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Mac Studio (M5 Ultra) vs MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Max)

Mac Studio (M5 Ultra)1MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Max)2

Quick look

Quick look: Mac Studio M5 Ultra against MacBook Pro M5 Max
FigureMac Studio M5 Ultra1MacBook Pro M5 Max2
Price£5,4993Apple UK store£4,3994Apple UK store
ChipM5 UltrachipM5 Maxchip
CPU30-coreCPU18-coreCPU
GPU64-coreGPU32-coreGPU
Memory96GBunified memory, base36GBunified memory, base
Storage1TBstorage, base2TBstorage, base
Battery life Not available5No batteryUp to22 hrsvideo playback, claimed
Released22 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").11 March 20267ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 4 March 2026.
Security updatesNot available8Security updatesNot available8Security updates
Price
The Mac Studio M5 Ultra is £5,499 on Apple’s UK store; the MacBook Pro M5 Max is £4,399 on Apple’s UK store.
Kind of Mac
The Mac Studio M5 Ultra is a desktop; the MacBook Pro M5 Max is a laptop. The MacBook Pro M5 Max has a built-in 16.2-inch display, a camera and a battery, whereas the Mac Studio M5 Ultra has none of them.

True to scale

Mac Studio (M5 Ultra) · 197 × 95 mm frontMacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Max) · 355.7 × 248.1 mm footprint

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

Body: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra) against Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Max)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Ultra1MacBook Pro M5 Max2
Dimensions95 x 197 x 197 mm16.8 x 355.7 x 248.1 mm
Weight3.6 kg2.15 kg
ColoursSilverSpace Black, Silver
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)Three Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, MagSafe 3 port, 3.5mm headphone jack
Thunderbolt ports63
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 5Thunderbolt 5
USB-A ports2No USB-A ports.9
HDMIHDMI 2.1 portHDMI port
SD card slotYesYes
Headphone jackYesYes
MagSafeNot available10Yes
KeyboardNot available11Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
Touch IDNot available12Yes
Touch BarNot available13No Touch Bar.14

Display

Display: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra) against Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Max)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Ultra1MacBook Pro M5 Max2
Display sizeNot available1516.2 in
ResolutionNot available153456 x 2234
Pixel densityNot available15254 ppi
Display typeNot available15Liquid Retina XDR display
Brightness (SDR, outdoor)Not available151,000 nits16
Peak brightness (HDR)Not available151,600 nits
Refresh rateNot available15120 Hz
Wide colour (P3)Not available15Yes
Nano-texture optionNot available15Yes

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra) against Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Max)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Ultra1MacBook Pro M5 Max2
ChipApple M5 Ultra chipApple M5 Max chip
Apple siliconYesYes
CPU cores3018
Super cores1017616
Performance cores20171216
GPU cores6432
Neural Engine cores3216
Chip optionsM5 Ultra with 30-core CPU and 64-core GPU, or M5 Ultra with 36-core CPU and 80-core GPUM5 Max with 18-core CPU and 32-core GPU, or M5 Max with 18-core CPU and 40-core GPU
Memory (base)96GB36GB
Memory (maximum)256GB17128GB
Memory options96GB or 256GB1736GB; 48GB, 64GB or 128GB (M5 Max with 40-core GPU)
Memory upgradeable by userNot available18No, as Apple documents19
Memory bandwidth1,200 GB/s460 GB/s
Storage (base)1TB2TB
Storage (maximum)16TB8TB
Storage options1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB or 16TB2TB, 4TB or 8TB
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 enginesAV1 decode

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra) against Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Max)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Ultra1MacBook Pro M5 Max2
Battery capacityNot available5100 Wh
Rated charge cyclesNot available51,000 cycles20
Video playback (claimed)Not available522 h
Wireless web (claimed)Not available516 h
Included power adapterNot available21No power adapter in the box.14
Fast chargingNot available5Yes
Maximum continuous power480 WNot available22

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra) against Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Max)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Ultra1MacBook Pro M5 Max2
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)No Ethernet port.14
External displays (base)84

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra) against Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Max)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Ultra1MacBook Pro M5 Max2
CameraNot available2312MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View
Camera resolutionNot available2312 MP
SpeakersBuilt-in speaker24High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers
MicrophonesNot available18Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming25

Platform

Platform: Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra) against Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Max)
SpecificationMac Studio M5 Ultra1MacBook Pro M5 Max2
Newest macOSmacOS 27 Golden Gate26macOS 27 Golden Gate26
Model identifierMac17,1527Mac17,6, Mac17,828
Model year20262026

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) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Pro or M5 Max) - Tech Specs · Default for MacBook Pro M5 Max · Apple’s figure · read 30 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 UK store — 16-inch MacBook Pro M5 Max, 18-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 36GB, 2TB — From £4,399 · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  5. Doesn’t apply: no battery

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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. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces MacBook Pro with all-new M5 Pro and M5 Max · Apple’s figure · read 30 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. MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Max): No USB-A ports. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Pro or M5 Max) - Tech Specs. Read 30 Sep 2026

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  10. Doesn’t apply: MagSafe is a notebook charging port

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  11. Doesn’t apply: no built-in keyboard

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  12. Doesn’t apply: no built-in keyboard, and Touch ID is a keyboard feature

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  13. Doesn’t apply: the Touch Bar was only fitted to MacBook Pro

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  14. MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Max): No Touch Bar. No power adapter in the box. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Pro or M5 Max) - Tech Specs. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  15. Doesn’t apply: no built-in display

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  16. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Pro or M5 Max) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  17. Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (M5 Max or M5 Ultra) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  18. Not published by Apple. 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

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  19. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro: how to remove or install memory · Apple’s figure · read 18 Oct 2026

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  20. Apple Support (UK) — Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops · Apple’s figure · read 15 Oct 2026

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  21. Doesn’t apply: internal power supply, no power adapter in the box

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  22. Doesn’t apply: a notebook lists its power adapter, not a maximum continuous power

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  23. Doesn’t apply: no built-in camera

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

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  25. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, M5 Pro or M5 Max) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 11 Oct 2026

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

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

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  28. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model · Apple’s figure · read 11 Oct 2026

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Not published by Apple

Mac Studio M5 Ultra. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, 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.

MacBook Pro M5 Max. 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, M5 Pro or M5 Max) - Tech Specs; Identify your MacBook Pro model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces MacBook Pro with all-new M5 Pro and M5 Max, 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 MacBook Pro M5 Max (16-inch)?

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