Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023) vs Mac Studio (M1 Max, 2022)
Quick look
| Figure | Mac Studio M2 Max1 | Mac Studio M1 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £2,0993launch price | £1,9994launch price |
| Chip | M2 Maxchip | M1 Maxchip |
| CPU | 12-coreCPU | 10-coreCPU |
| GPU | 30-coreGPU | 24-coreGPU |
| Memory | 32GBunified memory, base | 32GBunified memory, base |
| Storage | 512GBstorage, base | 512GBstorage, base |
| Released | 13 June 20233ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 5 June 2023. | 18 March 20224ReleasedIn select Apple Stores; orderable online from 8 March 2022. |
| Security updates | Not available5Security updates | Not available5Security updates |
- Price
- The Mac Studio M2 Max is £2,099 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the Mac Studio M1 Max is £1,999 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 Studio M1 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 95 x 197 x 197 mm | 95 x 197 x 197 mm |
| Weight | 2.7 kg | 2.7 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, 10Gb Ethernet, 3.5mm headphone jack; on front (M1 Max): two USB-C ports (up to 10Gb/s), SDXC card slot (UHS-II) |
| Thunderbolt ports | 4 | 4 |
| Thunderbolt version | Thunderbolt 4 | Thunderbolt 4 |
| USB-A ports | 2 | 2 |
| HDMI | HDMI port | HDMI port |
| SD card slot | Yes | Yes |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
Chip and memory
| Specification | Mac Studio M2 Max1 | Mac Studio M1 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | Apple M2 Max chip | Apple M1 Max chip |
| Apple silicon | Yes | Yes |
| CPU cores | 12 | 10 |
| Performance cores | 8 | 8 |
| Efficiency cores | 4 | 2 |
| GPU cores | 30 | 24 |
| 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 GPU6 | M1 Max with 10-core CPU and 24-core GPU, or M1 Max with 10-core CPU and 32-core GPU7 |
| Memory (base) | 32GB | 32GB |
| Memory (maximum) | 96GB6 | 64GB7 |
| Memory options | 32GB, 64GB or 96GB (96GB with 38-core GPU)6 | 32GB or 64GB7 |
| Memory bandwidth | 400 GB/s | 400 GB/s |
| Storage (base) | 512GB | 512GB |
| Storage (maximum) | 8TB6 | 8TB7 |
| Storage options | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB6 | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB7 |
| 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 enginetwo video encode enginestwo ProRes encode and decode engines |
Battery and power
| Specification | Mac Studio M2 Max1 | Mac Studio M1 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum continuous power | 370 W | 370 W |
Connectivity
| Specification | Mac Studio M2 Max1 | Mac Studio M1 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) | 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 | 5.0 |
| Ethernet | 10Gb Ethernet (Nbase-T Ethernet with support for 1Gb, 2.5Gb, 5Gb and 10Gb Ethernet using RJ-45 connector) | 10Gb Ethernet (Nbase-T Ethernet with support for 1Gb, 2.5Gb, 5Gb and 10Gb Ethernet using RJ-45 connector) |
| External displays (base) | 5 | 5 |
Sources
Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2023) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2022) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio and brings Apple silicon to Mac Pro ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils all-new Mac Studio and Studio Display ·
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2023) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2022) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2023) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2022) - 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) — Identify your Mac Studio model ·
↩
Not published by Apple
Mac Studio M2 Max. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: memory upgradeable by user, 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 Studio M1 Max. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: memory upgradeable by user, storage upgradeable by user, microphones. Geekbench 7 Metal: the Mac chart row for this Mac does not state its GPU core count, so no Metal score is shown (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2022) - Tech Specs; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils all-new Mac Studio and Studio Display; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model, 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 Studio M1 Max (2022)?
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.