Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 2025) vs Mac Studio (M4 Max, 2025)
Quick look
| Figure | Mac Studio M3 Ultra1 | Mac Studio M4 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £4,1993launch price | £2,0994launch price |
| Chip | M3 Ultrachip | M4 Maxchip |
| CPU | 28-coreCPU | 14-coreCPU |
| GPU | 60-coreGPU | 32-coreGPU |
| Memory | 96GBunified memory, base | 36GBunified memory, base |
| Storage | 1TBstorage, base | 512GBstorage, base |
| Released | 12 March 20255ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 5 March 2025. | 12 March 20254ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 5 March 2025. |
| Security updates | Not available6Security 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 M4 Max is £2,099 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 M3 Ultra1 | Mac Studio M4 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 95 x 197 x 197 mm | 95 x 197 x 197 mm |
| Weight | 3.64 kg | 2.74 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 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 (M4 Max): two USB-C ports (up to 10Gb/s), SDXC card slot (UHS-II) |
| Thunderbolt ports | 6 | 4 |
| Thunderbolt version | Thunderbolt 5 | Thunderbolt 5 |
| USB-A ports | 2 | 2 |
| HDMI | HDMI 2.1 port | HDMI 2.1 port |
| SD card slot | Yes | Yes |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
Chip and memory
| Specification | Mac Studio M3 Ultra1 | Mac Studio M4 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | Apple M3 Ultra chip | Apple M4 Max chip |
| Apple silicon | Yes | Yes |
| CPU cores | 28 | 14 |
| Performance cores | 20 | 10 |
| Efficiency cores | 8 | 4 |
| GPU cores | 60 | 32 |
| Neural Engine cores | 32 | 16 |
| Chip options | M3 Ultra with 28-core CPU and 60-core GPU, or M3 Ultra with 32-core CPU and 80-core GPU | M4 Max with 14-core CPU and 32-core GPU, or M4 Max with 16-core CPU and 40-core GPU8 |
| Memory (base) | 96GB | 36GB |
| Memory (maximum) | 256GB8 | 128GB8 |
| Memory options | 96GB or 256GB8 | 36GB; 48GB, 64GB or 128GB (16-core CPU and 40-core GPU)8 |
| Memory bandwidth | 819 GB/s | 410 GB/s |
| Storage (base) | 1TB | 512GB |
| Storage (maximum) | 16TB | 8TB8 |
| Storage options | 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB or 16TB | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB8 |
| 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 RAWvideo decode enginetwo video encode enginestwo ProRes encode and decode enginesAV1 decode |
Battery and power
| Specification | Mac Studio M3 Ultra1 | Mac Studio M4 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum continuous power | 480 W | 480 W |
Connectivity
| Specification | Mac Studio M3 Ultra1 | Mac Studio M4 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 5 |
Camera and audio
| Specification | Mac Studio M3 Ultra1 | Mac Studio M4 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Speakers | Built-in speaker9 | Built-in speaker9 |
Sources
Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs ·
↩- ↩
Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio, the most powerful Mac ever ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio, the most powerful Mac ever ·
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs ·
↩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 Studio model ·
↩Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) — Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 2025) ·
↩Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) ·
↩
Not published by Apple
Mac Studio M3 Ultra. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: memory upgradeable by user, storage upgradeable by user, microphones, the macOS it shipped with. 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 M4 Max. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: memory upgradeable by user, storage upgradeable by user, microphones, the macOS it shipped with. 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.
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 M4 Max (2025)?
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.