Apple launches Mac Studio with powerful, new M1 Ultra chip at 2022 event

Apple has a new desktop computer in its lineup, the Mac Studio. The company also launched the matching Studio Display, a 27-inch monitor aimed at professionals.

Launched at Apple's "Peek Performance" event on March 8, the Mac Studio is powered by Apple's new M1 Ultra chip, which is essentially two M1 Max chips rolled into one. With 114 billion transistors and support for up to 128GB of unified RAM, it's Apple's most powerful chip by far. Apple says that a Mac Studio with an M1 Ultra is up to 90% faster than a Mac Pro with a 16-core Intel Xeon chip, and up 3.8x time faster than the fastest, 27-inch iMac with a 10-core processor. The Mac Studio can also be configured with an M1 Max chip.

Apple's most powerful silicon ever. Credit: Apple

In terms of design, the Mac Studio is essentially a taller Mac mini, which doesn't sound like something aimed for heavy-duty tasks, but Apple says it's put in a lot of work to make this thing quiet and cool, including 4,000 perforations on the back and bottom of the Studio's enclosure, and a system of double-sided blowers, pushing air over the Studio's inner components.

Mac Studio Credit: Apple

Another important aspect of the Mac Studio is connectivity. On the back, it has four Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 10GB Ethernet port, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, and a headphone jack. Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 are built-in, too. On the front, there are two additional USB-C ports, and there's also an SD card slot — something photographers will definitely appreciate.

That's a lot of pixels. Credit: Apple

The Mac Studio supports up to four Apple XDR displays as well as a 4K TV. Unlike the limited capabilities of the M1 Mac mini, it'll be hard to find anyone who thinks this computer is lacking.

As for the Studio Display, it's an all-aluminum 27-inch display with a 5K resolution, 600 nits of brightness, and support for 1 billion colors.

It has an A13 chip inside. Credit: Apple

The most interesting trait of the Studio Display is that it actually has an A13 chip that gives it several cool features: Center Stage for the built-in 8-megapixel camera and Spatial Audio, as well as Dolby Atmos support for its six built-in speakers.

The Studio Display has four USB-C ports, one of which is a Thunderbolt port that can deliver 96W of power – enough to power a MacBook Pro. The Studio Display can be tilted back 30 degrees with the standard stand, but you can also get it with a more advanced stand that allows for vertical adjustments as well as pivoting.

The Mac Studio starts at $1,999 with the M1 Max chip, and $3,999 with the M1 Ultra chip.

The Apple Studio Display starts at $1,599.

Both devices can be pre-ordered today, with with availability starting on March 18.