Apple Announces Powerful 'Mac Studio' With M1 Ultra Chip and Companion 'Studio Display'

[CWallace]

The comparison is the 27" iMac, everything else is irrelevant. For $200 more than the Studio display you got a whole computer and keyboard + mouse. Only the blind fanboys can't see that Apple is taking them for a ride.

Fine.

You used to be able to spend $1800 and get a good monitor with a bad computer.

Now you have to spend $3600, but you get a better monitor with a great computer.

Deal with it. Or don't.

Me? I'm dealing with it and moving on with my life.

 

[MacBH928]

I think most peoples hope is that it is more modular and can have added cards, drives, etc.

thats a huge price to pay just to be able to add cards and drives, My understanding the tower model is cheaper and easier to build than a compact build so technically the Mac Pro should be cheaper than Mac Studio

 

[MacBH928]

It is replacing the 27" iMac BTO configurations with the high-end Intel CPUs and AMD GPUs. In the end, you'll be paying a bit more, but you should see fairly better performance (both due to the M1 Max and as software is optimized for Apple silicon) and you can now keep your display through multiple computer upgrades so when you factor in the lifecycle costs over 4-5 years...

So why keep the iMac at all? Just sell both separately make a basic Mac Studio then Studio PRO like the one here . It makes more sense because those who are looking to upgrade the computer but not the displays do not have to buy a complete display+computer combo and save money . I am thinking about places like schools.

In the 80s, the Mac was viewed as a toy. If you could click a little icon to launch an app instead of typing in a DOS command, it wasn't considered "real" computing. ;-)

But Macs have never been considered "gaming" computers.

How Apple's Macs lost an early lead in video gaming​

 

[MacBH928]

You have forgotten the eMac my friend!

its not that bad, more like a bland white 1998 iMac.

 

[cmaier]

Fine.

You used to be able to spend $1800 and get a good monitor with a bad computer.

Now you have to spend $3600, but you get a better monitor with a great computer.

Deal with it. Or don't.

Me? I'm dealing with it and moving on with my life.

You also get to use that monitor in the future with future great computers.

 

[CWallace]

So why keep the iMac at all?

Well in the case of the more "prosumer" iMac, they didn't, since the 27" iMac 5K was discontinued yesterday and more pundits than not say it will not be coming back, be it in non-Pro or Pro form.

But as a consumer product, the iMac is iconic. It was the Mac that brought Apple back. So continuing to offer an inexpensive (for Apple) model like the 24" for consumers makes sense.

I also am wondering if Apple just feels the AIO form factor is not good for their most powerful products. The iMac Pro needed an extensive and expensive cooling system to keep it cool and what the Mac Studio has for a thermal management solution would never fit inside an AIO case - at least an AIO case design Apple would be willing to make.

 

[Galas]

.

 

[Lioness~]

These things are being ordered like crazy or Apple’s expectations have by far been exceeded.
If I pre-order from Apple now I won’t get it before summer. People wants this!
Me too, I have not been fast to decide. Still not 100% sure re Mac Studio.
I take my chances with a reseller now. They have not been released by them here yet.

 

[kalsta]

its not that bad, more like a bland white 1998 iMac.

More like a beached albino walrus. I saw these in the wild, and they really were ugly!

 

[theotherphil]

I am sorry to break it to you, but originally Macs were frowned upon in the work place because it was viewed as a gaming computer back in the late 80s. Look it up!

but you are correct, since then it never was a gaming computer and I do not know why they avoid that path. I do not look forward for them to build Alienware type PCs but gaming is almost non-existing on MacOS. Even linux is a better gaming OS than Mac....LINUX!

The reason is quite simple, gaming has been increasingly moving to mobile over the last 10 years and all projections are that’s where it will continue to go. Apple already has the greatest market share of revenues from mobile gaming. Expect experiences to be next on the list, such as that provided by the rumoured Apple Headset.

