Apple Mac Studio – M4 Max/M3 Ultra
Macs are rarely considered bargains, but the Mac Studio delivers striking levels of performance per dollar in M4 Max and M3 Ultra form.
By Tom’s Hardware
on
This is the point in the review where I’d normally make my best value analysis and suggest whether the new Mac Studio is worth its $1,999 (base model) outlay. That’s nearly impossible to do with a computer like this, however, because so few users are going to benefit from the extreme power of the M4 Max (and even fewer from the M3 Ultra version). However, I can safely say that if you need this level of performance, you already know that you do, because your existing rig is likely starting to show its age in the face of modern workloads.
By Wired
on
The 2025 Mac Studio is the most capable Mac desktop yet, offering excellent CPU performance and Thunderbolt 5 support while remaining cool and quiet under presure. However, the upgraded M3 Ultra version is awfully expensive, and it’s yet unclear whether that extra power is worth the price.
By Tom’s Guide
on
Apple’s M4 Max-based Mac Studio is a powerful, versatile compact desktop that excels at single-core and multithreaded tasks. It offers a strong balance of performance and value for most professional users.
By PCMag
on
The Apple Mac Studio brings incredible performance in a sleek, sliver box that can cost and arm and a leg.
By Gizmodo
on
I do like the Mac Studio. It’s a powerful compact desktop that, given you spend enough money on it, can do almost anything most people likely need it to do. But unless you have an unlimited budget, you may want to first figure out if less expensive configurations or other systems will serve your needs as well.
By cnet
on
Apple’s Mac Studio offers unbelievable power at a steep price. But it could be a worthwhile investment for demanding workflows or running AI models locally.
By theverge.TheVerge
on
I spent several years using an M1 Mac Studio as my main Mac, and it was great. If you’re someone who doesn’t need to move around with your Mac (if you do, consider a MacBook Pro instead) and really taxes GPU cores in the work you do, the Mac Studio continues to be an excellent option. I wish I had more exciting new stuff to report about, but the truth is that the M4 Max Mac Studio is the same Mac Studio we all know… it’s just on M4 now.
By SixColors
on
But it does make it clearer who the Ultra version of the computer is for. Do you need the best GPU you can get and more than 128GB of RAM for some reason? Do you also want multiple ProRes video encoders? These are the things the M3 Ultra gets you. Almost any other power user, whether you’re hoping to play some games, do app development, or run a bunch of virtual machines or Docker containers, will be better served by either the M4 Max Mac Studio or, in cases where you want a good CPU but don’t particularly care about playing games, the M4 Pro Mac mini.
By Ars Technica
on
90
The 2025 Apple Mac Studio is very fast, very expensive, and very well-made.
By DigitalTrends
on