Technologies

Apple Mac Studio 2023 Review: Still the Creative Choice for Mac

There aren’t many changes to Apple’s midrange desktop. There didn’t need to be.

8.2

Apple Mac Studio 2023

$3,199 at Apple

Like

Fast and quiet
Relatively compact
HDMI 2.1

Don’t like

M2 Max model has two less Thunderbolt connections than the M2 Ultra

There isn’t a lot to say about the latest generation of the Mac Studio: From a «put it on your desk and use it» perspective, it feels almost exactly like the model that preceded it, with the expected generation-over-generation tweaks we see routinely in laptops and desktops.

In sum, it delivers up to about 20% better performance over the equivalent last-generation M1 chip because it has more CPU and GPU cores, and because of the updated Wi-Fi (from 6 to 6E) and Bluetooth 5.3, it has more stable and potentially much faster wireless. That, plus upgraded HDMI 2.1 — what Apple refers to as «enhanced» HDMI — are certainly important new features, they just don’t change the experience much.

As much as I like the system — and I really do like it quite a lot — it’s a little hard to make a case for the M2 Max model. If you really need CPU and/or GPU power, you’re better off with an Ultra configuration at a not-cheap $4,399 ($3,999 if you lop a terabyte off the storage of our $3,199 test configuration). If you just want the CPU performance and are OK with a decent-ish GPU, the M2 Pro Mac Mini can be had for $1,000 less.

Apple Mac Studio 2023

Price as reviewed	$3,199, £3,299, AU$5,099
CPU	3.3GHz Apple M2 Max 12 cores (8P/4E), 16-core Neural
Memory	64GB LPDDR5 unified
Graphics	Integrated 38 cores
Storage	2TB Apple SSD, SD card slot
Ports	6x USB-C (2x Thunderbolt 4), 2x USB-A, 1x HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm audio
Networking	10Gbps Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.3
Operating system	MacOS Ventura 13.4
Dimensions	3.7 x 7.7 x 7.7 in (9.5 x 19.7 x 19.7 cm)
Ship date	June 2023

Many creative apps, notably photo editing, still tend to use CPU resources more than GPU, and the M2 Pro has the same Neural cores as the M2 Max. And, while the Max handles some basic high-res video editing, you can get away with the cheaper model for 4K, but will probably want to bump up for higher resolutions.

Much also depends on what creative applications you’re using as well as how you’re using them. You’ll see a lot more custom MacOS optimization from, say, DaVinci Resolve than Premiere Pro, so throwing money at the Max over the Pro may not help you. And features that might theoretically benefit from more Neural cores (the Ultra has 2x the Max and below), may not perform the processing locally. For instance, the processing for Photoshop’s new Generative Fill takes place remotely, so your system doesn’t really have to do any heavy lifting.

The Pro also has the same encode/decode accelerators as the Max, while the Ultra has twice as many. And the Ultra configuration has two more Thunderbolt ports — its dual Max processor configuration means another Thunderbolt controller — which is important if you plan on using external drives for that.

Watch this: Mac Studio Gets an Upgrade With M2 Max and M2 Ultra Chips

03:14

That doesn’t mean there isn’t a group of buyers for whom the M2 Max combination of solid CPU and GPU performance is just right for the money — it’s just easier and probably sufficient to go cheaper or necessary to go pricier.

The upgraded HDMI means it can handle a 4K monitor at a refresh rates of up to 240Hz. It does enable variable refresh rate for monitors that support it, and as with the MacBook Pro you don’t have much control over it; you enable it in MacOS and it’s out of your hands.

Aside from gaming, where it’s key for avoiding artifacts caused by the disconnect between game frame rate and display screen update, one of the main reasons for VRR (ProMotion) is to save power on devices like the iPad and iPhone. That’s not a huge issue for a desktop, so unless you’re gaming you’re better off just setting it to a high but fixed rate and leave it.

If you do plan on gaming, I’d wait for MacOS 14 Sonoma before committing. Depending on how many game developers take advantage of Apple’s DX11/DX12 emulation so you can run Windows games, and depending on how they perform, you may want to adjust your GPU requirements. At the moment, there aren’t many native Apple silicon games; most are mobile games running on top of Apple’s Rosetta emulator. You can run a virtual Windows machine like Parallels, but I’d probably vote Ultra for that.

