In other cases, everything from the power supply to the CPU to the fans. In some cases that just means being able to swap out a graphics card. The appeal of the Mac Pro desktop, or really any tower desktop PC, is its upgradability. That's probably the biggest sticking point for a certain brand of creative professional. Choose your options carefully, as the Mac Studio isn't internally upgradable after the fact.

It adds 64GB of RAM, 2TB storage and the version of the M1 Max chip with 32 GPU cores (vs. The configuration we tested is a few steps up from the base model. I'd like to see an M1 Pro chip version of the Mac Studio - that might be an even better in-between level for budget-conscious creatives looking to step up. $2,000 and $4,000 for the two Studio base models. If anything, the price difference should tell you this is a different category: $700 for the entry level M1 Mac Mini vs. In fact, I've described the Studio as two Mac Minis stacked up, but it's actually taller than that, at 3.7 inches, vs. Even in the M1 Max version, the case is practically half-filled with fans and cooling gear.īesides the look - a gently rounded square with an Apple logo on top - there's not much common ground between the Mac Studio and the Mac Mini. That version has a bigger, heavier heat sink (that weighs about two pounds more), because the M1 Ultra is essentially two M1 Max chips joined together.

We've only tested the M1 Max version of the Mac Studio so far, not the M1 Ultra version. The Mac Mini (left) next to the Mac Studio.

At $1,599, the Studio Display feels like a reasonable ask for a pro-level display, even if stand and screen options can drive up the price. Its only comparison within the Appleverse right now is the professional-level Pro Display XDR, a 32-inch display that starts at $5K, plus an extra $1,000 if you want its sold-separately stand. That enables on-board features like Center Stage and spatial audio. It has a chip inside, too - in this case the A13, as seen in the iPhone 11.

The Mac Studio is paired with another brand-new product, Apple's new 27-inch Studio Display. But most importantly, the Mac Studio would have meant that I didn't need to 'design a computer' for my workflows.' It's small enough that I could travel with it and plug it into a ton of displays, TVs and even cameras. It's $1,500 less than the 16-inch MacBook Pro. My colleague Patrick Holland told me that back in his filmmaking days, 'The Mac Studio would have been ideal for me. But speaking to other creatives, I heard the opposite - that the M1 Max Mac Studio (try saying that five times fast) is exactly what a developing filmmaker or music producer might want.

Best imac for recording studio