Apple’s Local LLM Revenue Impacted by Delayed M5 Ultra Mac Studio Release and Sold-Out Older Configurations

The rising demands for high-bandwidth memory in Large Language Models (LLMs) have put Apple and its Mac Studio line in a favorable position within the workstation market. This segment focuses on providing exceptional compute power and graphics performance in compact designs. However, Apple may face significant revenue losses as it navigates the ongoing DRAM shortage, with reports indicating a delay in the anticipated launch of the refreshed Mac Studio.

Unavailability of Older Models Shifts Focus to M5 Max MacBook Pro

Mark Gurman’s latest update in his ‘Power On’ newsletter reveals that the highly anticipated workstation refresh may not debut until October. Previously, it was indicated that the M5 Ultra launch was scheduled for the first half of 2026; however, the latest delay presents Apple with additional challenges.

For those considering purchasing the M3 Ultra and M4 Max models to sustain local LLM revenue, complications arise. Currently, all variants of the Mac Studio with 256GB of unified memory are unavailable on Apple’s online platform. Moreover, should an order be inadvertently placed, it is likely that Apple will cancel it and propose an M5 Ultra alternative instead.

At present, viable hardware options for running local LLMs with expanded memory capacity are scarce. NVIDIA’s RTX PRO 6000, offering only 96GB of GDDR7 VRAM, comes at a steep price ranging from $6, 500 to $9, 500. Consequently, those interested in Macs specifically for local LLM applications can consider the 128GB unified memory variant of the M5 Max MacBook Pro; however, performance with multi-billion-parameter models may still fall short of expectations.

Interestingly, while it has been demonstrated that an iPhone 17 Pro can locally run a 400 billion parameter model using only 8GB of RAM at 0.6t/s speeds, this remains impractical even with a quantized version. Ultimately, Apple’s delay regarding the revamped Mac Studio could mean significant missed opportunities in a rapidly evolving market.

For more detailed insights, refer to the full article from Bloomberg.

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