Mac Studio M5 (2026): Release date, rumors and the impact of RAM shortages

Macworld

The Mac Studio, originally released in 2022, has become Apple’s premier desktop for professional users, effectively replacing the now- discontinued Mac Pro for the vast majority of workflows.

Designed for high-end workloads, the Mac Studio has emerged as a popular choice for serious AI and machine learning tasks. This is largely due to its high unified memory capacity and specialised silicon architecture, which address one of the primary bottlenecks in AI workloads: memory capacity and memory bandwidth.

If you are considering buying a Mac Studio, you may be wondering whether an update is imminent. The current lineup features M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips, introduced in March 2025. A new generation with M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips is widely expected in 2026, although the launch timing remains uncertain. For some time, an update at WWDC in June had been anticipated, but more recent reports suggest supply constraints affecting high-memory Apple silicon systems could push the launch to later in 2026, possibly around October.

This article tracks the latest reports and rumours surrounding the next Mac Studio, including its potential release date, specifications, and pricing.

2026 Mac Studio M5 Release Date: Will there be a new Mac Studio?

Release depends on supply

For much of the past year, expectations have been that Apple would unveil a new Mac Studio powered by M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips at WWDC 2026. In January 2026, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple was targeting the first half of 2026 for the next-generation systems, making a WWDC debut seem plausible. The event is a natural venue for launching a workstation aimed at developers and creative professionals, and Apple previously used WWDC 2023 to introduce Mac Studio models powered by the M2 Max and M2 Ultra. However, there was no new Mac Studio at WWDC.

The failure of Apple to update the Mac Studio at WWDC was no surprise. More recent reports had indicated the launch may now slip to later in the y…