Should I upgrade my Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023)?

3 years old · Runs macOS 27 Golden Gate, the current macOS

Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023)¹Mac Studio (M5 Max)²

Quick look

Quick look: Mac Studio M2 Max against Mac Studio M5 Max
Figure	Mac Studio M2 Max¹	Mac Studio M5 Max²
Price	£2,099³launch price	£2,499⁴Apple UK store
Chip	M2 Maxchip	M5 Maxchip
CPU	12-coreCPU	18-coreCPU
GPU	30-coreGPU	32-coreGPU
Memory	32GBunified memory, base	36GBunified memory, base
Storage	512GBstorage, base	512GBstorage, base
Released	13 June 2023³ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 5 June 2023.	22 September 2026⁵ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 25 August 2026.
Security updates	Not available⁶Security updates	Not available⁶Security updates

Software support

Security updates: Not available⁶
macOS: macOS 27 Golden Gate, the current macOS

Mac Studio M2 Max and the Mac Studio M5 Max

The newest Max-tier Mac in this line that Apple still sells.

Specifications

Body

Body: Apple Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023) against Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max)
Specification	Mac Studio M2 Max¹	Mac Studio M5 Max²
Dimensions	95 x 197 x 197 mm	95 x 197 x 197 mm
Weight	2.7 kg	2.7 kg
Colours	Silver	Silver
Ports	Four Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports (up to 5Gb/s), HDMI port, 10Gb Ethernet, 3.5mm headphone jack; on front (M2 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 Max): two USB-C ports (up to 10Gb/s), SDXC card slot (UHS-II)
Thunderbolt ports⁷	4	4
Thunderbolt version	Thunderbolt 4	Thunderbolt 5
USB-A ports	2	2
HDMI	HDMI port	HDMI 2.1 port
SD card slot	Yes	Yes
Headphone jack	Yes	Yes

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023) against Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max)
Specification	Mac Studio M2 Max¹	Mac Studio M5 Max²
Chip	Apple M2 Max chip	Apple M5 Max chip
Apple silicon	Yes	Yes
CPU cores	12	18
Super cores	Not available⁸	6⁹
Performance cores	8	12⁹
Efficiency cores	4	Not available¹⁰
GPU cores	30	32
Neural Engine cores	16	16
Chip options	M2 Max with 12-core CPU and 30-core GPU, or M2 Max with 12-core CPU and 38-core GPU¹¹	M5 Max with 18-core CPU and 32-core GPU, or M5 Max with 18-core CPU and 40-core GPU⁹
Memory (base)	32GB	36GB
Memory (maximum)	96GB¹¹	128GB⁹
Memory options	32GB, 64GB or 96GB (96GB with 38-core GPU)¹¹	36GB; 48GB, 64GB or 128GB (40-core GPU)⁹
Memory bandwidth	400 GB/s	460 GB/s
Storage (base)	512GB	512GB
Storage (maximum)	8TB¹¹	8TB⁹
Storage options	512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB¹¹	512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB⁹
Media engine	Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginetwo video encode enginestwo ProRes encode and decode engines	Hardware-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 (M2 Max, 2023) against Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max)
Specification	Mac Studio M2 Max¹	Mac Studio M5 Max²
Maximum continuous power	370 W	480 W

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023) against Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max)
Specification	Mac Studio M2 Max¹	Mac Studio M5 Max²
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)	Wi‑Fi 7 (802.11be)
Bluetooth	5.3	6
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

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023) against Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max)
Specification	Mac Studio M2 Max¹	Mac Studio M5 Max²
Speakers	Built-in speaker¹²	Built-in speaker¹³

Platform

Platform: Apple Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023) against Apple Mac Studio (M5 Max)
Specification	Mac Studio M2 Max¹	Mac Studio M5 Max²
Shipped with	macOS Ventura¹⁴	Not available¹⁵
Newest macOS	macOS 27 Golden Gate¹⁶	macOS 27 Golden Gate¹⁶
Model identifier	Mac14,13¹⁷	Mac17,14¹⁸
Model year	2023	2026¹⁹

The rest of the range at the price

Macs from other lines with a price read from Apple’s UK store, released within a year of the Mac Studio M5 Max and priced within a quarter of its £2,499 at Apple’s UK price as read on 22 September 2026, nearest price first. Each links to its side-by-side table, with your Mac Studio M2 Max (2023) or, where that pair is not one this site indexes, with the Mac Studio M5 Max.

Trade-in and used prices

CeX pays, grade A: £1,136 cash / £1,313 voucher²⁰Base configuration
CeX sells, grade A: £1,775²⁰Base configuration
The Mac Studio M5 Max new, less CeX’s cash: £1,363£2,499 new at Apple’s UK price as read on 22 September 2026, less £1,136 cash CeX was offering on 3 November 2026 for a grade A Mac Studio M2 Max (2023) in its base configuration

Sources

Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2023) - Tech Specs · Default for Mac Studio M2 Max · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026
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Apple UK — Mac Studio Technical Specifications · Default for Mac Studio M5 Max · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026
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Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio and brings Apple silicon to Mac Pro · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026
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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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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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Apple publishes no date for the end of updates, and this site does not guess one. Checked: endoflife.date. Read 22 Sep 2026
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Different Thunderbolt generations. Mac Studio M2 Max: Thunderbolt 4. Mac Studio M5 Max: Thunderbolt 5.
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Doesn’t apply: this chip has no super cores
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Apple UK — Mac Studio Technical Specifications · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026
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Apple lists this chip’s cores as 6 super cores, 12 performance cores, with no efficiency cores
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Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2023) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026
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Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2023) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026
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Apple UK — Mac Studio Technical Specifications · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026
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Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio and brings Apple silicon to Mac Pro · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026
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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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Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 2026
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Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026
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Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026
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Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026
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CeX — Trade-in, Grade A, cash · third-party figure · read 3 Nov 2026
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Not published by Apple

Mac Studio M2 Max. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: memory upgradeable by user, storage upgradeable by user, microphones. Geekbench 7: the Mac chart lists the Mac Studio M2 Max only with a 38-core GPU, not the 30-core GPU this Mac has, so no figures are shown (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2023) - Tech Specs; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new Mac Studio and brings Apple silicon to Mac Pro; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your Mac Studio model, read 9 Oct 2026.

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

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