The Mac Studio hasn't been updated since March 2025, and anyone hoping for a spring refresh got a global memory shortage instead. Here's where the Mac Studio M5 actually stands - what's coming, when it's likely to land, and whether you should wait for it.
Release date: October, probably
"The Mac Studio refresh was supposed to come earlier in 2026, but Apple reportedly postponed the launch because of memory chip supply issues and price increases. In April, Bloomberg said the Mac Studio would launch sometime around October 2026."
- Juli Clover, MacRumors, 25 June 2026. Even October isn't nailed down - MacRumors notes the current M3 Ultra model already has delivery estimates stretching into October, which doesn't scream imminent replacement.
M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips
The refresh is expected to bring M5 Max and M5 Ultra options, and the M5 Ultra has a curious distinction: it's reportedly the last chip in the M5 family, because Apple is skipping high-end M6 chips entirely and jumping to an AI-focused M7 lineup for its Pro and Max tiers in 2027.
"The M5 Ultra chip is expected to have around 36 CPU cores and 80 GPU cores, which is not too far off from the M3 Ultra. The M3 Ultra has up to a 32-core CPU and up to an 80-core GPU."
The RAM situation
"Apple has tested support for up to 768GB of unified memory, but supply constraints could prevent it from launching with an option for that much memory."
That 768GB figure is the eye-catcher, but look at what's happening to the current model: Apple removed the 512GB configuration back in March, and the M3 Ultra Mac Studio can currently only be bought with 96GB of RAM. The memory crisis is squeezing the top of the range hardest, so treat monster-RAM configurations as a maybe, not a promise.
The price warning
When Apple raised prices across the Mac line on 25 June, the Mac Studio took the biggest hit of all:
"When Apple raised Mac prices today, the 96GB Mac Studio went from $3,999 to $5,299, an increase of $1,300. 8x more RAM during the memory crisis could see the Mac Studio priced at over $10,000."
This is the same memory-driven squeeze behind Apple's Mac and iPad price increases and the death of the £599 Mac mini - so don't expect the M5 Mac Studio to launch at 2025 prices.
Wait or buy now?
Wait if you possibly can. Buying an 18-month-old M3 Ultra at freshly inflated prices, weeks before a refresh, is the worst timing in the product cycle. The only exception is if your work genuinely can't wait until autumn - the M3 Ultra is still a very capable machine. For everything else Apple has queued up this year, see the full 2026 release lineup.