Why You Can Trust CNET Apple Mac Studio Update at WWDC: M2 Ultra Option Debuts
The company's compact desktop for creatives gets its first upgrade since it launched. and now you can configure it with a high-end M2 Ultra.
For the first update since the Mac Studio launched in March 2022, Apple introduced a high-end M2 Ultra chip at its WWDC developer conference. The update also includes the launch of the M2 Ultra in addition to a new, base M2 Max configuration. It ships next week, starting at $1,999.
The base $1,999 model of the Mac Studio includes an M2 Max chip.
You can read about the announcement play-by-play in our live blog of the event.
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The M2 Ultra is a pair of M2 Maxes tied together, with a 24-core CPU, 76-core GPU, and enables support for 192GB unified memory.
The system also gets HDMI 2.1 (like the MacBook Pro 16), which means higher refresh rates -- up to 240Hz -- and the generational chip upgrade means support for more, higher-resolution monitors simultaneously, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.
The refresh otherwise leaves the system unchanged. I'm curious how much heat the M2 Ultra generates and whether any cooling changes were required for it; the Studio has been a really quiet system, and if it required more heat dissipation, it could make a difference in noise level.