Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 2025) vs Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 2023)
Quick look
| Figure | Mac Studio M3 Ultra1 | Mac Studio M2 Ultra2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £4,1993launch price | £4,1994launch price |
| Chip | M3 Ultrachip | M2 Ultrachip |
| CPU | 28-coreCPU | 24-coreCPU |
| GPU | 60-coreGPU | 60-coreGPU |
| Memory | 96GBunified memory, base | 64GBunified memory, base |
| Storage | 1TBstorage, base | 1TBstorage, base |
| Released | 12 March 20255ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 5 March 2025. | 13 June 20236ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 5 June 2023. |
| Security updates | Not available7Security updates | Not available7Security updates |
- Price
- The Mac Studio M3 Ultra is £4,199 at launch, per Apple UK Store (archived 26 March 2025); the Mac Studio M2 Ultra is £4,199 at launch, per Apple UK Store (archived 5 June 2023).
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 M3 Ultra1 | Mac Studio M2 Ultra2 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 95 x 197 x 197 mm | 95 x 197 x 197 mm |
| Weight | 3.64 kg | 3.6 kg |
| Colours | Silver | Silver |
| Ports | Four Thunderbolt 5 (USB‑C) ports, two USB 3 (USB‑A) ports (up to 5Gb/s), HDMI 2.1 port, 10Gb Ethernet, 3.5mm headphone jack; on front (M3 Ultra): two Thunderbolt 5 ports (up to 120Gb/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 (M2 Ultra): two Thunderbolt 4 ports (up to 40Gb/s), SDXC card slot (UHS‑II) |
| Thunderbolt ports8 | 6 | 6 |
| Thunderbolt version | Thunderbolt 5 | Thunderbolt 4 |
| USB-A ports | 2 | 2 |
| HDMI | HDMI 2.1 port | HDMI port |
| SD card slot | Yes | Yes |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
Chip and memory
| Specification | Mac Studio M3 Ultra1 | Mac Studio M2 Ultra2 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | Apple M3 Ultra chip | Apple M2 Ultra chip |
| Apple silicon | Yes | Yes |
| CPU cores | 28 | 24 |
| Performance cores | 20 | 16 |
| Efficiency cores | 8 | 8 |
| GPU cores | 60 | 60 |
| Neural Engine cores | 32 | 32 |
| Chip options | M3 Ultra with 28-core CPU and 60-core GPU, or M3 Ultra with 32-core CPU and 80-core GPU | M2 Ultra with 24-core CPU and 60-core GPU, or M2 Ultra with 24-core CPU and 76-core GPU |
| Memory (base) | 96GB | 64GB |
| Memory (maximum) | 256GB9 | 192GB |
| Memory options | 96GB or 256GB9 | 64GB, 128GB or 192GB |
| Memory bandwidth | 819 GB/s | 800 GB/s |
| Storage (base) | 1TB | 1TB |
| Storage (maximum) | 16TB | 8TB |
| Storage options | 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB or 16TB | 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB |
| Media engine | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWtwo video decode enginesfour video encode enginesfour ProRes encode and decode enginesAV1 decode | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWtwo video decode enginesfour video encode enginesfour ProRes encode and decode engines |
Battery and power
| Specification | Mac Studio M3 Ultra1 | Mac Studio M2 Ultra2 |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum continuous power | 480 W | 370 W |
Connectivity
| Specification | Mac Studio M3 Ultra1 | Mac Studio M2 Ultra2 |
|---|---|---|
| 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) | 10Gb Ethernet (Nbase-T Ethernet with support for 1Gb, 2.5Gb, 5Gb and 10Gb Ethernet using RJ‑45 connector) |
| External displays (base) | 8 | 8 |
Camera and audio
| Specification | Mac Studio M3 Ultra1 | Mac Studio M2 Ultra2 |
|---|---|---|
| Speakers | Built-in speaker10 | Built-in speaker11 |
Sources
Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2023) - Tech Specs ·
↩- ↩
- ↩
Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio, the most powerful Mac ever ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio and brings Apple silicon to Mac Pro ·
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩Different Thunderbolt generations. Mac Studio M3 Ultra: Thunderbolt 5. Mac Studio M2 Ultra: Thunderbolt 4.
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2023) - Tech Specs ·
↩Not published by Apple.
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio and brings Apple silicon to Mac Pro ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model ·
↩Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) — Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 2025) ·
↩Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) — Mac Studio (M2 Ultra, 2023) ·
↩
Not published by Apple
Mac Studio M3 Ultra. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: memory upgradeable by user, storage upgradeable by user, microphones. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio, the most powerful Mac ever; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model, read 9 Oct 2026.
Mac Studio M2 Ultra. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: memory upgradeable by user, storage upgradeable by user, microphones. Geekbench 7 Metal: the Mac chart has no Metal score for this Mac (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.
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 M3 Ultra (2025)? · Should I upgrade my Mac Studio M2 Ultra (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.