Apple's Mac Studio just got updated with M5 Max chip. Unlike the Mac mini, there's a strong argument to get or keep the prior model instead.
After debuting in the MacBook Pro in March 2026, the M5 Max chip has made its way to Apple's top-of-the-line desktop, the Mac Studio.
Though the Mac Studio hasn't undergone any visual changes, the M5 Max introduces significant under-the-hood enhancements. With Neural Accelerators in each GPU core and new "super cores" in the CPU, the M5 Max Mac Studio delivers impressive performance.
As the M5 Max Mac Studio is now available for pre-order, it's time to compare it directly to its predecessor. That would, of course, be the Mac Studio with Apple's M4 Max chip.
Design-wise, the Mac Studio hasn't really changed over the years. The M5 Max model is effectively indistinguishable from its predecessor, and both are identical to the original 2022 model.
M5 Max Mac Studio vs. M4 Max Mac Studio: Design-wise, the Mac Studio hasn't changed.
Apple has basically reused the same aluminum chassis for the M5 Max Mac Studio, with the entire unit still using a 7.7-inch by 7.7-inch footprint. The height is unchanged as well, at 3.7 inches.
The M4 Max and M5 Max models of the Mac Studio weigh almost the same, though the M4 Max variant is slightly heavier, coming in at 6.1 pounds. In essence, the Mac Studio is still a large block of aluminum, with vents and ports in all the same spots.
The front of the Mac Studio sports an SDXC card slot and two USB-C ports. Meanwhile, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and the headphone jack are on the back of the device.
Overall, there's no real difference between the M5 Max Mac Studio and its M4 Max counterpart when it comes to design. With either model, you'll get a giant Mac mini, with processing power more akin to the now-discontinued Mac Pro.
While the design of the Mac Studio hasn't been updated, its processing power has been improved.
M5 Max Mac Studio vs. M4 Max Mac Studio: Performance has been improved with the M5 Max model.
The Mac Studio with the M4 Max chip was offered in two varieties. The standard configuration offered a 14-core CPU, consisting of ten performance and four efficiency cores, along with a 32-core GPU.
The high-end M4 Max Mac Studio included a 16-core CPU, made up of 12 performance and four efficiency cores. It shipped with a 40-core GPU.
Memory bandwidth varied depending on the configuration in question. The lower-tier offered 410GB/s, while the high-end M4 Max variant had 546GB/s.
Support for hardware-accelerated ray tracing was available with all M4 Max variants. This makes the Mac Studio a great option for triple-A games with graphics-intensive lighting effects.
Both configurations also have Apple's Media Engine, which is used for hardware-accelerated video encoding and decoding. It ensures compatibility with formats like H.264, HEVC, and ProRes video.
Apple's M5 Max, as expected, delivers significant hardware improvements. While the lower-tier M4 Max only offered a 14-core CPU, all variants of the M5 Max come with an 18-core CPU as standard.
Apple has also changed the terminology it uses for processor cores. The M5 Max offers 12 "performance cores" and six "super cores," which Apple says are the world's fastest CPU cores.
The improved performance cores in the M5 Max are optimized for power efficiency and multi-threaded workloads, per Apple's description. This ultimately allows for a 30% improvement in general processing performance, says the company.
As for the GPU, Apple has retained the same 32-core and 40-core options that were available with the M4 Max. Even so, Apple says graphics processing has been improved by 50% compared to the M4 Max.
Memory bandwidth is still determined by the hardware configuration, though. The lower-tier M5 Max Mac Studio offers 460GB/s, while the high-end M5 Max model delivers up to 614GB/s.
Additionally, the M5 Max offers a Neural Accelerator in each GPU core. Apple says that, coupled with the 16-core Neural Engine, this allows for four times the peak AI performance and LLM prompt processing, relative to the M4 Max.
Apple's website states that the M5 Max Mac Studio offers up to 3.9 times faster LLM prompt processing in LM Studio, and up to 3.5x faster text-to-image performance, relative to its M4 Max counterpart.
These performance upgrades make the M5 Max a great option for AI-related and graphics-intensive workflows. In apps like Topaz Video, AI-powered video enhancement is 3.5 times faster, according to Apple.
The company also says that, in DaVinci Resolve, the M5 Max offers up to 3 times the performance of the M4 Max when rendering video effects. Magic Mask performance in DaVinci Resolve Studio is up to three times faster compared to the preceding M4 Max, Apple insists.
The company also claims that basecalling for DNA sequencing in Oxford Nanopore MinKNOW is up to 1.9 times faster than on the M4 Max model.
Geekbench 7 scores for the M4 Max and M5 Max offer additional insight into just how much Apple's top-of-the-line system-on-chip has improved. There's a noticeable increase in performance with the M5 Max.
