Apple announced the Mac Studio earlier this month and the new category of desktop Mac was finally made available this weekend. Many YouTubers and early reviewers suggested that Apple's new Mac Studios are not upgradable. However, a teardown video about Mac Studio from popular YouTuber Max Tech has revealed that the Mac Studio is not only openable, but it is also upgradable.

In the detailed teardown video of Mac Studio, Max reveals that Apple's new Mac desktop is relatively easy to open. Removing the Mac Studio’s rubber feet reveals four screws attached to the metal base of the desktop computer. Opening up these four screws reveals the power supply of the Mac Studio, which is also easily removable.

Apple mac studio storage website popup

Source: Apple

On removing the power supply, Max realized that the Mac Studio features two SSD slots just underneath the power supply. The SSD cards on these slots are easy to remove or replace as they're not soldered to the port which suggests that the SSD slots are modular. The YouTuber even replaces one SSD with the other and is successful in doing so. However, when Max tries to replace the built-in SSD with the one that comes with Mac Pro, however, it doesn't fit.

Apple, on its official website, says that the Mac Studio‌'s SSD storage is "not user accessible" and the customer should add more storage at the time of purchase if they think that they may need additional storage in the future. Currently, the base model Mac Studio with M1 Max chip comes with at least 512GB of SSD storage. Both M1 Max and M1 Ultra variants can be configured up to 8TB SSD, however, it costs upwards of $2,000 to do so.

In conclusion, Max points out that the "user accessible" part of SSD storage on Mac Studio is not true and the company could offer first-party SSD storage upgrades at some point in the future, just like it did with the Mac Pro. Moreover, it's worth noting that, unlike the SSD storage, unified memory appears to be soldered on the chipset and there’s no way to upgrade RAM after purchasing the computer. So, if you think you will want more RAM, you should opt for a higher RAM variant when purchasing the device.

Here are some other Mac Studio and Apple Studio Display related articles that you may like to read:

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Mac Studio is the latest desktop-class computer from Apple. It features Apple's fastest M1 Max/Ultra chipset, up to 128GB RAM, 8TB SSD, and much more. Check out all the deals on the device using the links given below: