Mac Studio (M5 Max) vs Mac Studio (M4 Max, 2025)
Quick look
| Figure | Mac Studio M5 Max1 | Mac Studio M4 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £2,4993Apple UK store | £2,0994launch price |
| Chip | M5 Maxchip | M4 Maxchip |
| CPU | 18-coreCPU | 14-coreCPU |
| GPU | 32-coreGPU | 32-coreGPU |
| Memory | 36GBunified memory, base | 36GBunified memory, base |
| Storage | 512GBstorage, base | 512GBstorage, base |
| Released | 22 September 20265ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 25 August 2026. | 12 March 20254ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 5 March 2025. |
| Security updates | Not available6Security updates | Not available6Security updates |
- Price
- The Mac Studio M5 Max is £2,499 on Apple’s UK store; 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 M5 Max1 | Mac Studio M4 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 95 x 197 x 197 mm | 95 x 197 x 197 mm |
| Weight | 2.7 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 (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 (M4 Max): two USB-C ports (up to 10Gb/s), SDXC card slot (UHS-II) |
| Thunderbolt ports | 4 | 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 M5 Max1 | Mac Studio M4 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | Apple M5 Max chip | Apple M4 Max chip |
| Apple silicon | Yes | Yes |
| CPU cores | 18 | 14 |
| Super cores | 67 | Not available8 |
| Performance cores | 127 | 10 |
| Efficiency cores | Not available9 | 4 |
| GPU cores | 32 | 32 |
| Neural Engine cores | 16 | 16 |
| Chip options | M5 Max with 18-core CPU and 32-core GPU, or M5 Max with 18-core CPU and 40-core GPU7 | M4 Max with 14-core CPU and 32-core GPU, or M4 Max with 16-core CPU and 40-core GPU10 |
| Memory (base) | 36GB | 36GB |
| Memory (maximum) | 128GB7 | 128GB10 |
| Memory options | 36GB; 48GB, 64GB or 128GB (40-core GPU)7 | 36GB; 48GB, 64GB or 128GB (16-core CPU and 40-core GPU)10 |
| Memory bandwidth | 460 GB/s | 410 GB/s |
| Storage (base) | 512GB | 512GB |
| Storage (maximum) | 8TB7 | 8TB10 |
| Storage options | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB7 | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB10 |
| 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 enginetwo video encode enginestwo ProRes encode and decode enginesAV1 decode |
Battery and power
| Specification | Mac Studio M5 Max1 | Mac Studio M4 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum continuous power | 480 W | 480 W |
Connectivity
| Specification | Mac Studio M5 Max1 | Mac Studio M4 Max2 |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi | Wi‑Fi 7 (802.11be) | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) |
| Bluetooth | 6 | 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) | 5 | 5 |
Sources
Apple UK — Mac Studio Technical Specifications ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple UK store — Mac Studio M5 Max, 18-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 36GB, 512GB — From £2,499 ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio, the most powerful Mac ever ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces new Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra ·
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩Apple UK — Mac Studio Technical Specifications ·
↩Doesn’t apply: this chip has no super cores
↩Apple lists this chip’s cores as 6 super cores, 12 performance cores, with no efficiency cores
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple UK — Mac Studio Technical Specifications ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - 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 Mac Studio model ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model ·
↩
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 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 M5 Max? · 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.