Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023) vs Mac mini (M2 Pro, 2023)
Quick look
| Figure | Mac Studio M2 Max1 | Mac mini M2 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £2,0993launch price | £1,3994launch price |
| Chip | M2 Maxchip | M2 Prochip |
| CPU | 12-coreCPU | 10-coreCPU |
| GPU | 30-coreGPU | 16-coreGPU |
| Memory | 32GBunified memory, base | 16GBunified memory, base |
| Storage | 512GBstorage, base | 512GBstorage, base |
| Released | 13 June 20233ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 5 June 2023. | 24 January 20234ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 17 January 2023. |
| Security updates | Not available5Security updates | Not available6Security updates |
- Price
- The Mac Studio M2 Max is £2,099 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the Mac mini M2 Pro is £1,399 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
True to scale
Front faces, from Apple’s published dimensions, drawn to one scale and superposed. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.
Specifications
Each figure is from the source marked by its Mac’s name unless it carries its own small number, which links to where that figure was read.
Body
| Specification | Mac Studio M2 Max1 | Mac mini M2 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 95 x 197 x 197 mm | 35.8 x 197 x 197 mm |
| Weight | 2.7 kg | 1.28 kg |
| Colours | Silver | Silver |
| Ports | Four Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports (up to 5Gb/s), HDMI port, 10Gb Ethernet, 3.5mm headphone jack; on front (M2 Max): two USB-C ports (up to 10Gb/s), SDXC card slot (UHS-II) | Four Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports (up to 5Gb/s), HDMI port, Gigabit Ethernet port (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet), 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Thunderbolt ports | 4 | 4 |
| Thunderbolt version | Thunderbolt 4 | Thunderbolt 4 |
| USB-A ports | 2 | 2 |
| HDMI | HDMI port | HDMI port |
| SD card slot | Yes | No SD card slot.7 |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
Chip and memory
| Specification | Mac Studio M2 Max1 | Mac mini M2 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | Apple M2 Max chip | Apple M2 Pro chip |
| Apple silicon | Yes | Yes |
| CPU cores | 12 | 10 |
| Performance cores | 8 | 6 |
| Efficiency cores | 4 | 4 |
| GPU cores | 30 | 16 |
| Neural Engine cores | 16 | 16 |
| Chip options | M2 Max with 12-core CPU and 30-core GPU, or M2 Max with 12-core CPU and 38-core GPU8 | M2 Pro with 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU, or M2 Pro with 12-core CPU and 19-core GPU |
| Memory (base) | 32GB | 16GB |
| Memory (maximum) | 96GB8 | 32GB |
| Memory options | 32GB, 64GB or 96GB (96GB with 38-core GPU)8 | 16GB or 32GB |
| Memory upgradeable by user | Not available9 | No, as Apple documents10 |
| Memory bandwidth | 400 GB/s | 200 GB/s |
| Storage (base) | 512GB | 512GB |
| Storage (maximum) | 8TB8 | 8TB |
| Storage options | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB8 | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB |
| Media engine | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginetwo video encode enginestwo ProRes encode and decode engines | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engine |
Battery and power
| Specification | Mac Studio M2 Max1 | Mac mini M2 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum continuous power | 370 W | 185 W |
Connectivity
| Specification | Mac Studio M2 Max1 | Mac mini M2 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) | Wi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax) |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| Ethernet | 10Gb Ethernet (Nbase-T Ethernet with support for 1Gb, 2.5Gb, 5Gb and 10Gb Ethernet using RJ-45 connector) | Gigabit Ethernet (configurable to 10Gb Ethernet) |
| External displays (base) | 5 | 3 |
Sources
Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2023) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2023) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio and brings Apple silicon to Mac Pro ·
↩- ↩
Security updates: no end date published.
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩Mac mini (M2 Pro, 2023): No SD card slot.
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2023) - Tech Specs ·
↩Not published by Apple.
↩Apple Support (UK) — Upgrade or install memory in your Mac mini ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2023) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2023) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio and brings Apple silicon to Mac Pro ·
↩Not published by Apple.
↩Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model ·
↩
Not published by Apple
Mac Studio M2 Max. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, microphones. Geekbench 7: the Mac chart lists the Mac Studio M2 Max only with a 38-core GPU, not the 30-core GPU this Mac has, so no figures are shown (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2023) - Tech Specs; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio and brings Apple silicon to Mac Pro; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model, read 9 Oct 2026.
Mac mini M2 Pro. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, microphones. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac mini (2023) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac mini model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces new Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro — more powerful, capable, and versatile than ever, read 9 Oct 2026.
If you own one of them
Whether to move is a different question from which is better. Each Mac has a page on it: what its successor changes (the newest Mac in its line where Apple sells one, otherwise the Mac this site treats as its replacement, which can be in another line), what it fetches and whether it still gets updates. Should I upgrade my Mac Studio M2 Max (2023)? · Should I upgrade my Mac mini M2 Pro (2023)?
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.