Buying some Mac Studio configurations now means long wait times. While this is certainly frustrating for those shopping for a powerful macOS desktop, it can be seen as a sign that it might be better to hold off on the purchase.
That’s because a new version is on the way.
Why Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra are probably in development
Mac Studio is a compact yet formidable desktop aimed squarely at creative professionals and power users. It features powerful Apple M4 Max or M3 Ultra processors that enable 8K video editing, 3D rendering and more. Pro users need the best computer they can get, so it might be best to hold off on getting a Mac Studio right now.
Order the base model with the M4 Max from the Apple Store and it can be delivered in about a day. But many configurations with faster processors, more memory and/or additional storage add weeks to the waiting time.
For example, order a Mac Studio with an M4 Max with 16 CPU cores and you won’t receive the shipment until March. Those considering the top model – with the fastest variant of the M3 Ultra, 512GB of memory and 16TB of storage – will have to wait until April.
When waiting is a good sign
When the official Apple Store starts running out of configurations for a particular Mac model — especially one that’s been on the market for almost a year — it can be a sign that a successor is on the way. This is because Apple usually cuts production of current versions of its products to make room for updated hardware.
While the current long wait times for the new Mac Studio suggest that a new model is on the way, it’s hardly conclusive. But information leaked from Apple headquarters suggests that upgraded versions of the desktop computer equipped with M5 series chips will arrive in the first half of 2026. The M4 Max version arrived in March 2025, and a replacement a year later at Apple’s March 4 event seems quite possible. (Read our predictions for everything to expect: Apple just announced a March event — here’s what could be coming.)
And while the updated Mac Studio won’t be there, many credible reports say it’s coming. Apple can hold it until WWDC26 in June.
Expect an M5 Ultra processor, not an M4 Ultra
Apple chose a special strategy with Mac Studio 2025. It comes with an M4 Max or M3 Ultra processor. The M4 Ultra chip variant has yet to appear.
And that will reportedly not come in 2026 Mac Studio. Instead, leaks and rumors point to this year’s flagship desktop version with the M5 Ultra.
The M3 Ultra was still fast enough to make last year’s Mac Studio the fastest macOS computer available, but the M5 Ultra should blow that away.
M5 Max and M5 Ultra: Apple’s fastest chips ever
The highlight of Mac Studio 2026 will be premium versions of the M5 chip. Apple launched the processor last fall in the MacBook Pro and iPad Pro, but that was only the entry-level version of the chip.
It ends up being part of an extended family. The M5 Pro variant is expected to be introduced in the updated MacBook Pro in the coming weeks, for example.
And Mac Studio 2026 will likely introduce the M5 Max and M5 Ultra. The performance of these should be phenomenal. Apple hasn’t said anything about them yet, but a look at Apple’s earlier chip families can provide predictions about the performance we can expect from the two upcoming ones.
Comparing the performance of the base M4 to that of the M4 Max, taking what we know about the base M5, shows that the M5 Max could end up with a Geekbench 6 CPU score of 27,600, which is pretty close to the score of the fastest Mac currently available with any chip.
There’s no M4 Ultra for comparison, but comparing the base M3 performance to the M3 Ultra, the speed of the base M5 shows that the M5 Ultra could potentially get a Geekbench 6 CPU score over 41,000. That’s about 40% more than the fastest Mac currently available.
In comparison, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9985WX is a high-end workstation processor that delivers extreme multi-core performance for professional creators, engineers, and data-intensive tasks. Its Geekbench 6 score is 31,573, well behind the M5 Ultra’s planned score.
If these numbers come close to being accurate, it looks like Mac Studio 2026 with the M5 Max and M5 Ultra will be worth the wait.
More about 2026 Mac Studio
While the new chips will deliver stunning performance, no information leaking from Apple indicates that the upcoming M5-based Mac Studio will receive a redesign. Expect the familiar squirrel-inspired enclosure with a compact, minimalist footprint to carry over into 2026.
From all reports, Apple is focusing on performance improvements rather than chassis.
In terms of cost, Apple has historically preferred to keep prices the same when a new model is a simple “chip and ship” update, as expected with the 2026 Mac Studio. This means that the boom in artificial intelligence data centers is putting enormous upward pressure on memory and storage prices. The rising cost of these components could prompt Apple to raise prices. Still, we can hope that the next version of Mac Studio will still start at $1,999.