Performance

Apple silicon’s performance remains remarkably consistent, in the sense that it’s more or less directly correlated with the number of cores (though that doesn’t mean it’s true for any specific application, because they’re too squidgy when it comes to producing generalizable results).

The 38-core GPU in the Studio’s M2 Max delivers about 20% better Metal performance over the 32-core GPU in the M1 Max, almost entirely because of the increase in the number of cores. For a frame of reference, the 38-core performance puts it roughly comparable to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Ti, at least in one cross-platform benchmark (3D Mark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited), but there are a variety of metrics that simply aren’t reflected by that test.

Using it, though, we can extrapolate that the M2 Ultra’s 76-core version should provide a little less than twice that of the 38-core M2 Max and fall a little short of the RTX 4070 Ti. One interesting pattern that I see is that the more GPU cores there are the less you get out of each individual core within a given generation and about a 5% increase per core from M1 to M2.

As we’ve seen with the M1 generation, multicore CPU performance is almost identical for a given core configuration — in other words, the 12-core M2 Pro’s as fast as the 12-core M2 Max — and about 20% faster than the 10-core M1 Max. Because more cores. Single core speed is up by about 14%. For reference, the CPU performance seems about the same as an Intel Core i7-13700H.

I’ve only had a few days with the system, so I’m still sorting out the various performance nuances. I’m comfortable with the conclusions I’ve drawn thus far — it remains the excellent system it was when it debuted last year — but if necessary may update with more about this particular configuration for creative work and gaming.

Cinebench R23 CPU (multicore)

Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M1 Pro 10/16, 2021) 12,302Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M1 Max 12/32, 2021) 12,365Apple Mac Studio (M1 Max 10/32, 2022) 12,389Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M2 Pro 12/19, 2023) 14,803Apple Mac Mini (M2 Pro 12/19, 2023) 14,814Apple Mac Studio (M2 Max 12/38, 2023) 14,846

Note: Longer bars indicate better performance

Cinebench R23 CPU (single core)

Apple Mac Studio (M1 Max 10/32, 2022) 1,535Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M2 Pro 12/19, 2023) 1,646Apple Mac Mini (M2 Pro 12/19, 2023) 1,649Apple Mac Mini (M2 8/10, 2023) 1,650Apple Mac Studio (M2 Max 12/38, 2023) 1,749

Note: Longer bars indicate better performance

3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited

Apple Mac Mini (M2 8/10, 2023) 6,925Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M1 Pro 10/16, 2021) 10,264Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M2 Pro 12/19, 2023) 12,989Apple Mac Mini (M2 Pro 12/19, 2023) 13,048Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M1 Max 12/32, 2021) 17,640Apple Mac Studio (M1 Max 10/32, 2022) 20,297Apple Mac Studio (M2 Max 12/38, 2023) 25,317

Note: Longer bars indicate better performance

Configurations

Apple Mac Mini (M2 Pro, 2023)	MacOS Ventura 13.2; Apple M2 Pro (12-core CPU,19-core GPU); 16GB LPDDR5 RAM; 1TB SSD
Apple Mac Mini (M2, 2023)	MacOS Ventura 13.2; Apple M2 (8 CPU cores, 10 GPU cores); 8GB LPDDR5 RAM; 256GB SSD
Apple Mac Studio (M1 Max, 2022)	MacOS Monterey 12.3; Apple M1 Max (10 CPU cores, 32 GPU cores); 64GB RAM; 2TB SSD
Apple Mac Studio (M2 Max, 2023)	MacOS Ventura 13.4; Apple M2 Max (12 CPU cores, 38 GPU cores); 64GB RAM; 2TB SSD
Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2021)	MacOS Monterey 12.4; Apple M1 Pro (10 CPU cores, 16 GPU cores); 32GB LPDDR5 RAM; 1TB SSD
Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021)	MacOS Monterey 12.4; Apple M1 Max (12 CPU cores, 32 GPU cores); 32GB RAM; 512GB SSD
Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2023)	MacOS Ventura 13.2; Apple M2 Pro (12 CPU cores, 19 GPU cores); 32GB LPDDR5 RAM; 1TB SSD

Technologies

Worldwide Financial Services Directory: BitcoinPay Trade Joins Financial1000

Exciting news for BitcoinPay Trade as the company is officially listed on Financial1000, a respected platform that connects individuals with a wide range of businesses and professionals in the financial sector. This new development marks an important milestone for BitcoinPay Trade, as it continues to expand its reach and offer its services to a growing global audience.

