Apple unveils Mac Studio and Studio Display for creative professionals

After introducing the M1 Pro and M1 Max chip for creative professionals, Apple has taken its silicon a notch higher with M1 Ultra. 

The tech giant on Wednesday (March 9) introduced an entirely new Mac desktop and display designed with Mac Studio and Studio Display. Claiming it to be a breakthrough in personal computing, Mac Studio will be powered by M1 Max and the new M1 Ultra. 

Apple claims it to be the first computer to deliver an unprecedented level of performance, an extensive array of connectivity, and completely new capabilities in a compact design that sits within arm’s reach on the desk. 

With Mac Studio, users can do things that are not possible on any other desktop, such as rendering massive 3D environments and playing back 18 streams of ProRes video. 

Studio Display features an expansive 27-inch 5K Retina display, a 12MP ultra-wide camera with Center Stage, and a high-fidelity six-speaker sound system with spatial audio, and complement to Mac Studio, also pairs with any Mac.

“We couldn’t be more excited to introduce an entirely new Mac desktop and display with Mac Studio and Studio Display,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. 

“Mac Studio ushers in a new era for the desktop with unbelievable performance powered by M1 Max and M1 Ultra, an array of connectivity, and a compact design that puts everything users need within easy reach. And Studio Display — with its stunning 5K Retina screen, along with the best combination of camera and audio ever in a desktop display — is in a class of its own," he added.

Claiming it to be a revolutionary desktop, Apple says every element inside Mac Studio was designed to optimise the performance of M1 Max and M1 Ultra. Built from a single aluminium extrusion with a square footprint of just 7.7-inch and a 3.7-inch height, Mac Studio takes up very little space and can fit under most displays. 

Mac Studio also features an innovative thermal design. The unique system of double-sided blowers precisely placed airflow channels, and over 4,000 perforations on the back and bottom of the enclosure guide air through the internal components and help cool the high-performance chips.

With M1 Max on Mac Studio, users can take their creative workflows to new levels, and for those requiring even more computing power, M1 Ultra is the next giant leap for Apple silicon, delivering breathtaking performance to Mac Studio. 

M1 Ultra builds on M1 Max and features the all-new UltraFusion architecture that interconnects the die of two M1 Max chips, creating a system on a chip (SoC) with unprecedented levels of performance and capabilities and consisting of 114 billion transistors, the most ever in a personal computer chip. 

The Mac Studio Powered by M1 Max Enables up to 2.5x faster CPU performance than the fastest 27-inch iMac with a 10-core processor, up to 50 per cent faster CPU performance than Mac Pro with a 16-core Xeon processor, up to 3.4x faster graphics performance than the 27-inch iMac, and over 3x faster than Mac Pro with its most popular graphics card and up to 7.5x faster than the 27-inch iMac, and up to 3.7x faster than 16-core Mac Pro when transcoding video.

Mac Studio Powered by M1 Ultra enables up to 3.8x faster CPU performance than the fastest 27-inch iMac with a 10-core processor, up to 90 per cent faster CPU performance than Mac Pro with a 16-core Xeon processor, up to 60 per cent faster CPU performance than 28-core Mac Pro, and up to 4.5x faster graphics performance than the 27-inch iMac and up to 80 per cent faster than the fastest Mac graphics card available currently.

On the back, Mac Studio includes four Thunderbolt 4 ports to connect displays and high-performance devices, a 10Gb Ethernet port, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, and a pro audio jack for high-impedance headphones or external amplified speakers. 

Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 are built in as well. And because users frequently connect and disconnect devices, like portable storage, Mac Studio includes ports on the front for more convenient access. 

There are two USB-C ports, which on M1 Max supports 10Gb/s USB 3, and on M1 Ultra supports 40Gb/s Thunderbolt 4. There is also an SD card slot on the front to easily import photos and video. And Mac Studio provides extensive display support — up to four Pro Display XDRs, plus a 4K TV — driving nearly 90 million pixels.

The all-new Studio Display perfectly complements Mac Studio and also beautifully pairs with any Mac. It has an all-aluminium enclosure that houses an advanced set of features in a slim profile. 

Its built-in stand allows the user to tilt the display up to 30 degrees. Studio Display features a 27-inch 5K Retina screen with over 14.7 million pixels. 

With 600 nits of brightness, P3 wide colour, and support for over one billion colours, images come to life with spectacular detail. And for workspaces with bright light sources, including sunlight, Studio Display offers an innovative nano-texture glass option. 

Nano-texture glass, first introduced on Pro Display XDR, scatters light to further minimise glare while delivering outstanding image quality. 

It features the A13 Bionic chip, and for video conferencing display, it includes a 12MP ultra-wide camera with Center Stage. Studio Display has three USB-C ports that deliver speeds up to 10Gb/s to connect high-speed peripherals, storage, and networking right into the display. 

A Thunderbolt port enables users to connect Studio Display and any connected peripherals to their Mac with a single cable.

The new Mac Studio with M1 Ultra chip is priced starting Rs 3,89,900. And will be available beginning Friday, March 18. The Studio Display with standard glass starts at Rs 1,59,900 and with nano-texture glass for Rs 1,89,900.

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