Apple’s M5 Ultra Mac Studio starts at $5,499, a $200 increase over the M3 Ultra Mac Studio’s $5,299 starting price, and the gap between the two chips runs far deeper than that price bump. M5 Ultra is Apple’s first Ultra-class chip with Neural Accelerators built into every GPU core, and it pushes CPU, GPU, and memory bandwidth well past what M3 Ultra offered at launch in March 2025. Orders are open now, with most configurations arriving September 22, 2026, though buyers chasing the top memory tier will have to wait until late October.
- Price: M5 Ultra Mac Studio starts at $5,499 with 96GB RAM and 1TB storage, up $200 from the M3 Ultra’s $5,299 starting price
- CPU: Up to 36-core CPU (12 super cores, 24 performance cores), delivering up to 1.3x higher multithreaded performance than M3 Ultra’s 28-core chip
- GPU: Up to 80-core GPU with Neural Accelerators in every core, up from 60 cores on M3 Ultra
- Memory: Up to 512GB unified memory at 1.2TB/s bandwidth, though only 96GB and 256GB configs ship at launch
- AI performance: Up to 4.3x the peak AI compute of M3 Ultra
- Release: Orders open now, with delivery starting September 22, 2026; the 512GB config arrives in late October
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thunderbolt 5 at up to 120Gb/s, all new to Mac Studio this generation
- Top configuration: 36-core CPU, 256GB RAM, 16TB SSD runs $18,299
Mac Studio release date
The M5 Ultra Mac Studio is available to order now and starts arriving to customers on September 22, 2026. The one configuration missing at launch is the 512GB memory option, which Apple says will follow in late October. That’s a change from the M3 Ultra generation, which launched with all memory tiers, including 512GB, available on day one before Apple later cut the ceiling to 96GB because of memory shortages.
Mac Studio price
The base M5 Ultra Mac Studio costs $5,499 with 96GB of unified memory and 1TB of storage, a $200 increase over the equivalent M3 Ultra configuration at $5,299. Pushing the specs up gets expensive fast: a 36-core CPU model with 256GB RAM and 16TB of SSD storage runs $18,299.
- M5 Ultra base (96GB/1TB): $5,499
- M3 Ultra base (96GB/1TB), for comparison: $5,299
- M5 Ultra, 36-core CPU, 256GB RAM, 16TB SSD: $18,299
- M5 Ultra with 512GB RAM (late October): expected to start well above $10,000, since upgrading from 96GB to 256GB alone already costs $4,000
- M5 Max base: $2,499, unchanged from the previous M4 Max Mac Studio
Mac Studio design
Apple hasn’t changed the compact desktop chassis that’s defined Mac Studio since it replaced the tower-style Mac Pro as the go-to high-end desktop, and the M5 Ultra model looks identical to the M3 Ultra version it replaces. What’s new sits behind the ports: Thunderbolt 5 connectivity at up to 120Gb/s bandwidth, and an Apple-designed N1 chip handling Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 for the first time on this machine. Neither the M3 Ultra nor the M4 Max Mac Studio offered Thunderbolt 5 or Wi-Fi 7.
Display Support
The M5 Ultra model supports up to eight external displays, or up to four Studio Display XDR units running at 5K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate simultaneously. The M3 Ultra supports eight displays up to a native resolution of 6K (6144 x 3456) at 60Hz or 4K (3840 x 2160) at 144Hz over Thunderbolt or HDMI.
Chip and performance
The M5 Ultra tops out at a 36-core CPU with 12 super cores and 24 performance cores, versus the M3 Ultra’s 28-core CPU, and Apple says that’s good for up to 1.3x higher multithreaded performance. The GPU jumps from 60 cores to as many as 80, which Apple calls the most powerful Apple Silicon GPU it has ever shipped, with graphics performance up to 1.8x faster across the new Mac Studio lineup.
