Apple Mac Studio M2 Ultra Review : It’s AMAZING

Follow for more exciting updates! Are you ready to delve into the world of the Mac Studio? It has remained the go-to choice for professionals seeking a compact yet powerful desktop computer. And guess what? There’s a brand-new Mac Studio on the scene. But here’s the twist — it looks strikingly similar to its predecessor. In fact, the resemblance is so uncanny that our office had to resort to Post-it notes just to tell them apart.

Fear not, though, as this pro-level workstation still retains its remarkable compactness and iconic Apple aesthetic. However, it comes with one major caveat — it’s effectively non-upgradable. This means that when making your purchase, you need to be extremely careful about your selection. In terms of ports, the new Mac Studio pretty much matches its predecessor. You’ll find a pair of USB-C ports (Thunderbolt 4 on the Ultra) and an SDXC reader at the front, and at the back, you’ll discover four Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, one HDMI port, a 10GB Ethernet port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and, of course, the mighty power cable.

Now, let’s talk about the upgrades. This year’s Mac Studio supports Bluetooth 5.3, a step up from the previous version’s Bluetooth 5.0. Additionally, the M1 Ultra could handle up to four 6K displays and one 4K display, while the M2 Ultra takes things up a notch. Thanks to an enhanced HDMI port, the M2 Ultra can support a whopping eight 4K displays, six 6K displays, or three 8K displays. But here’s the real game-changer — the processor. Last year’s Studio offered the M1 Max or the M1 Ultra, essentially two M1 Maxes combined. In this year’s model, Apple has upped its game with the M2 Max and the M2 Ultra, which are essentially two M2 Maxes fused together. And the difference is clear — the number in their name has increased by one.

For testing purposes, I got my hands on an M2 Ultra unit of the 2023 Mac Studio, equipped with a mind-boggling 24-core CPU, a whopping 76-core GPU, a whopping 128GB of memory, and an impressive 4TB of storage. And boy, did I put it to the test!

Now, let’s talk about the price. The M2 Ultra units start at $3,999, but the specific system I tested would set you back a jaw-dropping $6,799. This means that the Mac Studio is a machine tailored to a fairly specific group of customers. (Oh, and if you’re considering an upgrade, Apple generously offers “up to $1,500” in trade-in credit for your now-obsolete M1 Ultra Studio. Thanks, Apple!) While the price tag may seem hefty, it’s not outrageous compared to the Mac Pro or other high-end PCs.

The M2 Ultra boasts a staggering 20 billion additional transistors compared to its predecessor and offers the potential for higher specifications, supporting up to 192GB of unified memory compared to the M1’s limit of 128GB. The M2 Ultra can also be configured with a 24-core GPU and 76-core GPU, while the M1 was limited to a 20-core CPU and a 64-core GPU. In this review, we’re putting the top-specced M2 Ultra chip to the test to see just how much those extra cores boost performance.