Apple Mac Studio M2 (2023)

Easy setup. Excellent performance. Plenty of ports. Rather compact. Up to 8 terabytes of storage (with other upgrade options).

Expensive, especially without peripherals. Built-in speakers could be better.

Noticeable performance improvements across the board versus M1 Ultra version ; Competitively priced among workstations ; Updated to Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3

Accessories still sold separately ; Internals are not user-upgradable after purchase

Apple's 2023 Mac Studio, tested with the M2 Ultra, handily outdoes its predecessor while challenging the workstation competition on both power and price.

+ Class-leading power efficiency ; + Respectable performance ; + Small form factor ; + Dead silent ; + Expansive I/O

- Zero upgrade path ; - Additional RAM & SSD options are very expensive ; - Subpar onboard speakers ; - No USB-PD support

Think of it as the Macbook Pro without the display and keyboard attached - the M2 Max-powered Mac Studio packs plenty of power with none of the fan noise thanks to its more thermodynamically forgiving form factor.

Exceptionally quick ; Quiet even when under pressure ; Compact design ; Plenty of ports

In a price range for pros and companies only

The Mac Studio is one of the most powerful machines you can buy right now. Sitting between the iMac and the Mac Pro, this machine offers high performance in a small package. Although, as you may expect, with great power comes a great price tag. I...

But that's not the pitch for the Studio. Apple is hoping to sell this machine as a high-performance Mac desktop that does everything a creative needs it to do, and in my experience it delivers — becoming my new favorite Mac desktop in the process.

A small, fast, efficient desktop that's a great showcase for Apple Silicon

Steep RAM and storage upgrade prices

This review has mainly focused on the M2 Ultra version because that's the one we tested, but if the price is a concern, the M2 Max version remains a great option. If the M2 Ultra version is a Mac Pro replacement, the M2 Max version is more like the old...

Neat and compact design ; Plenty of ports ; Huge amount of power

Expensive ; Not upgradeable post purchase ; Keyboard and mouse not included

The Apple Mac Studio might not have changed much in design compared to last year's model, but that's not what it's about. The design is already great, delivering mighty power in a neat and compact package.

Small, compact and quiet ; Powerful new chip, even by default ; Loads of ports ; Speedy SSD

Not upgradable post-purchase ; Eye-watering SSD BTO costs ; M2 Max gets two fewer Thunderbolt ports than Ultra ; Rubbish speaker

A wonderfully compact and powerful Mac for power users. And although it’s spendy, the Mac Studio nonetheless represents solid value.