At its Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple today completed its transition from ‘Intel Inside’ to Apple Silicon, started in 2020 when they introduced the first MacOS computers featuring the M1 processor.
The company introduced two new systems, based on the company’s M2 Max and new M2 Ultra – the Mac Studio and the new Mac Pro. Apple calls them the “most powerful Macs ever made”.
The new Mac Studio is available in configurations based on the M2 Max and the new M2 Ultra, delivering a significant boost in performance, along with enhanced connectivity.
The Mac Pro, now featuring M2 Ultra, combines Apple’s most powerful chip with the versatility of PCIe expansion, and is up to 3x faster than the previous-generation Intel-based model.
“The new Mac Studio and Mac Pro with Apple silicon are the two most powerful Macs we’ve ever made,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. “Mac Studio has been a breakthrough for pros everywhere, and it’s at the heart of hundreds of thousands of home and pro studios across the world. Today, it gets even better with M2 Max and the new M2 Ultra, featuring even more performance and enhanced connectivity. And for those users who need the versatility of internal expansion, Mac Pro combines PCIe slots with our most powerful chip. The new Mac Studio and Mac Pro join our other pro systems to give our users the most powerful and capable lineup of pro products that Apple has ever offered.”
The new Mac Studio provides a big boost in performance versus the previous generation and a massive leap for users coming from older Macs.
Mac Studio with M2 Max is up to 50 percent faster than the previous-generation Mac Studio4 and 4x faster than the most powerful Intel-based 27-inch iMac. It features a 12-core CPU, up to a 38-core GPU, and up to 96GB of unified memory with 400GB/s of memory bandwidth.
Mac Studio with M2 Ultra delivers twice the performance and capabilities of M2 Max, and is Apple’s largest and most capable system on a chip (SoC) ever. Mac Studio with M2 Ultra is up to 3x faster than the previous-generation Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, and up to 6x faster than the most powerful Intel-based 27-inch iMac.
It features a 24-core CPU, up to a 76-core GPU, and up to 192GB of memory with 800GB/s of unified memory bandwidth for workstation-class performance.
Enhanced Connectivity
The new Mac Studio now has higher-bandwidth HDMI, enabling up to 8K resolution and 240Hz frame rates. With M2 Ultra, Mac Studio supports up to six Pro Display XDRs — driving over 100 million pixels — allowing for a vast amount of screen real estate for pro workflows.
Additionally, it now features advanced built-in wireless technologies. Wi-Fi 6E delivers download speeds that are up to twice as fast as the previous generation, while Bluetooth 5.3 allows users to connect to the latest Bluetooth accessories.
On the back, Mac Studio includes four Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 10Gb Ethernet port, an enhanced HDMI port, and two USB-A ports. It also conveniently has two USB-C ports and an SD card slot on the front to easily import photos and video.
Apple Silicon Comes to Mac Pro
Mac Pro delivers the groundbreaking performance of M2 Ultra, plus the versatility of PCIe expansion,
While the Intel-based Mac Pro started with an 8-core CPU and could be configured up from there, every Mac Pro now has Apple’s most powerful 24-core CPU, an up to 76-core GPU, and a baseline of twice the memory and SSD storage.
The new Mac Pro can be configured with up to 192GB of memory, with 800GB/s of unified memory bandwidth.
The new Mac Pro brings PCIe expansion to Apple silicon, for pros who want the performance of M2 Ultra and rely on internal expansion for their workflows. Mac Pro features seven PCle expansion slots, with six open expansion slots that support gen 4, which is 2x faster than before, so users can customize Mac Pro with essential cards.
It also offers eight built-in Thunderbolt 4 ports — six on the back and two on the top — which is twice as many as before. It supports up to six Pro Display XDRs, along with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, which come to the new Mac Pro for fast wireless connectivity.
Additionally, Mac Pro includes three USB-A ports, two higher-bandwidth HDMI ports that support up to 8K resolution and up to 240Hz frame rates, two 10Gb Ethernet ports, and a headphone jack that enables the use of high-impedance headphones.
Pricing and Availability:
The new Mac Studio and Mac Pro are available to order today on apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app. Mac Studio starts at $1,999 (U.S.) and $1,799 (U.S.) for education. Mac Pro (Tower Enclosure) starts at $6,999 (U.S.) and $6,599 (U.S.) for education.
