Apple Highlights 8K Boost with new M3 Ultra Studio
Apple announced its latest Mac Studio which uses either the M4 Max chip or the M3 Ultra. The firm described the M4 Max version as “the perfect choice for video editors, colorists, developers, engineers, photographers, creative pros, and other users who need to blaze through intensive workflows”.
The M3 Ultra version is said to be up to 2.6x faster than the Mac Studio with the M1 Ultra. Apple said that it can support up to 16TB of SSD storage – equivalent to 12 hours of 8K ProRes video. It also offers up to 1.4x faster 8K video rendering performance in Final Cut Pro when compared to the Mac Studio with M1 Ultra, and up to 4x faster when compared to the 16-core Intel-based Mac Pro with Radeon Pro W5700X. In a release on the chip itself, Apple highlighted that the M3 Ultra can play back up to 22 streams of 8K ProRes 422 video (although it said 24 elsewhere!).
Both units support Thunderbolt 5. Apple clarified in its tech specs that the M4 Max chip can support up to two displays with 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one display with 8K resolution at 60Hz or 4K resolution at up to 240Hz over HDMI. The M3 Ultra supports four displays with up to 8K resolution at 60Hz or 4K resolution at up to 240Hz. Both support DisplayPort 2.1 over USB-C using the Thunderbolt connection and can support a display over HDMI at up to 8K at 60Hz.
