Apple announced it first new Mac in years today, the Mac Studio featuring a new M1 Ultra processor. Alongside it, they announced the 5K Studio Display, a new iPad Air with the M1 chip, and a new iPhone SE.
You can also watch this video at YouTube.
Watch more videos about related subjects: Apple Announcements (18 videos).
You can also watch this video at YouTube.
Watch more videos about related subjects: Apple Announcements (18 videos).
Video Transcript
Hi, this is Gary with MacMost.com. Apple introduced its first new Mac in years today and more!
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So before we talk about the new Mac Studio let's look at what else Apple introduced today. First, as expected, there's a new iPhone SE. This new model features a 4.8 inch screen. It has a new A15 bionic chip in it. It has 5G capability. Apple is keeping the price down on this to $429 and they're doing that by using the Home button instead of Face ID. It comes available in three different colors and you'll be able to pre-order it this Friday and it starts shipping on March 18.
Apple also updated the iPad Air. The new iPad Air uses the M1 chip just like the iPad Pros do and of course the Macs do as well. It has got a new camera that allows Center Stage like the new iPad Mini and iPad Pros and it also has a 5G capability as an option. Prices for the new iPad Air are going to start at $599 and that's also available for order on Friday and shipping on March 18.
But the big new announcement and a surprise to many rumor sites is the new Mac Studio. So this is a brand new Mac model that falls somewhere between the Mac Mini and the Mac Pro. It's actually about the same size as the Mini. The same width and depth of 7.7" but it's more than twice as tall as that. It features either the M1 Max Processor you can get in the high end Mac Book Pros or a brand new M1 Processor called the M1 Ultra. The M1 Ultra is a bit of a surprise today too. It's basically two M1 Mac chips but instead of being separate chips on the mother board they are actually two chips attached to each other for faster communication. The specs are so impressive on the Ultra. It's got 20 CPU cores. Four of those are efficiency cores. It's got 64 GPU cores. It's got 32 neural engine cores and has 10 video engines for encoding and decoding video. It can support up to 128GB of memory.
Now the Studio is also impressive for the number of ports it has. On the back its got 4 thunderbolt 4 ports. Its got an ethernet port. Its got 2 USB-A ports and an HDMI port. It also has an audio port back there as well. But there are also 2 USBC ports on the front. In the models that have the M1 Ultra those are also thunderbolt 4 compatible and in the front it also has a SD Card slot. Apple is really gearing this towards photo and video professionals who may be using SD cards a lot. It's capable of powering a lot of screens. Apple says it can run four of those Pro Displays that it sells plus an additional TV coming out of the HDMI port.
So for many waiting for a new Mac Pro that has the Apple silicon chips in it, this fits the bill. The Ultra High End Mac Pro is still yet to come. Apple actually teased that a bit. But I think this is going to be ideal for what most people use a Mac Pro for and probably is a true successor to the 2013 Mac Pro which was priced about this range. You'll be able to get this for $2000 if you take the M1 Max Chip. If you want the M1 Ultra Chip in it you'll going to have to start at $4000. Then, of course, pay extra for larger drives and more memory.
That's not the only piece of Mac hardware that Apple introduced today. Apple also finally came out with a reasonably priced 5K Mac Display. So this new display is a true 5K display. It is 27" and it's priced at only $1600. That sounds like a lot when you compare it to some of the $440-$500 4K screens you can get. But this one has got 5K which is rare and hard to find. It also allows you to connect your Mac. It can power a large MacBook Pro through the thunderbolt port. It has 3 USBC ports that will then be part of it once you plug your Mac into it. It's got a Camera, 12MP camera, on the top. It's got a three microphone array and a six speaker array. In fact the screen itself has an A13 bionic chip in it just to run all this stuff. The screen is compatible with all Macs. So if you have a MacBook Air, you've got a MacBook Pro, you want to use the Mac Mini or the new Mac Studio you can use this display with those Macs as the primary screen. Get a couple of them and run them as extra displays. Apple even says that you can run three of them from the higher end MacBook Pros.
Now both the Mac Studio and the Studio Display are available for order today and they will be shipping on March 18. Let's take a look at all the options on the Buy page now for Mac Studio. If you go to order now you've got to choose whether you want the M1 Max or the M1 Ultra. You can see the prices are very different. $2000 versus $4000. In addition to the different processor the M1 Max starts at 32GB and half a TB of storage whereas the M1 Ultra starts at 64GB of memory and 1TB of storage. So you get more than just the bigger processor with the higher price. If you select one of these, let's just select the M1 Max here, then you've got some options here. You could go with a slightly more powerful M1Max, one that has 32-cores rather than 24 for just $200 more. You could jump to the Ultra ones as well. For memory you can jump to 64GB. To get to 128GB you have to go with the Ultra. For storage you can go to 1, 2, 4, or 8TB of SSD storage.
With the Ultra you're already starting here with the Ultra Processor but you can go to the 64-core version for $1000 extra. You can double the memory for $800 extra. You can jump up in storage. It looks like the Studio prices don't include keyboard, trackpad, or mouse. But when you go to purchase it does give you the option to add a Studio display. In the store under Displays you now, of course, can choose the Studio Display as well as the Pro Display. So you can just buy the Studio Display by itself to use with your current Mac. Choose the Display that you want and then you've got to choose the Stand. So you get the Tilt-Adjustable Stand, which is the same price. You pay a little extra for the tilt and height adjustable stand. So the total still comes out as $1600 if you choose the standard stand.
