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Mac Studio (M5 Max) vs Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 2025)

Mac Studio (M5 Max)1Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 2025)2

Quick look

Quick look: Mac Studio M5 Max against Mac Studio M3 Ultra
FigureMac Studio M5 Max1Mac Studio M3 Ultra2
Price£2,4993Apple UK store£4,1994launch price
ChipM5 MaxchipM3 Ultrachip
CPU18-coreCPU28-coreCPU
GPU32-coreGPU60-coreGPU
Memory36GBunified memory, base96GBunified memory, base
Storage512GBstorage, base1TBstorage, base
Released22 September 20265ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 25 August 2026.12 March 20256ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 5 March 2025.
Security updatesNot available7Security updatesNot available8Security updates
Price
The Mac Studio M5 Max is £2,499 on Apple’s UK store; the Mac Studio M3 Ultra is £4,199 at launch, per Apple UK Store (archived 26 March 2025).

True to scale

Mac Studio (M5 Max) · 197 × 95 mm frontMac Studio (M3 Ultra, 2025) · 197 × 95 mm front

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

Body: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max) against Apple Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 2025)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Max1Mac Studio M3 Ultra2
Dimensions95 x 197 x 197 mm95 x 197 x 197 mm
Weight2.7 kg3.64 kg
ColoursSilverSilver
PortsFour 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 (M5 Max): two USB-C ports (up to 10Gb/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 (M3 Ultra): two Thunderbolt 5 ports (up to 120Gb/s), SDXC card slot (UHS-II)
Thunderbolt ports46
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 5Thunderbolt 5
USB-A ports22
HDMIHDMI 2.1 portHDMI 2.1 port
SD card slotYesYes
Headphone jackYesYes

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max) against Apple Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 2025)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Max1Mac Studio M3 Ultra2
ChipApple M5 Max chipApple M3 Ultra chip
Apple siliconYesYes
CPU cores1828
Super cores69Not available10
Performance cores12920
Efficiency coresNot available118
GPU cores3260
Neural Engine cores1632
Chip optionsM5 Max with 18-core CPU and 32-core GPU, or M5 Max with 18-core CPU and 40-core GPU9M3 Ultra with 28-core CPU and 60-core GPU, or M3 Ultra with 32-core CPU and 80-core GPU
Memory (base)36GB96GB
Memory (maximum)128GB9256GB12
Memory options36GB; 48GB, 64GB or 128GB (40-core GPU)996GB or 256GB12
Memory bandwidth460 GB/s819 GB/s
Storage (base)512GB1TB
Storage (maximum)8TB916TB
Storage options512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB91TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB or 16TB
Media engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginetwo video encode enginestwo ProRes encode and decode enginesAV1 decodeHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWtwo video decode enginesfour video encode enginesfour ProRes encode and decode enginesAV1 decode

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max) against Apple Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 2025)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Max1Mac Studio M3 Ultra2
Maximum continuous power480 W480 W

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max) against Apple Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 2025)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Max1Mac Studio M3 Ultra2
Wi-FiWi‑Fi 7 (802.11be)Wi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Bluetooth65.3
Ethernet10Gb 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)58

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max) against Apple Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 2025)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Max1Mac Studio M3 Ultra2
SpeakersBuilt-in speaker13Built-in speaker14

Platform

Platform: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max) against Apple Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 2025)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Max1Mac Studio M3 Ultra2
Newest macOSmacOS 27 Golden Gate15macOS 27 Golden Gate16
Model identifierMac17,1417Mac15,1418
Model year2026192025

Sources

  1. Apple UK — Mac Studio Technical Specifications · Default for Mac Studio M5 Max · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  2. Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs · Default for Mac Studio M3 Ultra · Apple’s figure · read 30 Sep 2026

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  3. Apple UK store — Mac Studio M5 Max, 18-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 36GB, 512GB — From £2,499 · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 2026

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  4. Apple UK Store (archived 26 March 2025) — Mac Studio, M3 Ultra with 28-core CPU and 60-core GPU, 96GB, 1TB, £4,199.00 · third-party figure · read 11 Oct 2026

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  5. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces new Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  6. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio, the most powerful Mac ever · Apple’s figure · read 30 Sep 2026

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  7. Security updates: no end date published. Checked: endoflife.date. Read 22 Sep 2026

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  8. Security updates: no end date published. Checked: endoflife.date. Read 30 Sep 2026

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  9. Apple UK — Mac Studio Technical Specifications · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  10. Doesn’t apply: this chip has no super cores

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  11. Apple lists this chip’s cores as 6 super cores, 12 performance cores, with no efficiency cores

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  12. Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  13. Apple UK — Mac Studio Technical Specifications · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  14. Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  15. Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 2026

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  16. Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers · Apple’s figure · read 30 Sep 2026

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  17. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  18. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model · Apple’s figure · read 30 Sep 2026

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  19. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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Not published by Apple

Mac Studio M5 Max. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: memory upgradeable by user, storage upgradeable by user, microphones, the macOS it shipped with. Geekbench 7: the Mac chart has no entry for this Mac, so no figures are shown (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (M5 Max or M5 Ultra) - Tech Specs; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces new Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model, read 9 Oct 2026.

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.

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 M5 Max? · Should I upgrade my Mac Studio M3 Ultra (2025)?

The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.