Financial1000 is a trusted directory that brings together financial service providers from around the world, offering users the opportunity to explore various businesses and professionals within the financial industry. BitcoinPay Trade’s inclusion on this platform ensures the company’s place in the rapidly growing digital finance landscape.

Visitors are invited to explore BitcoinPay Trade’s profile on Financial1000 to discover the services offered and stay up-to-date with the latest news and developments. The company’s page can be accessed here: BitcoinPay Trade on Financial1000.

With this new addition, BitcoinPay Trade looks forward to building new connections and strengthening its presence in the financial services industry, continuing to provide innovative solutions to clients worldwide.

Technologies

Verum Coin Now Available on HB Wallet

Verum Coin (VERUM) continues to expand its ecosystem and strengthen its position in the global cryptocurrency market. We are delighted to announce that Verum Coin is now available on HB Wallet — a modern, secure, and user-friendly solution for managing digital assets.

HB Wallet provides users with a high level of protection, an intuitive interface, and the ability to execute fast transactions. Now, Verum Coin holders can easily store, send, and receive their assets, taking advantage of this innovative wallet. The integration with HB Wallet opens new horizons for crypto enthusiasts, offering even greater flexibility and convenience in managing their investments.

This news underscores Verum Coin’s commitment to continuous improvement and the expansion of services aimed at providing the most secure and comfortable experience for users around the world.

About Verum Coin

Verum Coin is an innovative cryptocurrency focused on delivering advanced solutions for digital asset management in today’s financial landscape. By continually expanding its ecosystem, Verum Coin makes cryptocurrency transactions more accessible and convenient for users worldwide.

Technologies

Verum Messenger Celebrates Its 4th Anniversary: A Journey Towards Security, Innovation, and User Trust

Today, Verum Messenger, one of the leading messengers on the market, celebrates its 4th anniversary. Over the years, the app has become a symbol of security, privacy, and innovation in the world of digital communication, and continues to evolve confidently, introducing new features and improving the quality of service.

When Verum Messenger was launched in 2021, its goal was clear — to create a communication platform that puts data security first. Four years later, this messenger has proven that its approach works. The app has not only successfully implemented end-to-end encryption to protect messages but has also offered unique features such as the ability to block screenshots and screen recordings, the built-in Verum VPN service that ensures online anonymity and security, and one-click information clearing within the messenger.

Achievements and Innovations

Over the past four years, Verum Messenger has significantly expanded its capabilities and established itself as one of the most secure messengers. One of the key milestones was the integration of Verum E-SIM, a feature that allows users to connect to mobile internet without the need for a physical SIM card. This was a breakthrough for travelers who value flexibility and anonymity without being dependent on mobile carriers and roaming.

But the most important achievement was the introduction of Verum AI — a generative artificial intelligence developed in-house. This chatbot, integrated into the messenger, provides users with a unique opportunity to interact with an intelligent assistant capable of not only answering questions but also giving recommendations and solving everyday tasks. This feature is one of the first among messengers to offer its own neural network that continually adapts to users’ needs and improves its functionality.

Commitment to Data Security

It is important to note that data security remains the top priority for Verum Messenger. The company has always been dedicated to protecting privacy. In recent years, the app has introduced several improvements aimed at safeguarding users from data breaches and unauthorized access.

Moreover, Verum Messenger continues to develop and enhance its privacy settings, giving users control over who can view their information and who can contact them.

The Future of Verum Messenger

Now, four years after its launch, Verum Messenger is not stopping at its achievements. The company is actively working on new innovations and improvements that will help the messenger remain at the forefront of technology.

“Our users and their right to privacy and security have always been and will remain our top priority. We will continue to work to ensure that Verum Messenger remains the safest and most convenient tool for communication, considering new challenges and technologies,” the development team shares its plans.