Mac Studio M1 Max to M4 Max?

[dborja]

I have an M1 Max which does everything I need (some app development, MS Teams meetings, Web browsing, MS Office app use, finance apps use, streaming, etc). I know the Studio is overkill for me at this point but I like having the capability if my needs increase.

Now, I wonder if I should upgrade to the M4 Max for the following reasons: longer support WRT Mac OS and good trade-in value for my M1 Max. By moving forward 3 generations, I would probably get "more life" on my Mac as far as Mac OS support. Also, the current trade-in value for my M1 Max is good and it would, of course, decrease with time. So, bottom line, I'm thinking more along the economic aspect more than the technical. Normally, I make my own upgrade decisions but, this time, I'd like to hear what others think since the difference between the M1 Max and the M4 Max specs are not really far apart WRT to my use cases.

 

[Absrnd]

I always say, if you can afford to upgrade, do it, then you can sell the older device at a better price.
I am considering the same thing.

 

[Jan.K]

Come on bro, you want it No need to justify things which makes you happy.

 

[Kim Larni]

I upgraded from M1 Max Studio to M4 Max Studio and I'm happy with that decision. The M1 Max will still be in use as long it will work. Even then when it will be considered vintage or even obsolete. For the moment the M1 can be used as a reserve computer if something would happened to the M4. The M4 feels much faster than the M1 in most tasks.

 

[Ifti]

I upgraded from a M1 Max MBP to the M4 Max Studio.
The M1 Max was doing everything I needed perfectly fine. The only reason I upgraded was because I wanted to move to a desktop solution rather then a laptop (which was acting as a desktop machine anyways), considering I have a M3 MBA as my portable machine, hence a desktop setup compliments my MBA nicely. Otherwise, if I had a M1 Max desktop already, I would have just stuck with it TBH. It was plenty enough for my uses, mostly Final Cut Pro.
If you are finding the M1 Max limiting, then by all means upgrade. Otherwise I'd say stick with it for another year or two.

 

[Fishrrman]

"I have an M1 Max which does everything I need"

If it was me (I realize you ARE NOT "me"), I'd keep using it for now, while looking ahead to replacing it when the m6xx CPUs come out in late 2026 or early 2027...

 

[dborja]

Thank you all for your thoughts on this - all very good and worth considering! These give me more data points.

 

[1992LC575]

Thank you all for your thoughts on this - all very good and worth considering! These give me more data points.

I have an M1 Max 14" MBP, but recently decided to also purchase an M4 Max Mac Studio to replace my desktop, which was a 2020 iMac.

Could have gotten by without the Studio, but managed to purchase an open box 64GB/1TB model for $2230 from Microcenter in OH.

That deal was too good to pass up, otherwise I might also have waited. The performance is a noticeable (to me) upgrade on the M1 Max (but I was also switching from a MBP to a Studio).

Have a feeling though that you're probably better waiting, unless you really need more RAM or a larger HD. Even a low sale price won't be a heap of comfort to you if you find yourself getting antsy for an M6 not too far down the road.

 

[EdwardC]

I have an M1 Max which does everything I need (some app development, MS Teams meetings, Web browsing, MS Office app use, finance apps use, streaming, etc). I know the Studio is overkill for me at this point but I like having the capability if my needs increase.

I have pretty much the same use, had a M2 Pro mini and MicroCenter had a M2 Max Studio base for $1,299.00. Picked it up and honestly did not notice any difference with the exception of having way more headroom in regards to RAM. Had the Studio for about a week and decided to return it for a M4 Max Studio which until a week ago was $1,699.00. 36 GB on the M4 Max vs. 32 GB on the M2 Max but the single core performance is quite a bit better and I can actually tell a difference with this upgrade. I've had it for about 6 weeks and am extremely happy with it.

 

[southerndoc]

"I have an M1 Max which does everything I need"

If it was me (I realize you ARE NOT "me"), I'd keep using it for now, while looking ahead to replacing it when the m6xx CPUs come out in late 2026 or early 2027...

Same. Would rather enjoy a vacation or buy something else and only upgrade my computer when I need to. Right now, M1 Max is doing just fine. In fact, my M1 MBA is doing fine as well.

