Apple has presented the world’s most powerful processor for desktop computers at its Peak Performance event a couple of days ago. With this new chip called M1 Ultra, they introduced the new Mac Studio desktop computer.
It’s insanely powerful, yet surprisingly compact, and, believe it or not, it’s cheap… compared to its competition.
M1 Max times 2
Apple combines two M1 Max chips using its new UltraFusion technology to create the M1 Ultra.
This new SoC has an amazing 128 GB of unified memory as well as 20 CPU or up to 64 GPU cores — i.e., exactly twice the number of performance cores and memory of the previous M1 Max.
Workstation power in compact format
The new Mac Studio comes in the form of a compact cube, but its size disguises its enormous performance, which targets professional users in the fields of 3D or video editing, among other things.
The Mac Studio can be configured with either a M1 Max or the new M1 Ultra. M1 Max was impressive, now it already looks old.
The port selection of the Mac Studio is significantly better than that of the current MacBook Pro with M1 Max.
It has four Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 10 GBit Ethernet port, two USB-A and one HDMI on the back.
In the front, there are two additional USB-C ports and a SD card slot.
The Mac Studio has a special thermal management system that makes its exceptional performance possible.
The bottom line
The Mac Studio isn’t a Mac mini pro, although it looks like a larger version of the Mac mini. Instead, it’s a Mac Pro mini. The performance alone trumps that of the Mac Pro in multiple high-end configurations, as well as the performance of this discontinued 27″ iMac Pro.
For professional creators, like video editors, photographers, developers — this new Mac is a game changer, in terms of performance as well as in terms of price.
Apple usually isn’t known for affordable pricing.
This time, though, the M1 Ultra Mac Studio starts at $4000. This might sound like a lot to you, but for professionals who were used to machines like a decked-out Mac Pro before, $4000 is cheap. They were looking at 4x as much for a Mac Pro. The Mac Studio surpasses its performance for 1/4 of the price.
You can get the Mac Studio with an M1 Max for $2000, by the way, and even that one beats many other pro machines in pricing and performance by a long shot.
This Mac Studio is a beast of a machine.
Impressive, Apple!