The bigger architectural change is that M5 Ultra is the first Ultra-class chip to get Neural Accelerators, dedicated hardware inside each GPU core built to speed up AI workloads. Combined with 1.2TB/s of memory bandwidth (up 50 percent from M3 Ultra), Apple says M5 Ultra delivers up to 4.3x the peak AI compute performance of M3 Ultra and 9.8x more than the original M1 Ultra. In Maxon Redshift rendering specifically, Apple’s numbers show up to 1.7x faster performance than M3 Ultra and 4.7x faster than M1 Ultra.
Memory and configurations
Unified memory now scales from 96GB up to 512GB on the M5 Ultra, matching the ceiling the M3 Ultra originally launched with before Apple pulled the 512GB tier due to memory chip shortages. At launch, only 96GB and 256GB configurations are available; the 512GB option doesn’t ship until late October, and given that the jump from 96GB to 256GB already costs $4,000, that top tier will likely add at least $6,000 to the price of an M5 Ultra Mac Studio.
Storage and connectivity
Storage performance is up to twice as fast on the M5 Ultra Mac Studio thanks to a switch to PCIe Gen 6 architecture, a jump from the PCIe Gen 4 storage used in the M3 Ultra generation. Networking gets the same generational leap: Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 arrive on Mac Studio for the first time via Apple’s N1 chip, and Thunderbolt 5 replaces Thunderbolt 4 across the lineup, more than doubling per-port bandwidth to 120Gb/s.
| Feature | Mac Studio (M3 Ultra) | Mac Studio (M5 Ultra) |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $5,299 | $5,499 |
| CPU cores | 28-core | Up to 36-core (12 super, 24 performance) |
| GPU cores | 60-core | Up to 80-core with Neural Accelerators |
| Neural Engine | 32-core, no Neural Accelerators | Neural Accelerators built into every GPU core |
| Unified memory | Up to 96GB (originally launched at up to 512GB) | Up to 512GB (512GB arriving late October) |
| Memory bandwidth | Unknown (not restated in this announcement) | Up to 1.2TB/s, 50% higher |
| Storage interface | PCIe Gen 4 | PCIe Gen 6, up to 2x faster |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 via N1 chip |
| Thunderbolt | Thunderbolt 4 | Thunderbolt 5, up to 120Gb/s |
| External display support | Unknown (not restated in this announcement) | Up to 8 displays, or 4 Studio Display XDR at 5K/120Hz |
| AI compute performance | Baseline | Up to 4.3x faster |
| Redshift rendering | Baseline | Up to 1.7x faster |
| Top configuration price | Unknown (not restated in this announcement) | $18,299 (36-core, 256GB, 16TB) |
Frequently asked questions
When does the M5 Ultra Mac Studio ship?
Orders are open now, with delivery beginning September 22, 2026, except for the 512GB memory configuration, which Apple says arrives in late October 2026.
How much does the M5 Ultra Mac Studio cost?
The base configuration with 96GB of RAM and 1TB of storage starts at $5,499, and a maxed-out 36-core model with 256GB RAM and 16TB of storage runs $18,299.
How much faster is M5 Ultra than M3 Ultra?
Apple states the M5 Ultra delivers up to 1.3x faster multithreaded CPU performance, up to 1.8x faster graphics, and up to 4.3x faster AI compute compared to the M3 Ultra.
What’s new about the M5 Ultra chip specifically?
It’s Apple’s first Ultra-class chip with Neural Accelerators built into every GPU core, and it scales up to a 36-core CPU, an 80-core GPU, and 512GB of unified memory at 1.2TB/s of bandwidth.
Can I buy the 512GB M5 Ultra Mac Studio right now?
No, only the 96GB and 256GB configurations are available at launch; the 512GB option doesn’t arrive until late October 2026.
Should you wait for M5 Ultra Mac Studio?
If you’re still running an M1 Ultra or M2 Max Mac Studio, the CPU, GPU, and AI compute gains here are large enough to justify moving now rather than waiting. If you already own an M3 Ultra and don’t run heavy local AI or rendering workloads, the 1.3x CPU gain alone won’t feel urgent, and buyers who specifically need 512GB of memory should hold off until the late October configuration ships rather than buying twice.
