Apple has quietly removed the 512GB RAM configuration option for the Mac Studio this week. As of yesterday, the maximum available memory is now 256GB.
The Mac Studio continues to start at 36GB of unified memory, but the previous upgrade path — which ranged from 48GB up to 512GB (with the highest tiers exclusive to the M3 Ultra chip) — has been scaled back. Customers can now select from 48GB to 256GB configurations, though the top 256GB option currently carries estimated shipping times extending into May.
Apple has also raised the price for the 256GB RAM upgrade option. It used to cost $1,600 to go from 96GB to 256GB on the high-end M3 Ultra machine, but now it costs $2,000. 512GB was $4,000 when it was available.
Apple has likely removed the option to purchase 512GB of memory because of global DRAM shortages that have dried up supply and caused prices to soar, and it’s also probably why shipping times for a configuration with 256GB RAM range into May.
Demand for the Mac Studio has increased due to consumers seeking machines suitable for running local AI agents, which could also be a wait time factor.
MacDailyNews Take: M5 Max and M5 Ultra versions of the Mac Studio are expected in 2026, likely in the first half of the year — possibly March to June, following the recent M5 Pro/Max MacBook Pro launch. Currently, we’d expect the new Mac Studio to max out at 256GB of unified memory.
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.
It would be strange for the cheap Mac Mini to have an M5 and the more expensive Mac Studio to be lagging behind.
so cook is trying to tank Apple. he is more like trump then i thought possible.
A staggering amount of RAM. When I glanced at headline, I was confused because I thought “512 GB” was referring to storage.