Apple definitely impressed at WWDC this year, which started on June 5th. Up until the event, and now after, we’ve been looking at the Mac M2 Max desktop & Mac M2 Ultra release date. The M2 Max chip has been around since the start in 2024, but it was yet to be featured in one of Apple’s desktops – just being included in their MacBook Pro. As for the M2 Ultra chip, that was still awaiting announcement. Thankfully, Apple delivered the goods and we can now take you through the release date for the M2 Max and M2 Ultra desktops. We can also bring you the specs and price now they are confirmed.

Previous rumors indicated that Apple would be releasing a desktop featuring the M2 Max chip, but there was some uncertainty as to which Mac desktop it would feature in. However, we now know that the M2 Max and M2 Ultra are both featured in the new Mac Studio 2023. The new Mac Pro 2023 exclusively features the M2 Ultra chip.

There was plenty more revealed during the big keynote to, like iOS 17 and the Vision Pro mixed reality headset. We’ll probably learn more about hardware like the iPhone 15 in a couple months time.

Mac M2 Max desktop & Mac M2 Ultra release date

We expected a big announcement at WWDC for Mac M2 Max and Mac M2 Ultra desktop, but in fact, we got two, the Mac Studio and Mac Pro as we said. The M2 Ultra announcement allowed for Apple to upgrade their desktop line up, finally bringing a new Mac Pro to the fray for the first time since 2019. Both the new Mac Studio and Mac Pro were announced on June 5th, meaning pre-orders are already live. However, the release date for these M2 Max & M2 Ultra desktops is a little later.

Mac Studio (M2 Max desktop / M2 Ultra desktop) release date: June 13th, 2023
Mac Pro (M2 Ultra desktop) release date: June 13th, 2023

Ahead of the announcement and release date, rumors revealed that two new desktops featuring each chip were due to arrive extremely soon. The ever-reliable Mark Gurman mentioned ‘several new Macs’ in this tweet. Turns out he was exactly right.

Mac M2 Max desktop & Mac M2 Ultra price

Prior to the actual announcement, price was a tricky estimation. Luckily, we no longer need to speculate on the price of these M2 Max & M2 Ultra Mac desktops. They are already available to buy via pre-order on the Apple store, so we know the exact price already.

Mac Studio (M2 Max desktop) price: from $1,999 / £2,099
Mac Studio (M2 Ultra desktop) price: from $3,999 / £4,199
Mac Pro (M2 Ultra desktop) price: from $6,999 / £7,199

We were previously uncertain about which desktops would feature the M2 Max and new M2 Ultra, though we did theorize the Mac Pro and Mac Studio. The desktop left out here we also expected is the iMac, which may be waiting until the M3 chip is released in future – skipping over the M2 generation completely, as the most recent iMac is the 2021 M1 chip model.

Looking back at the previous Apple desktops, the Mac Studio M1 Max retailed at $1,999 and M1 Ultra at $3,999. For the iMac, the current model features the base M1 chip and is priced between $1,299 and $1,699 depending on variant.

Mac M2 Max desktop & Mac M2 Ultra specs

Early tests for desktops featuring the M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips were revealed prior to WWDC, at least according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. These were codenamed the Mac 14,13 and Mac 14,14. These turned out to be the Mac Studio and Mac Pro desktops.

As for specs, the M2 Max has been out for a while – so we already know all about it’s specs. Now that the M2 Ultra has been revealed to the world, we now know of it’s specs. Check out the key details just below, including processor details / CPU cores, GPU, and RAM configuration. Here’s what we know so far for both chips.

M2 Max specs

Clock speed: 2.8GHz – 3.5GHz
Cores / Threads: 12 / 12
TDP: 79W
RAM: Up to 96GB
GPU: Apple M2 Max 30 or 38-core GPU

The M2 Max has already been available in the 2023 MacBook Pro, but now it’s going to make it’s way to the Mac Studio as well. A benchmark for the codenamed Mac 14,13 has been spotted on Geekbench here. We can see that there are 12 cores, but the clock speed is actually reported as 3.67GHz, a slight improvement from the MacBook Pro benchmark. We can also see the CPU Cache data too, as well as the 96GB memory size.

M2 Ultra specs

Clock speed: 2.8GHz – 3.5GHz
Cores / Threads: 24 / 24
TDP: 90W
RAM: Up to 192GB
GPU: Apple M2 Ultra 60 or 76-core GPU

As for the M2 Ultra, an early benchmark for Mac 14,14 has also shown up. Just before the 2023 Mac Studio and Mac Pro ship with this chip installed. We can see that the base frequency also jumps up a little to 3.68GHz on 24 cores as expected. This makes the multi-core performance fantastic, especially when comparing it to the M2 Max. The M2 Ultra reports a multi-core score of 27,945. The memory is also as predicted – up to 192GB of RAM is an impressive spec.

What Apple devices use M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips? M2 Max & M2 Ultra desktops revealed

The M2 Max chip released back in January 2023, following up the launch of the first M2 chip in the previous summer. Since then, there have been a couple of Apple devices arriving featuring the high-end M2 Max. The M2 Ultra is going to be one step above, and that is now featuring the two latest Mac desktops. With that in mind, let’s show off the list of Apple products which featured the already-released M2 Max chip and launched M2 Ultra.

M2 Max devices

14-inch MacBook Pro 2023
16-inch MacBook Pro 2023
Mac Studio 2023

M2 Ultra devices

Mac Pro 2023
Mac Studio 2023

Prior to WWDC only the 16-inch MacBook Pro and smaller 14-inch version featured the M2 Max chip, so we were due some desktops for the Max following those new MacBook Pro models. The cheaper MacBook Air models stuck with the base M2 chip – not even the Pro – in 2022, so it’s unlikely they’ll be upgraded to M2 Max and M2 Ultra right now.

That made it the perfect time to release desktop computers for both the Max and Ultra – taking the next step up. This is like what we saw when these MacBook Pros arrived with the release of M2 Max. The Mac Mini desktop did also arrive at the same time, but that stuck to the older M2 and M2 Pro chips.

We heard rumors that the M2 Ultra chip wouldn’t be coming to the Apple Silicon Mac Pro – instead being shifted over to the new Mac Studio exclusively. However, it turns out that the M2 Ultra is now available in both of their refreshed models. The new Mac Studio is targeted at professionals for the likes of 3D rendering and video editing, and the Mac Pro is the top-end of Apple’s desktop line up right now. As for the Mac Mini, the last version was released in January 2023 (with M2 and M2 Pro chips), so we don’t expect we’ll see another until next year, so the M2 Pro Mac Mini may stay there until the M3 generation.

Mac M2 Max & Mac M2 Ultra FAQs

Is there an M2 Ultra?

Yes, Apple announced the M2 Ultra chip at WWDC 2023, this chip is now being used in the Mac Studio and Mac Pro desktops which were revealed at the event.

Is there an M3 chip?

Before we reach the M3 chip, we first had to see the freshly-revealed M2 Ultra. Some sources claim that Apple is already working on new MacBooks featuring an M3 chip for the end of the year or 2024.