The market for PC gaming is shrinking and those who buy “top end hardware” are a minority. Apple doesn’t go where the market was….they are famous for steering their ship to emerging markets.

That’s what most people misunderstand when they say “other‘s do it this way”. You don’t get to be where Apple is today by doing what other’s do.

 

[Silencio]

More like a beached albino walrus. I saw these in the wild, and they really were ugly!

I deployed a few eMacs back in the day, and I really disliked them. Really heavy and cumbersome to move, and underpowered to actually use.

 

[kalsta]

I deployed a few eMacs back in the day, and I really disliked them. Really heavy and cumbersome to move, and underpowered to actually use.

Yeah, not one of Apple’s finer moments.

 

[charlesmdelacruz]

If there is no final M1 series chip, I speculate the Mac Pro will use either a non-M1 branded totally different line of chips or it will kick off the M2 series with a pro-grade soc.

A. Apple could use a different branding, say, 'Z1', as a sister brand but offers more modularity for its true Pro class based on M1 chips which are essentially tiled M1 Max units beyond a pair. This avoids using M2 starting with the fastest chip while differentiating from M1. This brand will be exclusive to Mac Pro-tier products.

B. Apple could introduce M2 beginning with the top-of-the-line desktop pro chip. This may be awkward as it could water down enthusiasm for regular M2, M2 Pro, and M2 Max.

 

[Abazigal]

I have mixed feelings now, I was waiting for a M1 MAX mini and now we have a new category of Macs. The numbers of the Ultra are crazy, as much as the price. Design is horrible, seems that they did not expend too much time on that. I wonder if this will be the typical device that that they release just because they don't have the Mac Pro ready. Seems that they just finish the M1 Ultra and create a box for it. I don't know if I want to expend that money on this kind of a transitional device (imho). M1 Max has more value but I would have prefer to have it on the smaller mini footprint, Studio looks too bulky too me, and M1 Max would have live perfectly fine on a Mini's enclosure.

Not sure why it would be too bulky when it’s designed to sit right under the new Apple display. I guess it may be an issue if you use your own monitor which is too low to accommodate it, but right now, it still looks more compact than any other windows desktop offering equivalent performance.

 

[charlesmdelacruz]

Not sure why it would be too bulky when it’s designed to sit right under the new Apple display. I guess it may be an issue if you use your own monitor which is too low to accommodate it, but right now, it still looks more compact than any other windows desktop offering equivalent performance.

lol it's a huge reach to call mac studio a bulky device, no? but i can imagine m1 max or its equivalent m2 can fit on the mac mini chassis for folks who dont need as many ports. i'm more surprised the m1 max mac studio exists at all but it's a nice cheaper alternative to the m1 max macbook pro for around $1k less if you wanna keep your old display, webcam, keyboard, mouse, and dont mind forgoing portability.

 

[Abazigal]

lol it's a huge reach to call mac studio a bulky device, no? but i can imagine m1 max or its equivalent m2 can fit on the mac mini chassis for folks who dont need as many ports. i'm more surprised the m1 max mac studio exists at all but it's a nice cheaper alternative to the m1 max macbook pro for around $1k less if you wanna keep your old display, webcam, keyboard, mouse, and dont mind forgoing portability.

My guess is cooling?

 

[pdoherty]

And height adjustability only costs $400!

Want a power cord with that? A bargain at $99!

 

[HDFan]

they still push security patches for many years after.

Google search shows a 3 year period, but is a dated reference to 2021:

According to Apple's security updates page, every version of macOS is generally updated for at least three years after it has been superseded. According to the latest security update for macOS, Mojave, Catalina, and Big Sur were supported on 9 February 2021.

I don't see any security updates for Mohave or earlier on Apple's current security update page one year later. Mohave was released in 2018 so that's 4 years.

Apple security releases – Apple Support (UK)

This document lists security updates and Rapid Security Responses for Apple software.

support.apple.com

 

[kc9hzn]

its not that bad, more like a bland white 1998 iMac.

