Mac Studio with M5 Ultra chip is coming, here is what to expect and how much it might cost
Apple’s recent price hikes across its iPad and Mac lineup have already shocked buyers, but the interesting thing is, the company is not slowing down
Apple’s recent price hikes across its iPad and Mac lineup have already shocked buyers, but the interesting thing is, the company is not slowing down its new product plans. Despite this ongoing memory crisis, which led to the surge in prices, Apple is reportedly working on a new Mac Studio, and it could arrive before the end of this year. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is planning to introduce a new M5 Ultra chip – the final addition to its M5 family – and slot it into a refreshed Mac Studio. The current Mac Studio has not seen an update since March 2025.
The update was originally expected earlier in 2026 but was reportedly pushed back due to memory chip supply issues and rising component costs – the same pressures that triggered Apple's sweeping price increases this week. Read Full Story What the M5 Ultra is expected to bring The M5 Ultra is expected to feature around 36 CPU cores and 80 GPU cores, a step up from the M3 Ultra's 32-core CPU and 80-core GPU combination. Apple has reportedly tested support for up to 768GB of unified memory. However, given the current memory supply constraints, whether that configuration will actually make it to launch remains uncertain.
It is worth noting that Apple has already been quietly scaling back memory options on existing Mac Studio models. The M3 Ultra Mac Studio was previously available with up to 512GB of RAM, but that configuration was removed back in March. The current model can only be purchased with 96GB. The price question Here is where things get tricky. Following Apple's latest price revision, the 96GB M3 Ultra Mac Studio has already jumped from $3,999 to $5,299, an increase of $1,300 in one go. If a 768GB configuration does make it to the new Mac Studio, the pricing could be eye-watering.
As for timing, Bloomberg had previously indicated an October 2026 window for the Mac Studio refresh, though it is not clear whether Apple will hit that target. Delivery estimates for the current M3 Ultra Mac Studio are already stretching into October, which adds another layer of uncertainty. After M5, Apple is expected to move on to M6, M7, M7 Pro, and M7 Max chips, so the M5 Ultra Mac Studio, whenever it arrives, will mark the end of an era before a larger generational shift begins. Ends
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