Apple’s new Mac Studio with the M5 Ultra can now be configured with 256GB of unified memory and 16TB of storage for $18,299. That price already exceeds many professional workstations, and it still doesn’t represent the maximum memory configuration.
A 512GB unified memory version will cost even more when it becomes available in late October 2026. The configuration highlights just how quickly the cost of local AI computing can rise when memory capacity becomes a primary requirement.
M5 Ultra pushes memory capacity to 512GB
The M5 Ultra is Apple’s most powerful M-series chip yet, built around a new quad-die architecture enabled by the company’s next-generation UltraFusion technology. Designed specifically for the Mac Studio, it offers up to a 36-core CPU and 80-core GPU.
Memory is the bigger story for AI workloads. The chip supports up to 512GB of unified memory, while memory bandwidth reaches 1.2TB/s. Apple says that is roughly 50% higher than the previous generation.
That capacity changes what the Mac Studio can attempt locally. Large AI models can require hundreds of gigabytes of memory once you factor in model weights, runtime overhead, and other workloads.
The 512GB option is therefore less about conventional desktop applications and more about workloads where keeping a very large model in local memory matters.
Apple claims major gains in AI performance
Apple says the M5 Ultra delivers up to 4.3 times faster AI performance than the M3 Ultra. Against the M1 Ultra, the company claims up to 2.4 times faster CPU performance, 4.7 times faster GPU performance, and 9.8 times faster AI performance.
Those figures are Apple’s own performance claims rather than independent benchmark results, so real-world gains will depend on the software and workload.
Still, the hardware direction is clear. Apple is increasing both compute throughput and the amount of memory available to those processors, making the Mac Studio increasingly relevant to developers and professionals who want to run large AI workloads without sending them to a cloud service.
The price of keeping AI local
The $18,299 configuration puts a sharp price on that capability. Much of the cost comes not just from faster processing, but from the combination of high-end compute, enormous unified memory, and 16TB of storage.
For AI developers, the trade-off can make sense in specific cases. A machine that can hold a very large model locally could reduce reliance on cloud inference, avoid recurring usage charges, and provide predictable access to compute.
For ordinary Mac users, however, the economics are very different. A large portion of the M5 Ultra’s capabilities will remain unused in typical productivity, creative and development workloads.
The 512GB model will push the ceiling even higher. Apple has not yet provided the final price for that configuration, but it will sit above an already $18,299 machine.
That leaves an interesting question for late October: how much will Apple charge for the final memory jump, and how will that compare with the cost of renting equivalent AI infrastructure in the cloud?
