Apple’s new Mac Studio configuration built around the M5 Max chip arrives September 22, and the most useful way to size it up is against the machine it replaces: the M4 Max Mac Studio. The starting price hasn’t moved from $2,499, but the memory ceiling doubled, the SSD architecture changed, and Apple published benchmarks aimed squarely at buyers deciding whether the upgrade is worth it.
- Release date: Ships September 22, 2026; pre-orders opened August 25, 2026
- Starting price: $2,499, unchanged from M4 Max Mac Studio
- CPU: 18-core (6 super cores, 12 performance cores), up from the M4 Max’s 16-core design
- GPU: Configurable up to 40 cores, up to 50% faster than M4 Max
- Memory: Starts at 36GB, maxes out at 128GB (up from 64GB on M4 Max)
- Memory bandwidth: Up to 614GB/s, up from 546GB/s on M4 Max
- Storage/connectivity: New PCIe Gen 6 SSD (up to 2x faster than M4 Max’s), Thunderbolt 5, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6
Price: Apple Holds the Line at $2,499
Pricing holds steady at $2,499 for the base configuration, matching where the M4 Max Mac Studio started at launch. That’s notable given Apple raised prices across the broader Mac lineup earlier this year, pushing the M4 Max Mac Studio’s starting price up $500 in a June adjustment; the M5 Max model resets to the original $2,499 floor rather than building on top of that hike.
CPU and GPU: M5 Max vs M4 Max
The M4 Max Mac Studio topped out at a 16-core CPU. The new M5 Max configuration packs an 18-core CPU with 6 super cores and 12 performance cores, plus a GPU configurable up to 40 cores with Neural Accelerators built into every core, a component the M4 Max generation didn’t have. Apple says GPU performance is up to 50% faster than the M4 Max generation.
The real-world benchmarks Apple published are aimed squarely at the workflows Mac Studio buyers care about, and every figure is measured against the M4 Max: LLM prompt processing in LM Studio runs up to 3.9x faster, text-to-image generation is up to 3.5x faster, and Magic Mask in DaVinci Resolve Studio runs up to 3 times faster. For anyone doing local AI inference or heavy color and video work, those comparisons matter more than raw core counts.
Memory: 128GB vs 64GB
Unified memory starts at 36GB on both chips, but the M5 Max configuration now scales up to 128GB, a meaningful jump from the 64GB ceiling the M4 Max Mac Studio ended up with after Apple pulled the 256GB and 512GB options earlier this year amid rising RAM costs. Memory bandwidth also climbs to up to 614GB/s, up from 546GB/s on M4 Max. Buyers who need more than 128GB will need to step up to the separate M5 Ultra configuration, which currently offers 96GB or 256GB, with a 512GB option arriving in late October; the M4 Max never offered that path since its Ultra counterpart at the time was the M3 Ultra.
Storage and Connectivity: What Changed Under the Hood
Base storage stays at 512GB on both machines, but the SSD architecture underneath the M5 Max changed. Apple built the new storage on PCIe Gen 6, which the company says is up to twice as fast as the PCIe generation used in the M4 Max Mac Studio. Ports carry Thunderbolt 5 on both machines with up to 120Gb/s of bandwidth, but the M5 Max version adds Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 in place of the M4 Max’s Wi-Fi 6E, with Wi-Fi 7 enabling faster 6GHz-band speeds, lower latency, and the option to connect across 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands simultaneously for more reliable connections.
AI
The M5 Max Mac Studio ships running the current version of macOS, the same operating system the M4 Max version runs. What’s different is the Neural Accelerator hardware Apple is building into GPU cores across the M5 lineup, hardware the M4 Max’s GPU cores don’t have, which is designed to speed up on-device AI tasks handled by macOS and third-party apps like LM Studio and DaVinci Resolve.
| Feature | M4 Max Mac Studio | M5 Max Mac Studio (new) |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $2,499 (post-June 2026 hike) | $2,499 |
| Release | March 2025 | September 22, 2026 |
| CPU | Up to 16-core | 18-core (6 super cores, 12 performance cores) |
| GPU | Up to 40-core | Up to 40-core, up to 50% faster |
| Starting memory | 36GB | 36GB |
| Max memory | 64GB (256GB/512GB options removed) | 128GB |
| Memory bandwidth | Up to 546GB/s | Up to 614GB/s |
| Base storage | 512GB | 512GB |
| SSD architecture | PCIe Gen 5-era | PCIe Gen 6, up to 2x faster |
| Thunderbolt | Thunderbolt 5 | Thunderbolt 5, up to 120Gb/s |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 6E | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 |
| Display support | Up to 8 displays | Up to 8 displays, genlock over USB-C |
Frequently asked questions
When does the M5 Max Mac Studio ship?
It starts arriving to customers and Apple Store locations on September 22, 2026, with pre-orders that opened August 25, 2026.
How much does the M5 Max Mac Studio cost compared to the M4 Max?
It starts at $2,499, the same starting price as the M4 Max Mac Studio.
How much faster is the M5 Max than the M4 Max?
Apple says GPU performance is up to 50% faster, LLM prompt processing is up to 3.9x faster, text-to-image generation is up to 3.5x faster, and DaVinci Resolve’s Magic Mask runs up to 3 times faster than on M4 Max.
How much more memory does the M5 Max Mac Studio support than the M4 Max?
The M5 Max starts at 36GB and supports up to 128GB, double the 64GB ceiling the M4 Max Mac Studio had after Apple removed its higher-capacity options earlier this year.
What connectivity did the M5 Max add over the M4 Max?
It includes Thunderbolt 5 with up to 120Gb/s bandwidth, the same as the M4 Max, but adds Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and a new PCIe Gen 6 SSD architecture that’s up to twice as fast as the M4 Max’s storage.
Should You Upgrade From an M4 Max Mac Studio?
If you’re running an M4 Max Mac Studio today, the jump only makes sense if you’re bottlenecked on memory or doing heavy local AI inference; the 128GB ceiling and near-4x LLM gains are the real reasons to move, not the modest generational GPU bump alone. New buyers who don’t need more than 64GB of memory could still consider a discounted M4 Max unit if one turns up, but anyone planning to run large local models or edit demanding video projects should just buy the M5 Max Mac Studio now rather than wait for a future refresh.
