Mar 06, 2025 11:36:00

Apple announces 'Mac Studio' equipped with M4 Max and M3 Ultra, equipped with GPU to enhance AI and content creation, priced from about 330,000 yen to about 2.3 million yen

On March 5, 2025, Apple announced the new ' Mac Studio '. Two versions are planned to be released: one equipped with the high-performance chip '

M3 Ultra ' announced on the same day, and one equipped with the ' M4 Max ' announced in October 2024. The former is a monster machine equipped with a maximum 32-core CPU and 80-core GPU, and the maximum configuration with a mountain of options will cost 2,263,800 yen including tax.

Apple Introduces New Mac Studio, the Most Powerful Mac Ever - Apple (UK)
https://www.apple.com/jp/newsroom/2025/03/apple-unveils-new-mac-studio-the-most-powerful-mac-ever/

Buy Mac Studio - Apple (Japan)
https://www.apple.com/jp/shop/buy-mac/mac-studio

◆Mac Studio with M3 Ultra
The following two chip combinations are available:

- Equipped with a 28-core CPU, 60-core GPU, and 32-core Neural Engine
- Equipped with a 32-core CPU, 80-core GPU, and 32-core Neural Engine

According to Apple, the Mac Studio with M3 Ultra is up to 2.6 times faster than the Mac Studio with M1 Ultra and up to 6.4 times faster than the Mac Pro with Intel Xeon W.

In addition, the 32-core CPU is the most ever in the history of the Mac. In addition to 96GB and 256GB of memory, there is also a 512GB option, which Apple describes as 'the largest capacity in the history of personal computers.' The 512GB memory option is only available when combined with a 32-core CPU.

Other features of the Mac Studio with M3 Ultra include:

Token generation using LLMs with hundreds of billions of parameters in

LM Studio is up to 16.9 times faster than Mac Studio with M1 Ultra
- Scene rendering performance in Maxon Redshift is up to 2.6x faster compared to Mac Studio with M1 Ultra
The DNA sequence conversion process in Oxford Nanopore MinKNOW is up to 1.1 times faster than on a Mac Studio with M1 Ultra
Up to 1.4x faster 8K video rendering performance in Final Cut Pro compared to Mac Studio with M1 Ultra

The price is 668,800 yen (tax included) for the 28-core CPU version and 893,800 yen (tax included) for the 32-core CPU version. The maximum configuration with a 32-core CPU, 512GB memory, 16TB storage, and pre-installed Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro will cost 2,263,800 yen.

◆Mac Studio with M4 Max
The following two chip combinations are available:

- Equipped with a 14-core CPU, 32-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine
- Equipped with a 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine

The M4 MaxMac Studio is described as 'the perfect choice for video editors, colorists, developers, engineers, photographers, creatives and other users who need to speed through demanding workflows.'

It operates up to 3.5 times faster than the Mac Studio with M1 Max. Unlike conventional GPUs, it is the first Mac Studio to feature Apple's graphics architecture, including Dynamic Caching , which allocates hardware local memory usage in real time, hardware accelerated mesh shading, and a second-generation ray tracing engine, 'enabling even more seamless content creation and gaming.'

Other features of the Mac Studio with M4 Max include:

- Image processing in

Adobe Photoshop is up to 1.6 times faster than Mac Studio with M1 Max
- Build performance when compiling code in Xcode is up to 2.1x faster compared to Mac Studio with M1 Max
Up to 1.2x faster ProRes transcoding performance in Compressor compared to Mac Studio with M1 Max
- Topaz Video AI video processing performance is up to 1.6x faster than Mac Studio with M1 Max

Prices start from 358,800 yen (tax included) for the 14-core CPU version and 433,800 yen (tax included) for the 16-core CPU version.

◆Common Features
Both the M3 Ultra and M4 Max versions are equipped with four Thunderbolt 5 ports on the back for transfer speeds of up to 120Gb/s, two USB-A ports, one HDMI port, one 10Gb Ethernet port, and one headphone jack.

On the front, the M3 Ultra version has two Thunderbolt 5 ports and one SDXC card slot, while the M4 Max version has two USB-C ports and one SDXC card slot. The M3 Ultra version supports up to eight full 6K resolution Pro Display XDRs. The M4 Max version supports up to five displays.

Both versions also come equipped with Apple Intelligence, which allows you to use email structure, text summarization, real-time transcription, and Siri integration with ChatGPT.

Additionally, macOS Sequoia 15.4, scheduled for release in April 2025, will enable users to quickly and easily sign in to their Apple Account and access their files, photos, messages, passwords and more on the new Mac Studio simply by holding their iPhone close to their Mac.

Both versions will be available for preorder starting March 5, with shipments starting March 12 and available at Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.