Apple Mac Studio (M5 Ultra) review: top benchmark scores, high base memory of 96GB, and four to six ultra-fast Thunderbolt 5 ports, but incredibly expensive

The base price for the M5 Ultra Mac Studio jumps to $5,500, marking a significant cost increase for professional users.

Apple has released its new Mac Studio desktop, featuring the M5 Ultra processor, which is essentially two M5 Max chips combined. This new model offers significant performance gains, particularly in AI and graphics tasks, and supports up to 512GB of unified memory. The M5 Ultra Mac Studio starts at $5,500, a substantial increase from the previous generation's $4,000, with a top-tier configuration costing $11,299. This price hike is attributed to soaring memory costs and Apple's pricing strategies. The machine boasts up to a 36-core CPU, 80-core GPU, and a 32-core neural engine, delivering class-leading benchmark scores and exceptional speeds for content creation and AI model processing. It includes four Thunderbolt 5 ports for high-speed data transfer, with the option to cluster multiple units for even greater processing power.

The M5 Ultra processor, created by merging two M5 Max chips, positions the Mac Studio as a formidable workstation for demanding AI and creative workflows. Its ability to support up to 512GB of unified memory and its substantial bandwidth are key enablers for running large AI models locally, potentially reducing reliance on cloud computing for certain tasks. This move signals Apple's commitment to high-performance computing within its ecosystem, catering to a niche of users where computational power directly translates to productivity and the ability to tackle complex problems.

However, the steep price of the M5 Ultra, starting at $5,500 and reaching over $11,000 for high-end configurations, places it out of reach for many, including individual creators and developers. The review suggests that the performance uplift over the M5 Max model, while noticeable, may not justify the substantial cost increase for all but the most extreme power users. Apple appears to be prioritizing the AI market, banking on the value proposition of local model execution to justify the premium pricing.