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New Mac Studio M5 Ultra and Max Models Impress in Reviews
Confirmed
In Short: The M5 Ultra model, in particular, has been described as the most powerful Mac ever, with reviewers noting its 30% faster performance in both single-core and multi-core tests compared to the M3 Ultra.
The M5 Ultra model, in particular, has been described as the most powerful Mac ever, with reviewers noting its 30% faster performance in both single-core and multi-core tests compared to the M3 Ultra.
The Verge tested a $12,299 configuration of the M5 Ultra Mac Studio, which includes a 36-core CPU, 80-core GPU, 256GB of RAM, and 4TB of storage.
According to The Verge's Antonio Di Benedetto, the M5 Ultra's performance is 'outrageous,' while PCMag's Brian Westover called the computer 'a serious powerhouse for top-tier local AI inference.
AppleInsider noted that the price jump from the M3 Ultra to the M5 Ultra is 'a massive price jump of over 50 percent,' and questioned whether the extra performance is worth it for all buyers.
The new Mac Studio is available for pre-order since August 25 and launches on September 22, with the M5 Ultra model starting at $6,799 in the U.S.
The M5 Ultra's benchmark results show up to 30% faster single-core CPU performance and up to 35% faster multi-core performance compared to the M3 Ultra, aligning with or even exceeding Apple's advertised claims.
The new Mac Studio and a new Mac mini with M6 and M5 Pro chip options are now available for pre-order, with both set to launch this Tuesday, September 22.
What this adds
The economic context of rising interest rates in Japan, the U.S., and Europe is noted but does not directly impact the review of the new Mac Studio models.
What's confirmed
- The M5 Ultra model, in particular, has been described as the most powerful Mac ever, with reviewers noting its 30% faster performance in both single-core and multi-core tests compared to the M3 Ultra.
- The Verge tested a $12,299 configuration of the M5 Ultra Mac Studio, which includes a 36-core CPU, 80-core GPU, 256GB of RAM, and 4TB of storage.
- According to The Verge's Antonio Di Benedetto, the M5 Ultra's performance is 'outrageous,' while PCMag's Brian Westover called the computer 'a serious powerhouse for top-tier local AI inference.
- AppleInsider noted that the price jump from the M3 Ultra to the M5 Ultra is 'a massive price jump of over 50 percent,' and questioned whether the extra performance is worth it for all buyers.
- The new Mac Studio is available for pre-order since August 25 and launches on September 22, with the M5 Ultra model starting at $6,799 in the U.S.
- The M5 Ultra's benchmark results show up to 30% faster single-core CPU performance and up to 35% faster multi-core performance compared to the M3 Ultra, aligning with or even exceeding Apple's advertised claims.
- The new Mac Studio and a new Mac mini with M6 and M5 Pro chip options are now available for pre-order, with both set to launch this Tuesday, September 22.
What's still developing
- Apple announced the two new editions of the Mac Studio at the end of August, but with a long wait before pre-orders would start.
- Now in the week that the early buyers will get their devices, the first real-world reviews of both the M5 Max and M5 Ultra Mac Studio versions are starting to appear.
- Mon Sep 21 2026, 09:41 AM EDT · 2 minute read The new Mac Studio retains the familiar design but features new processors.
- The first reviews of the new M5 Max and M5 Ultra Mac Studio are out, and if they quibble about the pricing, there's no questioning that these are the most powerful Macs ever.
- It proved faster and more powerful than anything the publication has tested previously, making the benchmark tools seem insufficient.
- There just wasn't enough time to truly attempt to push the Mac Studio with M5 Ultra.
- According to one review published by Macworld 's Roman Loyola, the biggest upgrade isn't even the M5 Ultra, but rather significantly faster storage speeds.
- "Typically, we start our reviews by looking at overall performance with Geekbench, and then we work our way through more specific aspects," he said.
- Ahead of the new Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips launching this Tuesday, the first reviews of the computer have been shared by selected tech websites and YouTube channels.
- M5 Ultra benchmark results already surfaced last week if you are interested in that.
- We’ve tested an M5 Max already, in the MacBook Pro, where it starts at $4,099 with the same amount of memory and 2TB of storage (the equivalent Mac Studio costs $3,299).
- The Mac Studio review unit that Apple sent us to test this year is, put simply, kind of outrageous.