REVIEW: MAC STUDIO (M4 MAX) HEIR TO THE MAC PRO THRONE

APPLE'S FASTEST MAC IS THE MAC STUDIO, HANDS DOWN.

- BY ROMAN LOYOLA

With its most recent update (fave.co/3GsHTRa), Apple’s fastest Mac is the Mac Studio, hands down. The Mac Pro lurking in the background might cost more and look more powerful, but it still has a chip that was released nearly three years ago, and that chip isn’t the fastest anymore.

So the spotlight focuses on the Mac Studio. That's not by accident. Apple has been trending toward compact designs with its products, so the company’s preference for the Mac Studio as its top performer fits the bill. And the Mac Studio is up to the task—compact doesn’t mean a sacrifice in performance. It’s a mean machine ideal for the most hectic of production environments.

MODEL SPECIFICATIONS

Apple offers two standard configurations of the Mac Studio: a $1,999 model with an M4 Max chip, and a $3,999 model with an M3 Ultra. Each configuration can be customized with more memory and SSD, as well as variations on the chip's CPU and GPU cores.

This review focuses on the M4 Max Mac Studio, and our review unit has a chip upgrade from the standard configuration, as well as more RAM and a larger SSD. Here are the specifications for our setup:

CPU: M4 Max with 16 cores (12 performance cores, 4 efficiency cores), 16-core Neural Engine

GPU: 40 cores

Memory: 128GB unified memory (819GBps memory bandwidth)

Storage: 1TB SSD

Ports: 4 Thunderbolt 5/USB-C; 10Gb ethernet; 2 USB-A (USB 3); HDMI 2.1; 3.5mm audio; 2 USB-C; SDXC Card slot

Networking: Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax); Bluetooth 5.3; gigabit ethernet

Weight: 6.1 pounds (2.74 kg)

Dimensions: 3.7x7.7×7.7 inches

(9.5×19.7×19.7 cm)

Price (as tested): $3,699/£3,799/ CA$5,249/AU$6,049

PERFORMANCE