Oh, like the Summer 2001 iMac in the Snow color?

(Actually, not an awful machine, fwiw. I bought one around 10 years ago, back when you could still pick one from eBay and pay more for shipping than the computer. Not as fun as, say, a Blue and White G3 tower, but still pretty fun.)

 

[MacBH928]

The reason is quite simple, gaming has been increasingly moving to mobile over the last 10 years and all projections are that’s where it will continue to go. Apple already has the greatest market share of revenues from mobile gaming. Expect experiences to be next on the list, such as that provided by the rumoured Apple Headset.

The market for PC gaming is shrinking and those who buy “top end hardware” are a minority. Apple doesn’t go where the market was….they are famous for steering their ship to emerging markets.

That’s what most people misunderstand when they say “other‘s do it this way”. You don’t get to be where Apple is today by doing what other’s do.

not really , PC gaming and consoles like Xbox and Playstation sales are record high. Linux gaming has greatly improved and its not mobile its a PC OS. A lot of people game on phones and this is where Apple is , but phone games are no where near PC games. Think of games like Elden Ring. There is place for both.

Unless you mean gaming is heading towards cloud gaming , where the game is on a server and you just stream it to your device.

 

[theotherphil]

not really , PC gaming and consoles like Xbox and Playstation sales are record high. Linux gaming has greatly improved and its not mobile its a PC OS. A lot of people game on phones and this is where Apple is , but phone games are no where near PC games. Think of games like Elden Ring. There is place for both.

Unless you mean gaming is heading towards cloud gaming , where the game is on a server and you just stream it to your device.

Not really? In making my point, I am not making a claim that isn’t backed in data.

The mobile gaming market makes more revenue than PC and consoles combined AND is growing at a faster rate year on year. Apple is one of the worlds largest gaming companies and makes more than MS, Nintendo, Sony and Activision combined (this was revealed in the Apple V Epic court case). Yes, there may be place for both but the PC market is small and the Mac part of that equation is even smaller. Why would Apple concentrate on spending massive amounts of cash on this tiny part of the market when:

a) They have at least 1,000x more iOS devices in circulation than Macs that are capable of gaming.
b) They already take the lion’s share of revenue in the mobile gaming market…which is still outpacing growth in PC’s and consoles combined?
c) AR and VR experiences is the next emerging market which isn’t going to be driven by PC’s
d) The PC market is currently shrinking -1.1% yoy, consoles are down -8.9% vs mobile’s growth at +4.4% yoy.

Apple doesn’t go where the market has been.

https://resources.newzoo.com/hubfs/Reports/Newzoo%20and%20TikTok%20for%20Business%20Global%20Mobile%20Gamers%20Whitepaper.pdf

Apple's One of the World’s Largest Video Game Companies (But for How Long?)

Apart from 2008’s Texas Hold ‘Em, Apple doesn’t have a single game title to its name, and yet it turns out that it’s actually making substantially more

www.idropnews.com

 

[WLSON]

Fine.

You used to be able to spend $1800 and get a good monitor with a bad computer.

Now you have to spend $3600, but you get a better monitor with a great computer.

Deal with it. Or don't.

Me? I'm dealing with it and moving on with my life.

Predictably there's no reasoning with people like you.

It's not a hard concept to understand, to use your own words: now you have to spend $2500 for a good monitor (studio display) with a bad computer (base mac mini). $700 more than before (base 27" iMac).

 

[CWallace]

Predictably there's no reasoning with people like you.

Pot, meet kettle.

It's not a hard concept to understand, to use your own words: now you have to spend $2500 for a good monitor (studio display) with a bad computer (base mac mini). $700 more than before (base 27" iMac).

But you don't have to buy an Apple Studio Display for that Mac mini. There are hundreds of monitors well below the $1600 price of the Apple Studio Display and offering larger screens and/or higher refresh rates and more input ports (and different types of input ports like DisplayPort and HDMI) and more USB ports.

