible speed and performance.

What Apple said

“We couldn’t be more excited to introduce an entirely new Mac desktop and display with Mac Studio and Studio Display,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

“Mac Studio ushers in a new era for the desktop with unbelievable performance powered by M1 Max and M1 Ultra, an array of connectivity, and a compact design that puts everything users need within easy reach. And Studio Display — with its stunning 5K Retina screen, along with the best combination of camera and audio ever in a desktop display — is in a class of its own.”

Connectivity

The compact Mac Studio includes four Thunderbolt 4 ports to connect displays and high-performance devices, a 10Gb Ethernet port, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, and a pro audio jack for high-impedance headphones or external amplified speakers. Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0. The system also includes ports on the front, 2xUSB-C and an SD card slot.

Mac Studio supports up to four Pro Display XDRs, plus a 4K TV. It uses up to 1,000 kilowatt-hours less energy than a high-end PC desktop.

What Apple said about its Studio Display

With narrow bezels and an all-aluminium enclosure, Studio Display features a 27-inch 5K Retina display, a 12MP Ultra Wide camera with Centre Stage, and a high-fidelity six-speaker sound system with spatial audio. It also hosts an A13 Bionic chip, which can augment what you do with the system.

The display’s 27-inch 5K Retina screen can handle over 14.7 million pixels. It offers 600 nits of brightness, P3 wide colour, and support for over one billion colours along withTrue Tone technology and an industry-leading anti-reflective coating.

Featuring the A13 Bionic chip, Studio Display delivers amazing experiences with its highly advanced camera and audio system. The ultimate video conferencing display, it includes a 12MP Ultra Wide camera with Centre Stage, a feature that automatically keeps users centred in the frame as they move around for even more engaging video calls.

Studio Display also includes a studio-quality, three-microphone array with an especially low noise floor for crystal-clear calls and voice recordings. It features a high-fidelity six-speaker sound system Apple says is the best ever created for Mac. Four force-cancelling woofers minimise distortion and produce bold, articulate bass, and two high-performance tweeters create accurate mids and crisp highs. The speakers also support spatial audio for music and video with Dolby Atmos.

Connectivity includes:

• Three USB-C ports that deliver speeds up to 10Gb/s to connect high-speed peripherals, storage.
• A Thunderbolt port that will also deliver 96W of power to a Mac notebook, allowing Studio Display to even fast-charge a 14-inch MacBook Pro.
• Up to three Studio Displays can be connected to MacBook Pro, creating a powerful edit bay or animation workspace.
• To complement the design of Studio Display, there’s a new silver-and-black colour option for Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Mouse that customers can purchase separately.

Finally, the built-in stand allows the user to tilt the display up to 30 degrees. For extra money (and not a trivial amount to be honest), Apple also offers a tilt- and height-adjustable stand option with a counterbalancing arm that makes the display feel weightless as it is adjusted. A VESA mount adapter option is also available.

Availability

The new Mac Studio and Studio Display are available to order now and will begin to reach customers Friday, March 18. Pricing for the Mac starts at $1,999 with an M1 Max, or $3,999 with an M1 Ultra. The highest possible configuration with a 64-core GPU M1 Ultra, 128GB unified memory and 8TB storage costs $7,999. The Studio Display is $1,599 (US).

Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad ($199 US), Magic Trackpad ($149 US), and Magic Mouse ($99 US) in the new silver-and-black color option are available

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