Here's why Apple's Mac Studio has become so expensive

Engadget staff@engadget.com (Steve Dent)

22 Sept 2026 04:30 AEST 1 min read Rewritten in plain language

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Overview

If you want to run AI models locally or do high-end Hollywood VFX on Apple products, the Mac Studio is now your only solution.
In 18 months since the last model, the M5 Max's base price has increased by $500 to $2,500, while the M5 Ultra starts at $5,500, up $1,500 from the M3 Ultra model.
The Mac Studio M3 Ultra with the same configuration retailed for $7,499 at launch, a cool $3,800 cheaper.
Apple said so itself when it first bumped MacBook prices back in June: "We've never seen component prices increase this much, this quickly."
Let's say its memory cost for the 256GB Mac Studio M5 Ultra is around $2,500-$2,800.

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Summarized version

It tops out at a M5 Pro processor and 64GB of RAM, with 307 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The Mac Studio M3 Ultra with the same configuration retailed for $7,499 at launch, a cool $3,800 cheaper.

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The article, shortened and in plain language

A big part of the story is rising memory and storage prices, but other factors come into play as well.

If you want to run AI models locally or do high-end Hollywood VFX on Apple products, the Mac Studio is now your only solution. Equipped with a M5 Max or M5 Ultra processor, Apple's compact but powerful desktop delivers gobs of performance both alone and working in a cluster.

In 18 months since the last model, the M5 Max's base price has increased by $500 to $2,500, while the M5 Ultra starts at $5,500, up $1,500 from the M3 Ultra model.

It tops out at a M5 Pro processor and 64GB of RAM, with 307 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

The "base" version (starting at $2,500) has a M5 Max processor with a 18-core GPU and 32-core GPU, and up to 128GB of unified memory, depending on the option chosen.

The Mac Studio M3 Ultra with the same configuration retailed for $7,499 at launch, a cool $3,800 cheaper.

The primary culprits for this large price increase are the Mac Studio's large amount of high-end memory and storage, " RAMageddon " pricing, hedging and Apple's usual insistence on high profit margins. Apple said so itself when it first bumped MacBook prices back in June: "We've never seen component prices increase this much, this quickly."

With 1.2TB/s bandwidth when loaded with RAM, the Mac Studio M5 Ultra uses LPDDR5X memory.

Let's say its memory cost for the 256GB Mac Studio M5 Ultra is around $2,500-$2,800.

Shortened to 1 minute of reading, this version reads 7.9 on the Niral Score.

You are reading our version, not theirs. This is Engadget's report shortened to its most important sentences, in plainer words, with verdicts and loaded words taken out. Plain description stays, and so do adjectives that carry a fact, such as "former" or "federal". The reporting, the facts and the quotations are theirs — quotations are never edited — and the indicators beside it measure this version. Hover or tap Adjectives to see every one left in the text.

Indicators

Niral Score 12.6was 19.8 mundaneloaded

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memory19prices11price10storage9model8increase7around6cost5power5processor5reportedly5bandwidth4high-end4higher4margins4though4unified4users4video4big3come3configuration3desktop3expensive3hard3hedging3high3large3option3play3pricing3run3uses3version3well3amount2base2based2better2cheaper2column2component2computer2costs2current2device2editing2end2entirely2equipped2ever2flagship2four2happen2huge2increases2let2little2makes2models2

Sentiment -0.0was -0.1 hostilefavourable Sourcing 30 unattributednamed sources Mood 50.1was 38.3 sorrowjoyful

5 read zero: political diction, generational, gender, jingoistic, religious

Political diction 0 left-codedright-coded Generational 0 harder on the oldharder on the young Gender 0 no gendered framingframing throughout Jingoistic 0 reports to a readerwrites from a camp Religious 0 not invokedovert

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Outlet	Niral Score	Adjectives	Sourcing	Sentiment	Happiness
Engadgetas they published this story	19.8	30	30	-0.1	38.3
Mundane Readneutralized from Engadget	12.6	27	30	-0.0	50.1

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