Elly Awesome on the ‘insane’ Apple Mac Studio

The new Mac Studio has a price that stings but this “next-level” Mac is the ultimate set up for Apple fans.

REVIEW

One of the most insane computers has been released and you may not even know about it yet. Apple recently launched a new computer, aka a Mac, named the Mac Studio that rivals all computers on the market right now.

This compact desktop computer looks like their previously released Mac Mini but make no mistake – this is a next level powerhouse made for users who want the ultimate Mac set up. They’ve also released one of the most expensive computer monitors to go along with it – the Studio Display.

Elly says that this computer is ‘made for users who want the ultimate Mac set up’. Image: Elly Awesome

Mac Studio Review

The Mac Studio is incredibly compact coming in at only 7.7 inches square and 3.7 inches tall. I suppose you could compare its size to a small ice cream tub or more notably, if you compare it to a desktop PC (or all-in-one computer), it’s at least three times smaller.

It’s so small in fact, you could very easily transport it to work or a studio if you needed to. And somehow everything inside this computer has been designed to perform impeccably, including Apple’s M1 chip of which you can choose between the M1 Max or M1 Ultra. If you’re unfamiliar this is Apple’s innovation where, simply put, they have combined the CPU and GPU into one chip, along with unified memory, which means the computer can be seriously energy efficient and in turn offers outrageously excellent performance. It even makes Intel nervous.

There are plenty of ports on the machine including two USB-C or Thunderbolt 4 ports (on the front) and four USB-C ports on the back. These ports offer compatibility of up to 6K resolution displays and 40Gb/s of throughput. There’s also a 10Gb Ethernet port, two USB-A ports, HDMI slot, SDXC card slot and headphone jack.

Even though the new desktop computer is at least three times smaller than a normal pc, it comes with a number of ports. Image: Elly Awesome

Studio Display Review

Excitingly, I got to test the Mac Studio with Apple’s Studio Display, which they released alongside the Mac. This is helpful as you can’t use it without a display of some sort, obviously. And something to know about Apple’s displays is that – one – they don’t release them often and – two – whenever they do you can expect its screen resolution to look absolutely immaculate with only a caveat of costing a butt-load.

When you use the Mac Studio with Apple’s Studio Display, the screen resolution looks ‘absolutely immaculate’. Image: Elly Awesome

Screen Resolution

In this case they’ve released a 27-inch 5K resolution Retina display with 600 nits of brightness, P3 wide colour and support for over a billion colours. Honestly, I barely know what those words mean myself but I can tell you that in person the display looks out of this world with bright, crisp and true to life colour accuracy.

Personally, I’ve always loved Apple’s displays (and I’m even counting iMacs and Macbook displays) as I do a lot of professional video editing. With Apple, I know that no matter what I’m working on when I deliver a video to a client my colour grading will look just right because I’ve edited it on such a colour-accurate display.

You can, of course, get displays with high colour accuracy from other brands but, surprisingly and often, you’ll need to calibrate them manually whereas Apple’s displays are excellent out of the box.

This display looks breathtaking in both its aluminium form factor and resolution but it is a little peculiar though. The power cable is fused to the display, which I worry about for longevity, as with pretty much any computer display you can replace your power cable if it becomes faulty. There’s an in-built camera for video calls, however, for its price point the quality is a little standard. Though as a consolation, it has Apple’s awesome Centre Stage feature where if you move to the left or right of your camera it will digitally pan to follow you around (to a point).

The display looks breathtaking in its aluminium form factor and resolution. Picture: Elly Awesome

Sound Quality

On the up side, the in-built studio-quality microphones do an excellent job, allowing you to not have to worry about using an additional plug-in microphone for video conferencing. And the high-fidelity six-speaker sound system with Spatial Audio are truly the best speakers I have ever experienced in a computer or monitor. They honestly compare to having a separate on-desk speaker set up.

Elly says that the computer has the best speakers she has ever experienced in a computer or monitor. Picture: Elly Awesome

Should you buy one?

So, is either product something you should be considering? Well, Apple usually creates products that are made for the general consumer but you need to know that these are products made for professionals.

The Mac Studio starts at $3,099, which is probably absolutely abhorrent to someone who mostly uses a basic laptop.

However, for someone who works as a professional in any of the creative industries such as film, graphic design, 3D modelling, animation, architecture, visual effects or music production this is the going rate for a computer that can support the intensive programs required for those jobs. And it’s one of the most powerful machines on the market at its price point.

The Studio Display is the perfect pairing for the Mac Studio, though the price does sting a little, starting at $2,499. Personally, together I think they offer an incredible set-up but you certainly have to need them. They’re not just a ‘treat-yourself’ moment.

But if you do want that excellent Apple quality all around, with performance that will stay speedy for many years to come, they’re both totally awesome.

Elly Awesome is an Aussie tech and lifestyle vlogger. | @ellyawesome |YouTube