I kept saying to myself I would likely upgrade when the M5s are coming out. Given how well my M1 is still performing, I likely won't upgrade until this thing dies, I need increased speed for something (unlikely), or it isn't supported with macOS upgrades anymore. I'm sure this thing will probably be supported with macOS upgrades at least for another 5 years.

 

[nstu]

I am in the exact same situation. Was positiv surprised when I saw the actual value for re-selling the M1 Max studio. So the investment for the m4 isn’t that high.
I ask myself how much will drop the resell value for the m1 when m5 hits the street.
As example you could sell the m1 now for 1.000 euro and next year for 700 or even 500 euro. Would that still be enough for you as a resell value?

So in the end: how much more you would like to invest into the m5 then into the m4 now.
Is that what the m5 could bring to the table 300 or 500 Euro worth more - to you and your situation?

Btw - I still have not made a decision on my side.

 

[dborja]

I am in the exact same situation. Was positiv surprised when I saw the actual value for re-selling the M1 Max studio. So the investment for the m4 isn’t that high.
I ask myself how much will drop the resell value for the m1 when m5 hits the street.
As example you could sell the m1 now for 1.000 euro and next year for 700 or even 500 euro. Would that still be enough for you as a resell value?

So in the end: how much more you would like to invest into the m5 then into the m4 now.
Is that what the m5 could bring to the table 300 or 500 Euro worth more - to you and your situation?

Btw - I still have not made a decision on my side.

I went through exactly the same thought process! The Studio probably won't be updated with an M5 (or M6) for two more years. By then, my M1's resale/trade-in value will be a lot lower, And it would probably be approaching end of support WRT MacOS and repair as well and would almost force me to upgrade anyway. And, what would be the price then?

As I mentioned in my original post, my current M1 runs just fine for what I need. But, looking at the economics, it made sense to pull the trigger now. So, I did! Besides, Best Buy has a deal this weekend that adds an additional 10% to the trade-in price. I know I could do better selling on eBay, NextDoor, Facebook, etc but I decided to go the less hassle route as I have done when I upgraded from my MBAir and iPad Pro.

 

[nstu]

I went through exactly the same thought process! The Studio probably won't be updated with an M5 (or M6) for two more years. By then, my M1's resale/trade-in value will be a lot lower, And it would probably be approaching end of support WRT MacOS and repair as well and would almost force me to upgrade anyway. And, what would be the price then?

As I mentioned in my original post, my current M1 runs just fine for what I need. But, looking at the economics, it made sense to pull the trigger now. So, I did! Besides, Best Buy has a deal this weekend that adds an additional 10% to the trade-in price. I know I could do better selling on eBay, NextDoor, Facebook, etc but I decided to go the less hassle route as I have done when I upgraded from my MBAir and iPad Pro.

Congratulations to your decision. Sometimes it Not worth the hassle and when the offer fits to you then it’s worth to get a bit less back.
I also believe we won’t see an update on the Mac Studio this year. And when all my needed software is supporting the m4 (Avid Pro Tools) I probably will do the same upgrade to m4 because of the resell value for the m1.

Enjoy your new system!

 

[southerndoc]

That's another thing... the hassle of moving all my apps over. I tend to want to set it up as new instead of transferring things. I also run CrowdStrike Falcon, which can require a little effort to uninstall (requires a token). Forget to do that and it's basically useless.

 

[dborja]

That's another thing... the hassle of moving all my apps over. I tend to want to set it up as new instead of transferring things. I also run CrowdStrike Falcon, which can require a little effort to uninstall (requires a token). Forget to do that and it's basically useless.

I'll need to think about whether I'll do a clean install or just use Migration Assistant and Sensei (to do a cursory cleanup). It's a bit of a task recreating system/application settings in addition to reinstalling applications and utilities. I've had good luck going the Migration Assistant route in the past. I'm sure there will be leftover "junk" carried over but I can whittle them away at leisure.

 

[nstu]

I'll need to think about whether I'll do a clean install or just use Migration Assistant and Sensei (to do a cursory cleanup). It's a bit of a task recreating system/application settings in addition to reinstalling applications and utilities. I've had good luck going the Migration Assistant route in the past. I'm sure there will be leftover "junk" carried over but I can whittle them away at leisure.

