Mac Studio - page 6

Some computer setups just say “slick.” They declare, in their perfection, “I might actually be staged.” They suggest, without a trace of shyness, much less humility, “There’s no way I look this clean all the damn time.”

Neither a speck of dust nor a stray cable to be seen.

But then again, some workstations are cleaned up with the arrival of a major new addition and made ready for the one photo where they’ll look their Sunday best. That’s likely the case with today’s featured setup, with its dark-stained woods and its lights just so. After all, it just got a brand new Mac Studio.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The first Mac Studio benchmarks make Apple’s much-ballyhooed M1 Ultra chip sound less amazing than we hoped. Maybe it’s not the unhinged beast we expected! But then, what do benchmarks really mean, anyway?

Also on The CultCast:

• The new Studio Display suffers due to some odd choices on Apple’s part.
• A software update might fix Studio Display’s tragic webcam.
• A 15-inch MacBook Air would tick a lot of the right boxes.
• And finally, a giveaway for the ladies!

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video livestream, embedded below.

This week’s sponsor is JAMF, an Apple device-management solution that gives individuals and businesses the tools they need to wrangle iPhones, Macs, iPads and more. Register with JAMF now to manage three devices for free.

Ever had trouble getting your Mac to recognize third-party peripherals, like a keyboard and mouse? Today’s featured setup is built around a brand-new Mac Studio mounted neatly on a pegboard behind a Samsung super ultra-wide display. But the Apple desktop computer refused to pair with a Logitech keyboard and mouse, according to the owner.

He said he had to go and buy Apple’s Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse to establish working input devices. So what happened?

The gadget butchers at iFixit have finally gotten their hands on Mac Studio. After many hours on the operating table, Apple’s newest desktop has been pulled apart to give us a detailed look at its compact yet powerful insides.

You may be surprised to learn that many of Mac Studio’s components — including its SSDs and connectivity ports — are modular, which means they can be replaced if things go wrong. But user upgrades are out of the question.

Breaking open the new Mac Studio reveals that its solid-state storage modules are easily removable, but you can forget trying to upgrade them. Not only does Apple use a proprietary connector, but it also blocks user swaps in macOS.

YouTuber Luke Miani pulled apart two Mac Studio machines and discovered that even if you take an original SSD out of one and put it in another, it will simply refuse to boot up.

With Apple’s big “Peek Performance” event only just past and deliveries of newly release products in progress, we see computer setups with new Mac Studio desktops and Studio Display monitors cropping up on social media sites.

Checking in with real people and their first impressions about the gear — and their answers to others’ questions about it — can be a pretty good early look at how things are going with Apple’s latest products.

The Mac Studio looks just a bit… off. It’s the three front-facing ports. They aren‘t arranged like they should be. The SD card slot makes a horizontal line, but the two USB-C ports are vertical.

It’s an unusual miss for a company that’s typically obsessed with tiny design details.

Apple plans to sell a “lock adapter” for Mac Studio that will prevent would-be thieves from swiping the machine from users’ desks, according to one report.

Mac Studio already has a small hole on its base where a lock can be fitted, but it seems there’s not enough room for a standard Kensington option. Apple looks to be working with a third-party on a better solution that will come soon.

Apple’s new Mac Studio, Studio Display, iPad Air and iPhone SE officially go on sale today. That means customers who preordered early (before shipping dates slipped) are beginning to receive the first deliveries around the world.

If you, like me, are disappointed not to be reveling in the same delight as they are, here are a whole bunch of photos that highlight what we’re missing out on.

If you buy a powerful new Mac Studio desktop computer and you need to take it somewhere, what are you going to do? Re-pack it? Here’s a better idea. Get a stylish and protective new carrying case like the one WaterField Designs just released.

The San Francisco-based luxury bag maker for tech gear adds the new Mac Studio Shield Case to its list of quality goods, including sturdy leather AirTag accessories and a cool AirPods Max case that Apple should’ve made.

The powerful Mac Studio desktop first reaches customers on Friday, but the initial reviews are out to answer any lingering questions about Apple’s latest macOS desktop.

This is supposed to be Apple’s new mid-range desktop, but hands-on tests show it beats the 2019 Mac Pro hands down.

The Mac Studio is scheduled to start reaching customers on March 18. But a fortunate Frenchman got his Tuesday, three days early!

Seems a store in France missed the note from Apple about not shipping until later in the week.

Apple’s next major refresh for Mac mini may not come until 2023, according to the latest claims from one analyst, who has proven reliable in the past.

Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities this week revised his predictions for the next-generation compact desktop, which he previously expected to see this year. It could now launch alongside the first Mac Pro with Apple silicon.

For years, Apple seemingly worked to finish off the old USB-A and HDMI formats, as well as the SD card reader. It quit building them into most of its products, replacing them all with smaller USB-C ports. But that campaign appears to have stopped… at least for now.