You actually have choice now. And not just in displays, but also computers and form-factors.

I replaced my older iMac 5K with a 2020 Intel iMac 5K last Fall because I have to use Windows daily. But I also bought a 14" MacBook Pro to replace my Intel MacBook Pro and my iPad Pro because I wanted to see what Apple silicon brings to the table for macOS and Mac apps.

But if I didn't use Windows and had been waiting for an Apple silicon iMac 5K, on Tuesday I would have bought an Apple Studio Display and paired it with my 14" MacBook Pro as my new "desktop" because for every macOS task I do, my MBP 14" is faster than my 2020 iMac 5K (and my iMac has an i7 and 32GB and a 5700) and never turns on it's fans.

 

[MacBH928]

Not really? In making my point, I am not making a claim that isn’t backed in data.

The mobile gaming market makes more revenue than PC and consoles combined AND is growing at a faster rate year on year. Apple is one of the worlds largest gaming companies and makes more than MS, Nintendo, Sony and Activision combined (this was revealed in the Apple V Epic court case). Yes, there may be place for both but the PC market is small and the Mac part of that equation is even smaller. Why would Apple concentrate on spending massive amounts of cash on this tiny part of the market when:

a) They have at least 1,000x more iOS devices in circulation than Macs that are capable of gaming.
b) They already take the lion’s share of revenue in the mobile gaming market…which is still outpacing growth in PC’s and consoles combined?
c) AR and VR experiences is the next emerging market which isn’t going to be driven by PC’s
d) The PC market is currently shrinking -1.1% yoy, consoles are down -8.9% vs mobile’s growth at +4.4% yoy.

View attachment 1971965


Apple doesn’t go where the market has been.

https://resources.newzoo.com/hubfs/Reports/Newzoo%20and%20TikTok%20for%20Business%20Global%20Mobile%20Gamers%20Whitepaper.pdf

Apple's One of the World’s Largest Video Game Companies (But for How Long?)

Apart from 2008’s Texas Hold ‘Em, Apple doesn’t have a single game title to its name, and yet it turns out that it’s actually making substantially more

www.idropnews.com

You are not wrong about the mobile gaming spending but its a different market. If you look at the top games on iOS they include Heads Up, Geometery Dash, Plague Inc, IncrediBox, and Papa's Freeseria To Go. This is not the same market for Halo, Elden Ring, Battlefield , Cyberpunk, and GTA V. I hope you can see the difference.

Apple not caring for the more "mature" games market might hurt their MacOS base and makes it look embarrasing in comparison to Windows and Linux unless Apple does not care about MacOS as a complete platform replacement for Windows and Linux and iOS is all they care about.

 

[WLSON]

Pot, meet kettle.



But you don't have to buy an Apple Studio Display for that Mac mini. There are hundreds of monitors well below the $1600 price of the Apple Studio Display and offering larger screens and/or higher refresh rates and more input ports (and different types of input ports like DisplayPort and HDMI) and more USB ports.

You actually have choice now. And not just in displays, but also computers and form-factors.

I replaced my older iMac 5K with a 2020 Intel iMac 5K last Fall because I have to use Windows daily. But I also bought a 14" MacBook Pro to replace my Intel MacBook Pro and my iPad Pro because I wanted to see what Apple silicon brings to the table for macOS and Mac apps.

But if I didn't use Windows and had been waiting for an Apple silicon iMac 5K, on Tuesday I would have bought an Apple Studio Display and paired it with my 14" MacBook Pro as my new "desktop" because for every macOS task I do, my MBP 14" is faster than my 2020 iMac 5K (and my iMac has an i7 and 32GB and a 5700) and never turns on it's fans.

You could always pair a Mac mini with a third party display even when the 27" iMac was available. It's nothing new, so your assertion that "You actually have a choice now" doesn't make any sense.

The Studio display is practically identical to the panel that was on the 27" iMac. It's simply a money grab from Apple, you have to be delusional not to see this.