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Mac Studio (M5 Max) vs Mac Studio (M5 Ultra)

Mac Studio (M5 Max)1Mac Studio (M5 Ultra)2

Quick look

Quick look: Mac Studio M5 Max against Mac Studio M5 Ultra
FigureMac Studio M5 Max1Mac Studio M5 Ultra2
Price£2,4993Apple UK store£5,4994Apple UK store
ChipM5 MaxchipM5 Ultrachip
CPU18-coreCPU30-coreCPU
GPU32-coreGPU64-coreGPU
Memory36GBunified memory, base96GBunified memory, base
Storage512GBstorage, base1TBstorage, base
Released22 September 20265ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 25 August 2026.22 September 20266ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 25 August 2026. Apple says Mac Studio with 512GB of unified memory is coming in late October, and its UK store marks the M5 Ultra 512GB memory option the same way (store re-read 26 October 2026: "512GB memory option for M5 Ultra coming late October").
Security updatesNot available7Security updatesNot available8Security updates
Price
The Mac Studio M5 Max is £2,499 on Apple’s UK store; the Mac Studio M5 Ultra is £5,499 on Apple’s UK store.

True to scale

Mac Studio (M5 Max) · 197 × 95 mm frontMac Studio (M5 Ultra) · 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 (M5 Ultra)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Max1Mac Studio M5 Ultra2
Dimensions95 x 197 x 197 mm95 x 197 x 197 mm
Weight2.7 kg3.6 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 (M5 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 (M5 Ultra)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Max1Mac Studio M5 Ultra2
ChipApple M5 Max chipApple M5 Ultra chip
Apple siliconYesYes
CPU cores1830
Super cores691010
Performance cores1292010
GPU cores3264
Neural Engine cores1632
Chip optionsM5 Max with 18-core CPU and 32-core GPU, or M5 Max with 18-core CPU and 40-core GPU9M5 Ultra with 30-core CPU and 64-core GPU, or M5 Ultra with 36-core CPU and 80-core GPU
Memory (base)36GB96GB
Memory (maximum)128GB9256GB10
Memory options36GB; 48GB, 64GB or 128GB (40-core GPU)996GB or 256GB10
Memory bandwidth460 GB/s1,200 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 (M5 Ultra)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Max1Mac Studio M5 Ultra2
Maximum continuous power480 W480 W

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max) against Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Max1Mac Studio M5 Ultra2
Wi-FiWi‑Fi 7 (802.11be)Wi‑Fi 7 (802.11be)
Bluetooth66
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 (M5 Ultra)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Max1Mac Studio M5 Ultra2
SpeakersBuilt-in speaker11Built-in speaker12

Platform

Platform: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max) against Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Max1Mac Studio M5 Ultra2
Newest macOSmacOS 27 Golden Gate13macOS 27 Golden Gate14
Model identifierMac17,1415Mac17,1516
Model year2026172026

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 (M5 Max or M5 Ultra) - Tech Specs · Default for Mac Studio M5 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 — Mac Studio M5 Ultra, 30-core CPU, 64-core GPU, 96GB, 1TB — From £5,499 · Apple’s figure · read 2 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 introduces new Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra · Apple’s figure · read 3 Oct 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. Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (M5 Max or M5 Ultra) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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

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  12. Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (M5 Max or M5 Ultra) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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

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

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

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

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  17. 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 M5 Ultra. 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.

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 M5 Ultra?

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