You need look no farther than the newly announced Mac Studio for proof. It has USB-A, HDMI and an SD card reader.

It’s a sign that Apple is in a tough spot. There are good reasons to kill all of these. And an overwhelming reason to keep them. Let’s discuss.

Along with the new Mac Studio desktop computer and Studio Display Apple rolled out on Tuesday, it launched swanky black-and-silver peripherals — Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad and Magic Mouse — that go well with the new gear.

They’re similar to options you can choose if you buy a pricey new Mac Pro. But now you can purchase them separately.

Do you have to pay a bit more than you would for the normal options sold a la carte? Yes. But of course you do.

In 2010, Steve Jobs proudly proclaimed Apple had become a “mobile device company.” Tim Cook went further, dismissing anything that wasn’t a mobile device as a “hobby project.” It sounded like the Mac’s days were numbered. At Cult of Mac, we even ran a story on how to replace your Mac with an iPad.

How things have changed. With Tuesday’s launch of the Mac Studio, Apple completed the best Mac lineup we’ve seen in more than a decade. The new M1 Ultra chip offers unprecedented desktop performance. And longtime Mac fans will welcome the return of Apple’s Studio Display monitors.

The Mac is most definitely back. So what happened? Why did Cupertino fall out of love with the Mac, and what prompted the change of heart?

Apple’s next-generation Mac mini will be its first machine to offer new “M2” and “M2 Pro” chips, according to a new report. The new compact desktop, which is said to be codenamed “J473” internally, is expected to launch in 2022.

Sources say Apple originally planned to make Mac mini significantly more powerful by adding its beefy M1 Pro and M1 Max chipsets. But those plans were supposedly scrapped in favor of the all-new Mac Studio.

The launch date for the Mac Studio is March 18, but preorders placed today won’t arrive until well after that. The wait for the version with the M1 Ultra processor is six weeks or more.

Just because the new desktop is already backordered doesn’t automatically mean there’s huge demand. But it’s not a bad sign, either.

Configure the new Mac Studio with a super-fast M1 Ultra processor and the weight goes up a full 2 pounds. Weight doesn’t matter for a desktop, but people have been curious what about where all the extra comes from.

Apple has an answer. And it all comes down to heat and heavy metal.

Apple blew our minds this week with its all-new and somewhat unexpected Mac Studio. The diminutive desktop, which has the same footprint as Mac mini but is almost three times as tall, is by far Cupertino’s most powerful machine to date when you buy it with the incredible new M1 Ultra chip.

There’s just one problem with that. The impressive M1 Ultra model, which is significantly more powerful than even the fastest Mac Pro, starts at a whopping $3,999 — a considerable jump from the M1 Max model, which starts at $1,999. And I can’t work out how it’s so darn expensive!

When Apple rolled out the first M1 chip in late 2020, it seemed like a pretty big jump forward. Then the new M1 Pro and M1 Max in MacBook Pro models blew people away in October 2021. Now the Cupertino tech giant calls its latest M1 Ultra chip in the new Mac Studio desktop computer “the next giant leap for Apple silicon and the Mac.”

It’s almost like when Neil Armstrong got back from taking “one giant leap for mankind” on the moon in 1969 — if someone had told him, “you can toss that jalopy you went up in. Now we’ve got a real spaceship for ya.”

Apple said at its “Peek Performance” event Tuesday that the M1 Ultra is “the world’s most powerful chip for a personal computer.”

After gracing us with its jaw-dropping Mac Studio and 27-inch Studio Display on Tuesday, Apple finally discontinued the aging 27-inch iMac. The machine is no longer available to purchase through official Apple retail channels.

It’s probably not gone for good, however. Cupertino is rumored to be working on a larger iMac model that could appear alongside other new Mac models — including a new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro — later this year.

Apple on Tuesday gave us our first glimpse at its brand-new Mac Studio — its first desktop featuring the M1 Ultra chip. It’s bigger than a Mac mini but smaller than a Mac Pro, and it’s the most powerful machine Apple has built to date.

Its M1 Ultra chip makes Mac Studio twice as fast as a high-end MacBook Pro, with a 20-core CPU, 64-core GPU, and up to 128GB of unified memory. And it’s still amazingly efficient.

With just hours to go until Apple kicks off its big Peek Performance event, the Apple Store has predictably closed its virtual doors.

“Be right back” reads the message that greets visitors who attempt to purchase anything through the company’s website this morning. When it returns, we expect a whole bunch of new additions, including an iPhone SE with 5G.

Although the first leak of the Mac Studio came only a few days ago, it’s already been followed by an unconfirmed report that the mid-range desktop will debut at the March 8 Apple event. A second tipster later said the same.

Renders showing the Mac from several angles have also leaked. And details of a new Apple external display, too.