Apple Updates Mac Studio With M5 Max and M5 Ultra, Up to 512GB of Memory

Apple today announced a new Mac Studio built around the M5 Max and the all new M5 Ultra, with the lineup starting at $2,499 and running up to $5,499 for the Ultra.

Apple is calling it the most powerful Mac ever, and the pitch centers almost entirely on on device AI. The design is unchanged from the outgoing model, but the internals, memory, and connectivity have all moved forward. Pre orders open today, with availability beginning September 22.

The M5 Max Model

The entry point is the M5 Max, which pairs an 18 core CPU with an up to 40 core GPU. Each GPU core now includes a Neural Accelerator, and the model supports up to 128GB of unified memory with up to 614GB/s of bandwidth.

Apple says the M5 Max delivers up to 3.9x faster AI performance than the prior generation, with the GPU running up to 50 percent faster. Apple cites figures like up to 3.9x faster LLM prompt processing in LM Studio versus the M4 Max, and up to 3x faster Magic Mask performance in DaVinci Resolve Studio.

The M5 Ultra Model

The M5 Ultra is the top of the range and Apple's first quad die Ultra chip. It scales up to a 36 core CPU and an up to 80 core GPU, which Apple calls the most powerful GPU it has ever built. This is also the first time Neural Accelerators have come to an Ultra chip.

Apple puts peak AI compute at up to 4.3x the M3 Ultra and 9.8x the M1 Ultra, with graphics up to 1.8x faster than the prior generation. The Ultra model supports up to 512GB of unified memory and 1.2TB/s of memory bandwidth, which Apple says is 50 percent higher than before. That is enough headroom to run frontier class LLMs entirely on device.

The Media Engine on the M5 Ultra has twice the video encode and decode blocks of the M5 Max. Apple says it can play up to 33 streams of 8K ProRes 422 at 30 frames per second.

Clustering for AI

One of the more notable additions is built in support for clustering. Using Thunderbolt 5 and RDMA, or remote direct memory access, multiple Mac Studio systems can be linked into a shared memory pool. Apple says a cluster of four Mac Studio systems can deliver up to 3x faster AI inference than a single machine, aimed at teams loading the largest open weight models available.

Storage, Ports, and Wireless

Storage is up to twice as fast, built on a next generation SSD architecture using PCIe Gen 6. The Mac Studio carries up to six Thunderbolt 5 ports, each with up to 120Gb/s of bandwidth, and supports up to eight displays, or up to four Studio Display XDR at full 5K resolution and 120Hz.

Apple's own N1 chip brings Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 to the Mac Studio for the first time. As on the new Mac mini, genlock over USB C is now supported for syncing a display with a professional camera, including iPhone 17 Pro.

macOS 27

The new Mac Studio ships with macOS 27, named Golden Gate, which includes Siri AI and a broader set of Apple Intelligence features across Safari, Shortcuts, and Photos, plus refinements to the Liquid Glass interface. Apple Intelligence remains in beta testing, with the full release due this fall.

Pricing

The M5 Max Mac Studio starts at $2,499, or $2,299 for education.

The M5 Ultra model starts at $5,499, or $5,099 for education.

A 512GB unified memory configuration is set to follow in late October.

The comparison to last year's lineup depends on which prices you measure against. When the current generation launched in March 2025, the M4 Max Mac Studio started at $1,999 and the M3 Ultra at $3,999.

Apple raised those prices in 2026 as memory costs rose, and by this summer the M4 Max model started at $2,499 and the M3 Ultra at $5,299.

Against those most recent prices, the new M5 Max model holds flat at $2,499, while the M5 Ultra is up $200 to $5,499.

Against the March 2025 launch prices, the gap is much wider, with the Max up $500 and the Ultra up $1,500.

The new Mac Studio is available to pre order today in 30 countries and regions, including the U.S., and begins arriving to customers on September 22.