Apple Mac Studio review: There is no chance this will slow down, in years

This is a unique refresh. The Apple Mac Studio line-up for 2025 gives you the choice of the latest generation M4 Max chips, as well as half a generation elder M3 Ultra chips (reasoning here could be the M4 doesn’t have an ‘Ultra’ yet), the latter with a unique architecture that combines two M3 Max dies into one chip. The Mac Studio is, in either configuration, rightly being dubbed as the “most powerful Mac ever” made.

Here is an illustration of that reasoning. The Mac Studio prices for the M4 Max variants, starts at ₹2,14,900. However, the spec-ed out review device upgrades the chip from an M4 Max with a 14-core CPU and a 32-core GPU, to one with a 16-core CPU and 40-core GPU, as well as 128GB unified memory and a 1TB SSD — this totals to ₹3,84,900 and in case you are wondering, it still isn’t the most expensive spec-out. Mind you, add to these prices the cost of a display, if you don’t have one already. I am using the 27-inch Studio Display (5K Retina display), which if you allow yourself a ₹1,59,900 monetary outlay, is absolutely outstanding. The BenQ PD3225U (around ₹99,990) is another good option.

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There’s a level of complexity in the sense that potential buyers need to navigate a choice between an M4 Max and an M3 Ultra; perhaps this Mac Studio could have been an ideal showcase for an M4 Ultra? In all likelihood, a Mac Studio buyer would know what they are doing, the smallest of eccentricities of their workflow and comparatives with the machine they’ll be upgrading from.

There is class and sophistication underlining the Mac Studio’s continued box-esque design; it looks good, and has the versatility to be the visual highlight of your workstation setup, or simply stay in the background and deliver the sort of performance that’d intimidate the Windows PC ecosystem collective. For a computing device that isn’t much larger than my daughter’s school lunchbox, it is astonishingly fast, so much so that it is difficult to illustrate this sort of performance in a review. Apple wasn’t taking the “most powerful Mac ever” statement lightly.

It is, according to generational comparisons, double the speed of an M1 Max powered Mac Studio, and around 50% faster than the one with the M2 Max chip. At no point in our testing the Mac Studio did we hear the cooling fans. If ‘monster’ is a word to describe the cooling architecture, that would be apt. If you have used the M4 Max in a MacBook Pro already, you’d have a fair idea of the sort of performance it delivers — but on the Mac Studio, add more simply because the thermals keep it absolutely cool.

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No matter how much we multitasking we threw the Mac Studio’s way, the only thing that emerged from the underside cooling vents, is a gentle draft of cool air. Mind you, this was in a room which didn’t have an air-conditioner running for the duration. Apple isn’t just pushing the envelope with performance per watt, but as is clear with the Mac Studio, also making similar strides with thermal headroom.

The safest way to describe the Mac Studio is — there is no chance this will slow down, even the slightest, in many a year to come. Everything around it, keeps pace. Thunderbolt 5 support covers all USB-C ports. Connecting with as many as 4 external displays with up to 6K resolution is no mean feat, and that still leaves the HDMI port primed to be used with another 4K display. The only scenario where there should’ve been an upgrade, but isn’t, would be the Mac Studio’s still limited built-in speakers.

The thing to keep in mind is, the design choices don’t leave much scope for upgrades later (makes it even more important to configure your Mac carefully at the time of purchase), but in all likelihood, this wouldn’t need any either. Between the siblings, the Mac mini is more for everyday use and more than powerful enough for content creators too, while the Mac Studio is the ticket for video editors and the like.

Also Read: The Apple MacBook Pro M4 is a definitive generational performance leap

Unlike other times when you may begin by considering the entry spec and then work your way up (if need be) before buying a Mac or any computing device for that matter, the Mac Studio must be approached differently. In terms of the M4 Max variations at play, there is almost extreme levels of performance that’ll be available. You’ve to get it right with the memory and storage more than anything else, depending on your workflow. And then this will be your computing device of choice, for years. There are very few certainties in life. Death, taxes and Mac Studio’s longevity.