This is why the M1 Ultra Mac Studio is two pounds heavier than the M1 Max

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Apple Mac Studio Studio Display Lifestyle 01
Apple Mac Studio Studio Display Lifestyle 01 (Image credit: Apple)

What you need to know

  • Apple's Mac Studio is heavier if you spec it with the M1 Ultra than with the M1 Max.
  • A new report says Apple puts the weight increase down to the use of a larger heatsink.
  • The M1 Ultra's extra heat requires a larger copper heatsink compared to the aluminum of the M1 Max.

Apple's brand new M1 Ultra chip and Mac Studio are causing a stir and rightly so, but there is one tidbit that has had people wondering — why is the M1 Ultra version of Apple's newest Mac so much heavier than the M1 Max version?

Those paying attention to the Mac Studio noticed that the one running the latest Apple silicon is two pounds heavier than the one running the M1 Max chip. Sure, the M1 Ultra is essentially two M1 Max chips glued together — but the extra silicon doesn't weigh that much!

No, the real reason is as simple as it was probably obvious — it's all down to the heatsink according to The Verge.

Here's what the company said in an email to The Verge:"They have the same 370W power supply. The additional weight is due to M1 Ultra having a larger copper thermal module, whereas M1 Max has an aluminum heatsink."

So there we have it. The very best Mac for professionals is even heavier if they slap the mightily impressive M1 Ultra inside it. Not that it really matters — these machines aren't designed to be portable so who cares how heavy they are in the grand scheme of things?

The new M1 Ultra-powered Mac Studio is available to buy now and will begin shipping next week — there's also that M1 Max version for people who don't need the ultimate pinnacle in performance and can make do with what was the pinnacle a day or two ago.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.