So if you wanted to max it out you could go with the Ultra. You can go with 64-cores. 128GB Memory and an 8TB SSD for an $8000 price tag. If you're looking for something more reasonable you can go with the M1 Max Processor. You can maybe upgrade to the 32-cores. You could go for 64GB of memory. Maybe jump to a 1TB drive. You're still under $3000.
There's one other tiny little note. Apple teased a new version of iMovie coming out at least for the iPad. They said next month and they quickly showed a couple screens. So it looks like they're adding new features maybe just for iPad. But it could be that they are going to be upgrading iMovie for both iPad and possibly Mac at the same time or soon after. We'll have to see what new features are coming from iMovie when that finally hits The App Store.
So let me know what you think of the new announcements especially the Mac Studio and Studio Display in the comments below. Thanks for watching.
I use my Macbook Pro (8 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3)(3.1GHz dual-core Intel Core i5,) for Pages and iMovie every week. As of the last few months when I am working in both I can't do much of anything else except wait for the file to render before I can even do much with email. I assume it is a processing size issue that could be solved with the new mac. I think the ultra is more than I need as I am not a professional. I still need to take a laptop on travel, etc. What would you recommend?
Barry: For iMovie and Pages pretty much anything new Apple has will work. So it depends on your budget.
Thanks. Perhaps one of the new Mac1Pro 8-Core CPU 14-Core GPU vs the 10-Core or would you recommend the 10-core?
Barry: It is a matter of trading money for speed. Get the best you can afford, but take into account your needs too (pro vs home use, etc).
very disappointed that there was no mention of the 27'' imac. is it being discontinued or is there a chance it may show up later? have been nursing my late 2015 imac waiting for the mac chip.
the studio looks great but display and monitor would be double or tripple the imac & the 24'' is too small. if my current one dies, option may be mac mini and studio display?
I'm confused because all I want is have a new 27 inch iMac, don't they do that anymore. I was waiting for it before renewing my present 27 inch iMac.?
I'd welcome your advice.
As others have said recently, these new Macs are really designed for video, audio and graphics professionals. But for the majority of people they are enormous overkill. These are the folks who use internet, some photo tweaking, word processing, calendars, etc. With a few more options the iPad-Pro would be more than enough for most people. iPads need to be made independent from a MacBook or iMac and have better/faster external storage access to complete the picture for most folks.
Mike: Anything is possible, but it sure seems like the replacement for the 27-inch iMac is Mac Studio + Studio Display. That would put it at a price of $3600. But if you did Mac Studio + 4K display (about $400) that is a budget option. Mac mini + Studio Display is another. Lots of options.
Tony: The 24-inch iMac is an option (screen is actually 4480x2520, making it only slightly smaller than the 27-inch). Mac Studio + Studio Display is another option. Mac mini + Studio Display. Mac Studio + 4K display. Lots of choices.
Rob: Or, the iMac. For most people either a MacBook Air or an iMac would more than fit their needs. Anything else would be overkill.
I spoke with an Apple person and the bottom line is iMac is gone! The Mac Studio is 2 pieces of hardware instead of one like the old iMac - I don't like that. And, the info sent to me requires an expenditure of $4,300 and I don't know what software comes with the Mac Studio. I am very disappointed in Apple! Never thought I would say that.
Karen: The base Mac Studio is $1999 and the Studio Display is $1,599 for a total of $3600. But you can always do a Mac mini instead. Or a Mac Studio with a cheaper display. The same software comes with all Macs.
Thanks Gary that’s helpful. It would seem to me to have a Mac studio and the studio display is a bit cumbersome? Although you say the same software comes with all the Macs. All I really wanted was just another straightforward Apple computer with a large screen! You say Gary that the 24 inch is nearly as large as the 27 inch. I’ll have to measure up and have a look. Thank you again.
Tony: The Mac Studio is a 7.7-inch square that is less than 4 inches high. I can basically sit right behind or under the Studio Display.
Thanks for all the info on the new Mac products. Does the iPad Air have any connectivity with external monitors?
Russ: Yes. Check the specs page. "Supports one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz."
I’m another guy with a late 2015 iMac looking to get a new more powerful computer with a 27 inch screen. My most demanding computer task is Lightroom. The new studio plus display plus a little more storage and sales tax tops $4000. I hear that they might come out with a more powerful Mac mini. This plus a studio display might be perfect. Do you think this will happen?
Richard: Hard to predict, but I doubt it until the next generation.
HI Gary~ Will a 2017 27" iMac work as a secondary display in target mode? A lot on the net about how to do that, wondering if that will be the same for the Mac Studio? Cheers
Mark: No. Target Display mode was a feature of much older, pre-retina Macs.
i have a late 2014 iMac . i can't upgrade to ventura. was thinking about a studio for a computer i will not have to upgrade again for a long time . also using my 5 k monitor... any suggestions. ?
Brenda: If you want a machine and not upgrading for a long time is the priority, just make sure you get the latest model, not a used or refurb model. That's all you can do there. You can also wait until the model you want has a new version. Like wait for a new iMac model to come out (probably next year) and buy right after that. But if you already have an external 5K screen, then maybe consider a new Mac mini or Mac Studio (depending on your budget) when that comes out.