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Mac Studio and Studio Display Turn Three Today

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Apple announced the Mac Studio and Studio Display three years ago today.

apple-studio-display.jpg

The Mac Studio and Studio Display were unveiled as the final major announcements of Apple's "Peek Performance" event. Apple CEO Tim Cook introduced them as a completely new Mac product category and a powerful new display designed for creative professionals.

The Mac Studio is positioned between the Mac mini and the Mac Pro. The first model featured the M1 Max or the newly introduced M1 Ultra chip, offering the best performance of any Mac at the time. The base M1 Max model started at $1,999, while the M1 Ultra variant began at $3,999. Fully configured, the M1 Ultra model could exceed $8,000. Many saw the Mac Studio and Studio Display as the spiritual successor to the 27-inch iMac, which was discontinued on the same day as the Mac Studio's launch.

In June 2023, during the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple announced M2 Max and M2 Ultra chip options for the Mac Studio. Enhancements included support for up to six 6K monitors and improved connectivity options, such as Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E.

Earlier this week, Apple introduced the latest iteration of the Mac Studio, now featuring the M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips. The M4 Max offers a 16-core CPU and up to a 40-core GPU, starting with 36GB of RAM, while the M3 Ultra boasts a 32-core CPU and up to an 80-core GPU, with configurations supporting up to 512GB of RAM. Both models include Thunderbolt 5 ports.

The Studio Display marked Apple's reentry into the consumer display market after more than a decade of absence. Prior to its release, Apple only offered one high-end professional monitor in the form of 2019's Pro Display XDR, which was aimed at a niche audience with a price tag of $4,999, without a stand. The Studio Display introduced a more accessible option for the wider range of users looking for a high-quality, premium external monitor that works well with Apple devices.

Rumors suggest that Apple is developing a new Studio Display model with mini-LED backlighting, expected to be released later in 2025 or early 2026.

Article Link: Mac Studio and Studio Display Turn Three Today
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/03/08/mac-studio-and-studio-display-turn-three-today/
Put an SD card slot on the front of a Mac mini and the Mac Studio is redundant for most people.

Apple Silicon has greatly increased the power and reduced the size of computers. It really should be very niche now to splurge on the larger unit.
 
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10anta said:
Put an SD card slot on the front of a Mac mini and the Mac Studio is redundant for most people.

Apple Silicon has greatly increased the power and reduced the size of computers. It really should be very niche now to splurge on the larger unit.
Click to expand...
An sd card added to the front of a Mac mini is absolutely not a deciding factor for ‘most’ people. The price and the size verses the potential power and spec increases are.
 
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10anta said:
Put an SD card slot on the front of a Mac mini and the Mac Studio is redundant for most people.
Click to expand...
True that the Mac Mini will be enough for many people (I’d probably consider it if I wanted to replace my M1 Studio), and you don’t have to buy a Studio if you don’t need it - but the M4 Max is still a significant step-up in power from the Pro. Maybe they could cram a M4 Max into a Mini case (if it fits in a 14” MBP) but it would probably face thermal throttling. Apart from the extra CPU/GOU/RAM capacity, the Studio offers:

More external displays
1 Extra TB5 port (3 on the Ultra) c.f the Mini
2 extra USB-A ports c.f. The Mini
Better internal construction (most of the ports etc. that might break are on replaceable daughter boards)
Accessible power switch :)

…and, yeah, the Mini is smaller - but how much *useful* desk space does that actually save? Typically it’s going to sit under the overhang of a display - one extra hub/dock or even one extra permanently connected USB cable that has to go in the front of the Mini (because it only has 3 USB ports on the back) and trail onto the desktop negates any size advantage.

On top of that - the default spec M4 Pro Mini is usefully cheaper than the studio, but if you need to upgrade more than one of its CPU/RAM specs the Studio wins on bangs-per-buck.
 
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I like the way the Apple Store suggested I buy the Studio Display when I went to order my Mac Studio. I’m like “dude, if I had another £1,500, it’d go towards bumping up the Mac Studio and I’d worry about the display later!” Apple are like “Well, if we’ve already bankrupted you and broken the bank, leaving you eating nothing but beans for the next six months, another £1,500 isn’t going to make it hurt much more is it?” 🤣
 
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10anta said:
Put an SD card slot on the front of a Mac mini and the Mac Studio is redundant for most people.

Apple Silicon has greatly increased the power and reduced the size of computers. It really should be very niche now to splurge on the larger unit.
Click to expand...
in 35 years of mac use, as a graphic designer, ive used a SD card slot maybe 10 times. And a fast card reader is cheap.

But dual screens... since my 8100... now 3 screens since my 2015 iMac. Something the mini couldnt do until the PRO, so a studio was it. =)
 
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10anta said:
Put an SD card slot on the front of a Mac mini and the Mac Studio is redundant for most people.

Apple Silicon has greatly increased the power and reduced the size of computers. It really should be very niche now to splurge on the larger unit.
Click to expand...

Just plug an Apple USB-C SD card reader into one of the Mac mini's new front USB-C ports. Thank God Apple finally put ports on the front of the Mac mini. Maybe one day they will put ports on the front (or at least the edges) of the iMac and display.
 
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brofkand said:
Just plug an Apple USB-C SD card reader into one of the Mac mini's new front USB-C ports. Thank God Apple finally put ports on the front of the Mac mini. Maybe one day they will put ports on the front (or at least the edges) of the iMac and display.
Click to expand...
Seems petty that they don't want to include such a basic feature. But to be honest : I don't absolutely need it. So maybe, maybe they're right not to. Maybe.
Seems like the Mac Mini's spirit is to come as you are with your own stuff. And I have a dongle.
 
Fuzzball84 said:
The margins on these displays must be impressive
Click to expand...

Margins on everything Apple makes is impressive - among the highest in the industry.

Compote said:
Seems petty that they don't want to include such a basic feature. But to be honest : I don't absolutely need it. So maybe, maybe they're right not to. Maybe.
Seems like the Mac Mini's spirit is to come as you are with your own stuff. And I have a dongle.
Click to expand...

The older Mac mini had an SD slot as you're probably aware, but it was on the back - difficult to use. With the new Mac mini they chose a much smaller form factor, I doubt they could fit the SD reader in the current form factor as it is tbh. They'd have to re-engineer things to get it to fit. And like you said they'd much rather sell you a $40 dongle.
 
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