Five things that stand out about the new Mac Studio | Tech

The Mac Studio is a surprisingly traditional computer for Apple. Where previous desktop Macs were often a monitor and PC in one, this is ‘just’ a computer that you can connect to a monitor, mouse and keyboard.

This makes it easier to fit in the average home office. You can just connect it to that ergonomically tuned monitor you already had, and everything will work with your current mouse and keyboard.

The Mac Studio runs on the M1 Max, a souped-up version of Apple’s first proprietary computer chip. Until 2020, the company used processors from manufacturer Intel, but with the M1 series, the company has taken a completely different direction.

The difference is immediately apparent when you switch from an old Intel Mac to the new Mac Studio. Everything starts up almost immediately: the login screen appears within a second, after which you are in your desktop environment without significant waiting time. Almost every app starts there without you even blinking your eyes.

At most, you will sometimes have to wait a while for heavy tasks, but they are also faster on the Mac Studio we tested than on an old Intel version of the MacBook.

Inside the Mac Studio are fans that always blow the warm air out of the computer – even when no heavy processes are running. As a result, the computer continuously makes a small amount of noise, although this is only noticeable in a dead quiet room. This is more often the case with desktop computers, although Windows PCs with the same compact form factor sometimes turn off the fan when the computer does not have to do anything heavy.

In addition, we have the idea that the Mac Studio is also louder than, for example, a MacBook Pro. The shape of the case makes the acoustics appear different from previous Macs, and sometimes it almost sounds like the computer is whistling very softly. Not a big deal, but good to know beforehand.

The cheapest models of the Mac Studio have an M1 Max chip on the inside, which was also previously added in the MacBook Pros. But if you try to buy a MacBook Pro with the same configuration, you will lose a good thousand euros more. With its price tag of 2329 euros, the Mac Studio is not yet a budget machine, but it is a cheaper alternative for those who want Apple’s powerful processor.

Incidentally, the company also sells a Mac Studio with the new M1 Ultra – which actually consists of twice the M1 Max glued together. At 4629 euros, a computer with that chip is many times more expensive, but in our opinion it is only relevant for professionals who have to do insanely heavy work. The M1 Max is more than fast enough for most people.

In addition to the Mac Studio, Apple also sells the Studio Display, a 27-inch screen with 5K resolution. In our tests, it only worked in combination with the Mac Studio, but according to the tech giant, an update is coming so that it can also be connected to other Macs.

And perhaps even more interesting: the screen will also work in combination with Windows computers. It was questionable whether that would be the case, because the display with its built-in hardware and software seemed specifically for Macs. But a machine with Windows and presumably even Linux can be plugged in, although it depends on your hardware whether the 5K resolution can be used.

Special software in the webcam ensures that the image is always correctly aligned, so that you as a video caller are always in the middle of the image. That works surprisingly well: even if you walk to the left or right, the webcam moves with you as if you had a personal cameraman.

But then your video calling software must support Center Stage. That is the case in, for example, Apple’s own FaceTime, but during conversations in Google Meet, the webcam remains motionless. And just then the webcam is somewhat awkwardly aligned: with us there is a lot of space above the head, unless we maneuver the screen at an unpleasant angle.

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