I’ve stayed with Macs for years because I’m all-in with Logic. While I’m naturally impressed with today’s news, its moot for me. I’ve been pushing my M1 Mac and experienced exactly one crash, due to a faulty third-party loader. If I couldn’t get the system to choke with 40 acid-test tracks of crankin’ orchestra & synth, I won’t be hurting for an M2 any time soon.
“On Thursday, Apple released iOS 16.5 to the public with new wallpaper choices, updates to Apple News, and more. As it turns out, this update also breaks compatibility with Apple’s Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter accessory for iPhone and iPad users.“ – 9to5Mac
Been using Apple since Apple IIe days but this stuff really pisses me off. Both my iPad Pro setups now have to use 18watt plugs for the dongles to be able to charge again. And I only learned that from a comment I happened to find related to the article. Taking away audio jacks, changing connectors, making dongles not work, this is the shit we should never have to worry about. Yet you Apple continue to screw up the little things.
You’re writing this like Microsoft has never released a bad Windows update that breaks wifi, video or audio. It happens all the time because these are complex software environments. It will be patched soon.
Of course it will be “patched” and Microsoft has nothing to do with my post.
WTF? Geez how about staying on topic maybe?
I posted a factual instance involving Apple that impacts the consumer, yet again, and regarding stuff that worked and I paid for, yet they F it up for new wallpapers and crap I could care less about…but the Apple fanboys offer “whataboutisms,” and make excuses for stuff that should have been “patched” before release.
No one in R&D at Apple uses an effing dongle with their iPads? Hey Boss this new iOS release F.s up our lightning to USB 3 connectors. Oh don’t worry about it, we will just “patch” it later. FFS, are you serious?
Apple are still as overpriced as they are overrated.
I do own Apple. A PowerMac G4, for my OASYS-PCI card. Total system cost: $82 from eBay.
A glowing tribute to the reliability, durability and enduring value of Macs!
Well to be fair, my old 17″ MacBook Pro had its video card die, although even though it was out of warrantee Apple repaired it for free as there was a design issue. A year later when the second card died they would no longer replace it period.
Trade up or get out, eh?
same, on my g4 i have live4 and a audiophile 2496 that happily runs anything [from that time of course] – turbosynth runs in there too for wicked sample manipulation [or creating new wavetables for live’s waveform synth].
Well, try to buy a Windows PC with similar specs. I know, I had to build one 3.5 years ago with top-line specs and it cost me nearly $11k to do it. Now, with the M2 Ultra Mac Studio, I will have a more powerful computer for less than half the price. Intel or AMD. The only way to get close is with dual Intel Xeon processors and NVIDEA RTX-class GPUs. Guarantee that this will cost you a whole lot more.
I bought a Dell Latitude D830 (magnesium case, dual core, DVD burner) also from eBay for $24. That runs my Hartmann Neuron VS. This computer I’m writing on is an MSI i7 laptop about seven years old and “last year’s tech” when I bought it for $2,500. Still does everything I need, and can virtually run any of a dozen other operating systems including Mac OS X in VirtualBox (yeah, illegal, come get me.) I can write software for it without having to ask Microsoft’s permission. Try that with Mac OS. Apple is a company town. I would prefer Linux or BSD, but I would have to give up too many programs that just don’t work well if at all in UNIX-like. I just don’t see the sense of a $10,000 computer or synthesizer in a world where my fellow citizens have to work three jobs and still decide between rent and food for the kids. I only survive because I’m a disabled vet and people like to throw money at me when the best they would do for a homeless civilian person is the favor of not spitting on them. Yay, America.
The case is a professional studio requiring multiple computers synced up in order to mix down a AAA game or major film (and that’s just a case with audio). The power of these machines will now require less of them thereby making it cheaper overall. This is not a prosumer machine. Planning on recording a full orchestra? Mixing over a thousand tracks with plugins? Need to get it done on a deadline or it’ll cost millions? Are you Hans Zimmer or competing with him to get a scoring gig? If the answer is no then you don’t need it.
@Jeff Knapp,
No.
Seems the M2 Ultra will be only as fast as the consumer CPU “AMD Ryzen 9 7900” and somewhere between a “GeForce RTX 4070 Ti and RTX 4080” for video.
The top AMD/Intel consumer CPU’s will still be marginally faster but the M2 Ultra might have a lead in some video export and render duties not to mention efficiency.
Will set you back about 1K$. 2k$ for a complete high end build.
