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Mac Studio (M5 Ultra) vs Mac Studio (M1 Max, 2022)

Mac Studio (M5 Ultra)1Mac Studio (M1 Max, 2022)2

Quick look

Quick look: Mac Studio M5 Ultra against Mac Studio M1 Max
FigureMac Studio M5 Ultra1Mac Studio M1 Max2
Price£5,4993Apple UK store£1,9994launch price
ChipM5 UltrachipM1 Maxchip
CPU30-coreCPU10-coreCPU
GPU64-coreGPU24-coreGPU
Memory96GBunified memory, base32GBunified memory, base
Storage1TBstorage, base512GBstorage, base
Released22 September 20265ReleasedIn 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").18 March 20224ReleasedIn select Apple Stores; orderable online from 8 March 2022.
Security updatesNot available6Security updatesNot available7Security updates
Price
The Mac Studio M5 Ultra is £5,499 on Apple’s UK store; the Mac Studio M1 Max is £1,999 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).

True to scale

Mac Studio (M5 Ultra) · 197 × 95 mm frontMac Studio (M1 Max, 2022) · 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 Ultra) against Apple Mac Studio (M1 Max, 2022)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Ultra1Mac Studio M1 Max2
Dimensions95 x 197 x 197 mm95 x 197 x 197 mm
Weight3.6 kg2.7 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 Ultra): two Thunderbolt 5 ports (up to 120Gb/s), SDXC card slot (UHS-II)Four Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports (up to 5Gb/s), HDMI port, 10Gb Ethernet, 3.5mm headphone jack; on front (M1 Max): two USB-C ports (up to 10Gb/s), SDXC card slot (UHS-II)
Thunderbolt ports864
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 5Thunderbolt 4
USB-A ports22
HDMIHDMI 2.1 portHDMI port
SD card slotYesYes
Headphone jackYesYes

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra) against Apple Mac Studio (M1 Max, 2022)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Ultra1Mac Studio M1 Max2
ChipApple M5 Ultra chipApple M1 Max chip
Apple siliconYesYes
CPU cores3010
Super cores109Not available10
Performance cores2098
Efficiency coresNot available112
GPU cores6424
Neural Engine cores3216
Chip optionsM5 Ultra with 30-core CPU and 64-core GPU, or M5 Ultra with 36-core CPU and 80-core GPUM1 Max with 10-core CPU and 24-core GPU, or M1 Max with 10-core CPU and 32-core GPU12
Memory (base)96GB32GB
Memory (maximum)256GB964GB12
Memory options96GB or 256GB932GB or 64GB12
Memory bandwidth1,200 GB/s400 GB/s
Storage (base)1TB512GB
Storage (maximum)16TB8TB12
Storage options1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB or 16TB512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB12
Media engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWtwo video decode enginesfour video encode enginesfour ProRes encode and decode enginesAV1 decodeHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginetwo video encode enginestwo ProRes encode and decode engines

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra) against Apple Mac Studio (M1 Max, 2022)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Ultra1Mac Studio M1 Max2
Maximum continuous power480 W370 W

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra) against Apple Mac Studio (M1 Max, 2022)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Ultra1Mac Studio M1 Max2
Wi-FiWi‑Fi 7 (802.11be)802.11ax Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth65.0
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)85

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra) against Apple Mac Studio (M1 Max, 2022)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Ultra1Mac Studio M1 Max2
SpeakersBuilt-in speaker13Built-in speaker14

Platform

Platform: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra) against Apple Mac Studio (M1 Max, 2022)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Ultra1Mac Studio M1 Max2
Newest macOSmacOS 27 Golden Gate15macOS 27 Golden Gate16
Model identifierMac17,1517Mac13,118
Model year20262022

Sources

  1. 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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  2. Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2022) - Tech Specs · Default for Mac Studio M1 Max · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  3. 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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  4. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils all-new Mac Studio and Studio Display · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  5. 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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  6. Security updates: no end date published. Checked: endoflife.date. 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. Different Thunderbolt generations. Mac Studio M5 Ultra: Thunderbolt 5. Mac Studio M1 Max: Thunderbolt 4.

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  9. Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (M5 Max or M5 Ultra) - Tech Specs · 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 10 super cores, 20 performance cores, with no efficiency cores

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  12. Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2022) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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

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  14. Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2022) - 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 30 Sep 2026

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

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

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

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Not published by Apple

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.

Mac Studio M1 Max. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: memory upgradeable by user, storage upgradeable by user, microphones, the macOS it shipped with. Geekbench 7 Metal: the Mac chart row for this Mac does not state its GPU core count, so no Metal score is shown (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2022) - Tech Specs; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils all-new Mac Studio and Studio Display; 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 Ultra? · Should I upgrade my Mac Studio M1 Max (2022)?

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