Apple launches M5 Ultra Mac Studio with 36‑core CPU, 80‑core GPU

Apple has begun shipping the latest iteration of its Mac Studio desktop, a machine built around the new M5 Ultra system‑on‑chip. The unit reviewed by The Verge features a 36‑core CPU, an 80‑core GPU, 256 GB of unified memory and a 4 TB solid‑state drive, and carries a retail price of $12,299. The hardware configuration places the Mac Studio at the top end of Apple’s product line, aimed at artificial‑intelligence developers and high‑performance 3D visual‑effects studios rather than typical content‑creation users.

The design of the new Mac Studio remains unchanged from the model introduced in 2022, retaining its compact aluminum enclosure while accommodating the upgraded internals. Apple’s pricing and specifications reflect a push into professional markets that demand extreme processing power for tasks such as large‑scale model training and complex rendering pipelines. With the M5 Ultra now available, the company expands its high‑end desktop offering, positioning the Mac Studio as a specialized tool for the most demanding computational workloads.