Still problems with upgrading discs or removable ssd disc that fit perfectly in the Mac pro 2010 versions also video cards that can handle simply more than one monitor
As. I nearly own all it those the M1 is ok and fast
But i needed Anna more cables more usb hubs external powered and a Blackmagic ssd station to get my discs running and it’s certainly not a bette option for that
also the M2 can not be the best ever made by Appel as that means there will never ever be a better one
happy with apple they are not cheap but they last and are made of better materials. for the amount of beating these devices take and last for over a decade is pretty remarkable.
I’d hope the top new Macs every year are “the most powerful Macs ever made”
yes I look forward to next year when they will produced the shittiest Mac ever
I run a Powermac from 2011 that has 64GB RAM, SSD’s all over the place and gigajoops of data space. 2011! They can be picked up used for cheap and rigged up with common hand tools. This “most powerful” is unimpressive for a machine produced 12 years after mine. If Apple were to make the pricing less than half of what they are asking perhaps they could draw in a largish user base. In my opinion Apple are jumping the shark on the high end machine market.
,,gridsleep”, I salute you! Plenty of studios running Mix24 on old Macs or old machines in general.
ReBirth RB-338 v1 has been made public domain and will run real nice on your G4.
Saw an Atari ST in a studio the other week doing MIDI work. ,,Why do you have that?” The answer? It works. Simple.
Ok, time for me to hop off the soapbox. A musical day to you all!
Thank god for Hackintosh
2016 iMac (Retina 5K) here, spec’d to what became the iMac Pro shortly after. I make my living with this thing as a producer of audio & video, with Logic Pro X + FCPX. I have ‘never’ hit the upper limit of this system for my work (if you need 6K or higher video produced, I’ll give you that person’s number:) I do use a lot of older vintage & hardware synths, which are my joy and does alleviate the need for this week’s CPU. Have several other even older Macs as well, to run my fave Bias Peak for dialogue editing and the occasional oddity like Roland’s VariOS. Always a pleasure, always just works, with plenty of time left over to be creative without having to become a sys admin. Cheers!
2007,2012,2022 – The years that I have bought a new MacBook Pro’s. My 2012 was unreal, I did swap a SSD in and upgrade the ram, but I still am using it for various music purposes. It’s my “test” machine now. Anyway, My 16-inch M1 Pro Book is hopefully going to be with me for another 10 years. They are without a doubt the best machine a creative can buy. They are absolutely not overpriced, you just need to make sure you buy them on the right year. I’ll probably buy one of these Mac Sudio’s used down the line someday or maybe an M1 iMac when they start coming out. Its going to be interesting to see what intel answers with, it’s been a few years and still nothing.
I’ll stick with my G3 Pismo and hacked copy of BIAS PEAK, thanks
oh man, i miss Peak. dsp quattro is pretty okay but peak was tits. thanks not at all for not buying it and contributing to their demise
if you get Applecare it might be worth it for those free replacement parts
Macs are less computers and more devices, they are highly specialized, depending on stability the price could be justified given certain kinds of performance in certain applications
at the end of the day, the same price PC hardware will have far more horsepower, but its not Unix based so the whole thing is different fundamentally. Ultimately you need to see real world reviews of this new version macpro first, but typically the highest end of the Mac pro range is the best value in the high cost segment.
wish i still had a mono NeXTstation.
Cool. Anyway, I just bought an Optiplex from shopgoodwill for $74 shipped.
Sweet looking cheese grater.
Thought the same the very moment I saw it : D
Got Mac mini pro2 with 32GB RAM, 12 core CPU and 1TB RAM recenty so don’t see much need to replace it 😉
Anyway great update with Mac Studio, not so much with Mac Pro.
Don’t think Mac Pro will find many buyers…
apple was great when windows was the absolute worst. now they’re both crappy feature filled garbage bags of stuff you can’t control or even want anymore. apple’s value died with jobs.
too bad SGI isn’t around anymore….
I got the M1 Mac studio last summer and it is a complete game changer for me production-wise. No matter how many software instruments and plugins I run in Logic it never crashes. It bounces and exports long complex projects very fast. It boots up in seconds. I have saved so much time on my projects because of the M1. For me, as a professional composer, this new generation of Mac chips are worth every penny. The M1 is so powerful that I don’t see any need to upgrade to M2 but I can imagine it would be tempting if I was doing video production…