The war in Ukraine and the resulting global upheavals distracted the attention of Apple fans from the new products introduced by the company in March 2022 (which is not surprising). However, I took the time to give a brief overview of a really interesting product – the new Mac Studio compact computer. The device is so ambiguous that it is worth examining it more closely.

What does Mac Studio look like?

Many users have already noticed the external similarity of the new computer with the Mac mini. Indeed, the design of the novelty is very similar to the already familiar “mini” of the latest generations. The width and length remained the same, but it grew in height. The Mac Studio is like two Mac Minis stacked on top of each other. The design remained laconic: silver color, on the upper part of the case “apple”. By the way, like the latest models of Apple technology, it is made of recycled aluminum.

Ports and connectors of Mac Studio

For a powerful and compact computer, it is important to have different types of ports and connectors. The new model boasts the following set:

• Thunderbolt 4 (до 40Gb/s);
• DisplayPort USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s);
• USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s);
• Две USB-A порты (вверх до 5Gb/s);
• HDMI port 10Gb Ethernet;
• 3.5 mm headphone jack;
• SDXC card slot (UHS-II).

At the same time, the model with the M1 Max chip has two USB-C ports (up to 10Gb/s), and the M1 Ultra has two Thunderbolt 4 ports (up to 40Gb/s). I think this number of connectors is enough to connect a variety of devices..

Features of Mac Studio

The new computer turned out to be really powerful and fast. For example, the M1 Ultra scored the highest among previous models in the multi-threading test through Geekbench 5 and Cinebench R23. Another interesting thing to note is that the premium version is equipped with an M1 Ultra processor, which is nothing more than two combined M1 Max chips (using UltraFusion technology). In addition, the computer is very quiet. The base version options look like this:

Mac Studio M1 Max

• Processor: Apple M1 Max:

10-core CPU with 8 performance cores and 2 efficiency cores

24-core GPU

16-core Neural Engine

400GB/s memory bandwidth

• Memory: 32 GB

• Storage: 512 GB

Mac Studio M1 Ultra

• Processor: Apple M1 Ultra:

20-core CPU with 16 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores

48-core GPU

32-core Neural Engine

800GB/s memory bandwidth

• Memory: 64 GB

• Storage: 1 TB

In the maximum configurations, Apple offers versions with more memory and storage, as well as more powerful processors.

Keyboard, mouse, display

The box with the Mac Studio only has a power cable, so everything else needs to be purchased separately. Regarding the keyboard, mouse or trackpad – you can connect almost any device to your liking. But to reveal all the possibilities of the image, you need a high-quality display. By default, four Pro Display XDR monitors are supported. And Apple itself suggests using the device in tandem with the new Studio Display.