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Should I upgrade my Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 2025)?

a year old · Runs macOS 27 Golden Gate, the current macOS

Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 2025)1Mac Studio (M5 Ultra)2

Quick look

Quick look: Mac Studio M3 Ultra against Mac Studio M5 Ultra
FigureMac Studio M3 Ultra1Mac Studio M5 Ultra2
Price£4,1993launch price£5,4994Apple UK store
ChipM3 UltrachipM5 Ultrachip
CPU28-coreCPU30-coreCPU
GPU60-coreGPU64-coreGPU
Memory96GBunified memory, base96GBunified memory, base
Storage1TBstorage, base1TBstorage, base
Released12 March 20255ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 5 March 2025.22 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 available7Security updates

Software support

Security updates
Not available7
macOS
macOS 27 Golden Gate, the current macOS

Mac Studio M3 Ultra and the Mac Studio M5 Ultra

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

Specifications

Body

Body: Apple Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 2025) against Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra)
SpecificationMac Studio M3 Ultra1Mac Studio M5 Ultra2
Dimensions95 x 197 x 197 mm95 x 197 x 197 mm
Weight3.64 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 (M3 Ultra): two Thunderbolt 5 ports (up to 120Gb/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 ports66
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 (M3 Ultra, 2025) against Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra)
SpecificationMac Studio M3 Ultra1Mac Studio M5 Ultra2
ChipApple M3 Ultra chipApple M5 Ultra chip
Apple siliconYesYes
CPU cores2830
Super coresNot available8109
Performance cores20209
Efficiency cores8Not available10
GPU cores6064
Neural Engine cores3232
Chip optionsM3 Ultra with 28-core CPU and 60-core GPU, or M3 Ultra with 32-core CPU and 80-core GPUM5 Ultra with 30-core CPU and 64-core GPU, or M5 Ultra with 36-core CPU and 80-core GPU
Memory (base)96GB96GB
Memory (maximum)256GB11256GB9
Memory options96GB or 256GB1196GB or 256GB9
Memory bandwidth819 GB/s1,200 GB/s
Storage (base)1TB1TB
Storage (maximum)16TB16TB
Storage options1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB or 16TB1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB or 16TB
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 RAWtwo video decode enginesfour video encode enginesfour ProRes encode and decode enginesAV1 decode

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 2025) against Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra)
SpecificationMac Studio M3 Ultra1Mac Studio M5 Ultra2
Maximum continuous power480 W480 W

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 2025) against Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra)
SpecificationMac Studio M3 Ultra1Mac Studio M5 Ultra2
Wi-FiWi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax)Wi‑Fi 7 (802.11be)
Bluetooth5.36
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)88

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 2025) against Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra)
SpecificationMac Studio M3 Ultra1Mac Studio M5 Ultra2
SpeakersBuilt-in speaker12Built-in speaker13

Platform

Platform: Apple Mac Studio (M3 Ultra, 2025) against Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra)
SpecificationMac Studio M3 Ultra1Mac Studio M5 Ultra2
Newest macOSmacOS 27 Golden Gate14macOS 27 Golden Gate14
Model identifierMac15,1415Mac17,1515
Model year20252026

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 Ultra and priced within a quarter of its £5,499 at Apple’s UK price as read on 2 October 2026, nearest price first. Each links to its side-by-side table, with your Mac Studio M3 Ultra (2025) or, where that pair is not one this site indexes, with the Mac Studio M5 Ultra.

Trade-in and used prices

CeX pays, grade A
£3,360 cash / £3,885 voucher16Base configuration
CeX sells, grade A
£5,25016Base configuration, out of stock online and in store when read
The Mac Studio M5 Ultra new, less CeX’s cash
£2,139£5,499 new at Apple’s UK price as read on 2 October 2026, less £3,360 cash CeX was offering on 3 November 2026 for a grade A Mac Studio M3 Ultra (2025) in its base configuration

More

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs · Default for Mac Studio M3 Ultra · Apple’s figure · read 30 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 (archived 26 March 2025) — Mac Studio, M3 Ultra with 28-core CPU and 60-core GPU, 96GB, 1TB, £4,199.00 · third-party figure · read 11 Oct 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 unveils new Mac Studio, the most powerful Mac ever · Apple’s figure · read 30 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. Apple publishes no date for the end of updates, and this site does not guess one. Checked: endoflife.date. Read 30 Sep 2026

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  8. Doesn’t apply: this chip has no super cores

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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. Apple lists this chip’s cores as 10 super cores, 20 performance cores, with no efficiency cores

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  11. Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  12. Apple Support (UK) — Mac Studio (2025) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 9 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) — 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 30 Sep 2026

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  16. CeX — Trade-in, Grade A, cash · third-party figure · read 3 Nov 2026

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Not published by Apple

Mac Studio M3 Ultra. 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.

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.

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