Apple’s Mac Studio will be available with either an M1 Ultra or M1 Max processor, with the M1 Ultra model weighing two pounds more. According to The Verge, the difference is due to cooling.

The Mac Studio is available in two sizes, each with a 7.7 × 7.7-inch footprint and a height of 3.7 inches. The M1 Ultra, on the other hand, weighs 7.9 pounds (2.7 kg), while the M1 Max weighs 5.9 pounds (2.7 kg) (3.6 kg).

Even though the M1 Ultra is technically two M1 Max chips fused, it uses the same power supply, therefore the weight difference shouldn’t be a factor.

It’s unknown whether the M1 Ultra and M1 Max coolers are designed differently or whether the only change is the material. We won’t know for sure until iFixit and other breakdown websites get their hands on the computer. But copper is a lot stronger conductor of heat than aluminium, so it seems Apple certainly needed something significant to get the best performance out of its latest CPU.

When pushed to the utmost, the M1 Ultra can match the Core i5-12600K (with DDR5) while consuming 65 per cent less power, or churn out 90 per cent higher multi-core performance than Intel’s Core i9-12900K while using only a third of the power, according to graphs shown in Apple’s introduction.

Meanwhile, Apple boasts that the 64-core GPU is on par with the RTX 3090 while utilising 200 watts less. Because this Mac will most likely sit immobile on a desk, the question is only important if you’re transporting it from the store to your home (or the price of delivery). However, this discrepancy reveals a little of what is required to keep the M1 Ultra operating at full throttle. After all, an M1 Max can fit into a 16-inch MacBook Pro.