Mac Studio (M4 Max, 2025) vs MacBook Pro (16-inch, M4 Pro, 2024)
Quick look
| Figure | Mac Studio M4 Max1 | MacBook Pro M4 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £2,0993launch price | £2,4994launch price |
| Chip | M4 Maxchip | M4 Prochip |
| CPU | 14-coreCPU | 14-coreCPU |
| GPU | 32-coreGPU | 20-coreGPU |
| Memory | 36GBunified memory, base | 24GBunified memory, base |
| Storage | 512GBstorage, base | 512GBstorage, base |
| Battery life | Not available5No battery | Up to24 hrsvideo playback, claimed |
| Released | 12 March 20253ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 5 March 2025. | 8 November 20244ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 30 October 2024. |
| Security updates | Not available6Security updates | Not available6Security updates |
- Price
- The Mac Studio M4 Max is £2,099 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the MacBook Pro M4 Pro is £2,499 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
- Kind of Mac
- The Mac Studio M4 Max is a desktop; the MacBook Pro M4 Pro is a laptop. The MacBook Pro M4 Pro has a built-in 16.2-inch display, a camera and a battery, whereas the Mac Studio M4 Max has none of them.
True to scale
A desktop and a laptop are different shapes, so they stand side by side rather than superposed: the front face of one and the footprint of the other, from Apple’s published dimensions, at one scale. 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 M4 Max1 | MacBook Pro M4 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 95 x 197 x 197 mm | 16.8 x 355.7 x 248.1 mm |
| Weight | 2.74 kg | 2.14 kg |
| Colours | Silver | Space Black, 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 (M4 Max): two USB-C ports (up to 10Gb/s), SDXC card slot (UHS-II) | Three Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, MagSafe 3 port, 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Thunderbolt ports | 4 | 3 |
| Thunderbolt version | Thunderbolt 5 | Thunderbolt 5 |
| USB-A ports | 2 | No USB-A ports.7 |
| HDMI | HDMI 2.1 port | HDMI port |
| SD card slot | Yes | Yes |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
| MagSafe | Not available8 | Yes |
| Keyboard | Not available9 | Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID |
| Touch ID | Not available10 | Yes |
| Touch Bar | Not available11 | No Touch Bar.12 |
Display
| Specification | Mac Studio M4 Max1 | MacBook Pro M4 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Display size | Not available13 | 16.2 in |
| Resolution | Not available13 | 3456 x 2234 |
| Pixel density | Not available13 | 254 ppi |
| Display type | Not available13 | Liquid Retina XDR display |
| Brightness (SDR, outdoor) | Not available13 | 1,000 nits14 |
| Peak brightness (HDR) | Not available13 | 1,600 nits |
| Refresh rate | Not available13 | 120 Hz |
| Wide colour (P3) | Not available13 | Yes |
| Nano-texture option | Not available13 | Yes |
Chip and memory
| Specification | Mac Studio M4 Max1 | MacBook Pro M4 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | Apple M4 Max chip | Apple M4 Pro chip |
| Apple silicon | Yes | Yes |
| CPU cores | 14 | 14 |
| Performance cores | 10 | 10 |
| Efficiency cores | 4 | 4 |
| GPU cores | 32 | 20 |
| Neural Engine cores | 16 | 16 |
| Chip options | M4 Max with 14-core CPU and 32-core GPU, or M4 Max with 16-core CPU and 40-core GPU15 | M4 Pro with 14-core CPU and 20-core GPU14 |
| Memory (base) | 36GB | 24GB |
| Memory (maximum) | 128GB15 | 48GB14 |
| Memory options | 36GB; 48GB, 64GB or 128GB (16-core CPU and 40-core GPU)15 | 24GB or 48GB14 |
| Memory upgradeable by user | Not available16 | No, as Apple documents17 |
| Memory bandwidth | 410 GB/s | 273 GB/s |
| Storage (base) | 512GB | 512GB |
| Storage (maximum) | 8TB15 | 4TB14 |
| Storage options | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB15 | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB or 4TB14 |
| Media engine | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginetwo video encode enginestwo ProRes encode and decode enginesAV1 decode | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 decode |
Battery and power
| Specification | Mac Studio M4 Max1 | MacBook Pro M4 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Battery capacity | Not available5 | 100 Wh |
| Rated charge cycles | Not available5 | 1,000 cycles18 |
| Video playback (claimed) | Not available5 | 24 h |
| Wireless web (claimed) | Not available5 | 17 h |
| Included power adapter | Not available19 | 140 W |
| Fast charging | Not available5 | Yes |
| Maximum continuous power | 480 W | Not available20 |
Connectivity
| Specification | Mac Studio M4 Max1 | MacBook Pro M4 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) | No Ethernet port.12 |
| External displays (base) | 5 | 2 |
Camera and audio
| Specification | Mac Studio M4 Max1 | MacBook Pro M4 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | Not available21 | 12MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View |
| Camera resolution | Not available21 | 12 MP |
| Speakers | Built-in speaker22 | High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers |
| Microphones | Not available16 | Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming23 |
Sources
Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2024) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio, the most powerful Mac ever ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — New MacBook Pro features M4 family of chips and Apple Intelligence ·
↩Doesn’t apply: no battery
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩MacBook Pro (16-inch, M4 Pro, 2024): No USB-A ports.
↩Doesn’t apply: MagSafe is a notebook charging port
↩Doesn’t apply: no built-in keyboard
↩Doesn’t apply: no built-in keyboard, and Touch ID is a keyboard feature
↩Doesn’t apply: the Touch Bar was only fitted to MacBook Pro
↩MacBook Pro (16-inch, M4 Pro, 2024): No Touch Bar. No Ethernet port.
↩Doesn’t apply: no built-in display
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2024) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs ·
↩Not published by Apple.
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro: how to remove or install memory ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops ·
↩Doesn’t apply: internal power supply, no power adapter in the box
↩Doesn’t apply: a notebook lists its power adapter, not a maximum continuous power
↩Doesn’t apply: no built-in camera
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2024) - Tech Specs ·
↩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 MacBook Pro model ·
↩Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) ·
↩
Not published by Apple
Mac Studio M4 Max. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, 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.
MacBook Pro M4 Pro. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, the macOS it shipped with. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2024) - Tech Specs; Identify your MacBook Pro model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — New MacBook Pro features M4 family of chips and Apple Intelligence, 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 M4 Max (2025)? · Should I upgrade my MacBook Pro M4 Pro (16-inch, 2024)?
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.