M2 Ultra Mac Studio review round-up - who needs a Mac Pro?

(Image credit: Apple)

Apple announced a refreshed Mac Studio with the M2 Max and M2 Ultra chip during the WWDC event on June 5, and now the early reviews are starting to roll in.

The new Mac Studio uses the same M2 Ultra as the new Mac Pro, putting it firmly at the top of Apple's Mac lineup and confirming that it is very much the best Mac for those who need the ultimate in power. At least, that's what we'd assumed.

So how did the M2 Ultra Mac Studio fare, and is it as fast as we'd expected it to be? Early benchmarks suggested so, but what did reviewers think? Let's find out.

Super-fast

The M2 Ultra comes with a 24-core CPI and a 32-core Neural Engine, while GPUs are available with up to 76 cores. With support for up to 192GB of RAM and a starting price of $3,999, it was always going to be a speedy Mac. And these reviews back up that assumption.

The M2 Ultra Mac Studio replaces the previous M1 Ultra version at the top of Apple's Mac lineup, and as some reviewers have already noted that was already an exceptional Mac. Now, it's even better and those buying a new high-end computer can't go wrong with a top-end Mac Studio.

Alongside the M2 Ultra, Apple also offers the Mac Studio in M2 Max configuration which is also likely to be more than enough for the majority of users. While Apple did give the M2 Ultra flavor of Mac Studio to most reviewers, some did receive the M2 Max version and yes, it's very fast as well.

Tyler Stalman

Christopher Lawley

The Tech Chap

iJustine

Matthew Moniz

The new Mac Studio starts at $1,999 for the M2 Max offering and goes on sale tomorrow, June 13.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.