I always did a clean install, because I went from from an older to complete new evolution system. (Mac Pro Tower —> Trashcan —> Mac Studio). But going from Studio to Studio I probably would try the migration. You can start clean every time…a bit more work but in the long run maybe the better decision. Depends on your system and apps of course.
In the audio world, working with additional plugins and sample libraries this new setup can be a day task but can save days of headaches and trying to find the issue of a system migration when something won’t work as expected.

 

[throAU]

Now, I wonder if I should upgrade to the M4 Max for the following reasons: longer support WRT Mac OS and good trade-in value for my M1 Max. By moving forward 3 generations, I would probably get "more life" on my Mac as far as Mac OS support. Also, the current trade-in value for my M1 Max is good and it would, of course, decrease with time. So, bottom line, I'm thinking more along the economic aspect more than the technical. Normally, I make my own upgrade decisions but, this time, I'd like to hear what others think since the difference between the M1 Max and the M4 Max specs are not really far apart WRT to my use cases.

If you like to keep up to date, i think 3 generations is about the right time to do it.

I recently upgraded from m1 pro to m4 max MBP because

• I can do a tax write off for a new machine at least every 3 years due to my work
• applecare was for 3 years; i'd rather have a machine with cover in case something bad happens (I use this machine professionally)
• the GF can have the old machine as an upgrade (for her) for 3 years. She's a light user, the m1 pro for her is overkill but its good overkill . Ditto for plenty of other people - a 3 year old higher end machine is still properly quick for a casual user.
• at year 6 for the original machine i can either dispose of it (who am i kidding) when she gets my 3 year old machine or keep as a test/spare box - if it is still alive.
  • if it dies by year 6-7 then i don't need it anyway.

works well so far, have done for a couple of generations now.


Now, as far as performance goes - on paper its not huge, but i can tell you that even doing basic things like web browsing, M4 cores are noticeably much more responsive than the M1 generation.

The M1 is great, but once you start using an M4 you notice how much things have progressed with just how much more instantly responsive it is; and its not just because i went pro to max. Even ipad m1 air vs. iphone 16 max for example... on paper M series processor vs. A series processor, but the iphone is just much more responsive because the core architecture is just quicker per core due to the newer design.

That said, if you can wait a little longer, m5 machines should be out in second half of this year. Could be a double-edged sword though - your M1 will devalue a bit, but the M5 machines will likely be that bit quicker and M5 pro will likely be all round more performant than M1 max in all respects.

 

[dborja]

If you like to keep up to date, i think 3 generations is about the right time to do it.

I recently upgraded from m1 pro to m4 max MBP because

• I can do a tax write off for a new machine at least every 3 years due to my work
• applecare was for 3 years; i'd rather have a machine with cover in case something bad happens (I use this machine professionally)
• the GF can have the old machine as an upgrade (for her) for 3 years. She's a light user, the m1 pro for her is overkill but its good overkill . Ditto for plenty of other people - a 3 year old higher end machine is still properly quick for a casual user.
• at year 6 for the original machine i can either dispose of it (who am i kidding) when she gets my 3 year old machine or keep as a test/spare box - if it is still alive.
  • if it dies by year 6-7 then i don't need it anyway.

works well so far, have done for a couple of generations now.


Now, as far as performance goes - on paper its not huge, but i can tell you that even doing basic things like web browsing, M4 cores are noticeably much more responsive than the M1 generation.

The M1 is great, but once you start using an M4 you notice how much things have progressed with just how much more instantly responsive it is; and its not just because i went pro to max. Even ipad m1 air vs. iphone 16 max for example... on paper M series processor vs. A series processor, but the iphone is just much more responsive because the core architecture is just quicker per core due to the newer design.

That said, if you can wait a little longer, m5 machines should be out in second half of this year. Could be a double-edged sword though - your M1 will devalue a bit, but the M5 machines will likely be that bit quicker and M5 pro will likely be all round more performant than M1 max in all respects.

Thanks for sharing your experience going from M1 to M4 and perspectives on upgrading.

WRT spares, in case my Studio and MBPro both go out of service, I do still keep my 27" 2009 iMac in the guest room. 🙃 And behind that, I also have an iBook G4 in the closet. These machines do hold up well!