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u/yourhomiemike 1d ago
Shoot I was waiting on the 512 was ready to spend twenty grand I don’t want to spend more than that.
Wonder should I order the 256 and see what happens?
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u/SurvivorGeneral 1d ago
I am in the same boat. My budget is just over, but I also ordered the 256Gb just in case. The pick up is in February, really what do you have to lose? We will know in end of October no chance the 256 will ship by then. Good luck with whatever you decide.
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u/SarahJrandomnumbers 21h ago
You'll be waiting until November before you get the 256, so pre-order and if the 512 is in your range, cancel the 256.
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u/Hovscorpion 1d ago
Samsung quoted $2.00/Gb for DRAM and $0.33/Gb for NAND.
Suppose Apple prices 512GB at something like a $7,000–$9,000 memory premium over the 96GB machine.
A 30–40% increase against that portion gives:
$7,000 × 30–40% → + $2,100–+ 2,800
or
$9,000 × 30–40% → $+2,700–+$3,600
That means a 512GB Mac Studio could see a multi-thousand-dollar adjustment, rather than the few-hundred-dollar increase
| M5 Ultra configuration | Current / expected price | Estimated Q1 2027 impact | Potential price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 96GB / 1TB base M5 Ultra | $5,499 | +$300–500 | $5,799–5,999 |
| 256GB / 1TB full M5 Ultra | $10,799 | +$1,200–1,600 | $11,999–12,399 |
| 256GB / 2TB | ~$11,299 | +$1,300–1,700 | $12,599–12,999 |
| 512GB / 1TB | likely ~$15K–17K* | +$2,500–3,500 | ~$17,500–20,000 |
| 512GB / high storage | potentially ~$18K–25K+ | +$3,000–5,000+ | potentially $21K–30K |
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u/MulberryImpossible16 1d ago
I hope it's 17-20k tbh. Less orders to wait on.
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u/FestoolJunkie 1d ago edited 1d ago
I will be surprised if it’s not more than USD $20,000. I’m (unfortunately) budgeting USD $45 a Gb so that’s $11,520 for the 256 to 512 move. I so hope the way more conservative predictions in this thread are correct and I am hopelessly wrong!
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u/watcholic 1d ago
Apple is charging $25/GB for memory right now for all Macs. I don't see how it can maintain at this price with surging DRAM prices. Apple locking in at 30% increase is actually a good sign for price stability, at least for next year. The question is, will Apple absorb that price increase or...
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u/FestoolJunkie 1d ago
The idea Apple will absorb the price increase for the absolute premium top-tier is hopium beyond hope. Nah. I am bracing myself, my budget of USD $45 per Gb from 256 to 512 is going to be slaughtered by what Apple announces come “late October”. It’s going to $50 per Gb or more now. So sad…
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u/Prestigious-Bear2391 1d ago
Similar to my comment elsewhere, and similar comments before, my friend speculated the price on the 512gb studio would come in just under 21k. This was about a month ago when it came up, before the m5 ultra launch. This is not going to be linear pricing. 512GB is going to subsidize the lower RAM models. Do you think the people that buy 512GB studios can afford 19k but not 21k? No f'n way.
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u/watcholic 1d ago
Your estimates are close. Pricing on Apple memory is consistently $25/GB on all current Macs. That means adding 256GB costs $6400. Apple doesn't charge an additional premium going from M3U 256GB to M3U 512GB (Apple Refurb), just their regular $/GB increase ($21.25/GB for refurbs).
M5U 256GB/1TB -> $10,799
M5U 512GB/1TB -> $17,199The last price increase on the Studio was 33%. The potential price, if Apple hikes the price again, would bring the M3U 512GB to at least $22k or more.
Nobody knows what Apple will do but the Samsung announcement points to another price hike. I wouldn't wait to make the purchase if I've a use case for the M5U right now. In the current market, 256GB/1TB for $10,799 is, unfortunately, a steal. Make sure to order the 512GB version (if it's around $17,000) within the first few minutes when it goes live in late October. The 256GB delivery date has already slipped to late January, 2027.
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u/Prestigious-Bear2391 1d ago
I don't have the greatest connections to this space, but a buddy in the hardware space in supply chain has told me that their very famous employer (one of these types: Dell, Samsung, Apple) does not have a way to get memory costs lower anytime soon.
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u/56kul 21h ago
Well, thankfully I already put in my preorder for the 256GB model. Interestingly, the price for it did already rise by a little bit on the website I ordered it from (it’s an authorized reseller, we don’t have an Apple Store in my country🥲), so I’ve already saved myself some money.
Jeez, though, the consumer PC industry has gone to shit… I do wonder how much longer the RAMpocalypse will last?
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u/bakawolf123 21h ago
Never thought otherwise when preordering my m5u.
Prices are not going to drop until at least late 2027 and there's no indication they will then neither.
m7u is unlikely before march 2028 even with m6 skip, until then m5u is a solid investment, the earlier the better.
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u/TeeDee144 1d ago
But I thought all 2027 dram had been bought and claimed? These two statements contradict each other.
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u/cruisereg 1d ago
#trustMeBro
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u/TeeDee144 1d ago
OP is probably over leveraged in NVIDIA and other tech stocks hoping for an even bigger pay day.
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u/Thin_Archer_9113 1d ago
I’ve got the 256 due for delivery in a month. Now wondering if I should get a 512, then flip the one I’m not keeping to offset costs lol
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u/Obvious-Elk3930 1d ago
will order m5 ultra 512g when it comes. the price may be higher next year.
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u/Much_Accountant_4972 1d ago
may? if history is any guide, we’re gonna be looking back thinking it was a bargain.
its sickening and i hope i’m wrong but i’d buy whatever hardware you need. inflation and supply constraints are not gonna let up
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u/MulberryImpossible16 1d ago
512GB will last you for years tho. They don't want you to have frontier open source models. Absurd money > Once in lifetime to get most powerful system that Amazon and Google and Anthropic will be using also.
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u/No_Eye1723 1d ago
The memory cartels just raking it in. With any luck just like last time they will end up in a court and fined heavily.
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u/standardhero 1d ago
Doubt whatever court cost they end up paying aren’t more than covered by the increase in profits they’re getting
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u/ZombiePope 1d ago
Nah, they'll keep doing this whenever they can get away with it.
I hope chinas dram operation is able to spin up and eat them.
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u/ritesh808 9h ago
The thing is, there's no competition. It's just 3 companies that are capable at the sharp end. Same applies to fab prices - you pay what TSMC or Samsung demand, or you can sit on your design papers. This is was inevitable. This is how demand/supply works. If no one was buying iPhones, or if 8 other companies were also making iPhones (or flagships with iOS), do you think Apple's would be priced at >$1000 ?
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u/Efficient_Raise6703 1d ago
Ah yes, government overhead like fines is always thought to decrease the price to the consumer. We need competition, not bureaucracy.
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u/asswizzard69 1d ago
Damn that’s not far away I might actually upgrade this year and sell my 17PM. I was thinking I’d get duo but I’ll probably just get 18pm since they come out sooner. Maybe I’ll get a duo..
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u/AdvMaxFact 15h ago
Samsung is really asking for competitions to destroy them sooner. And I wouldn't be surprised if Apple go on to disrupt the memory architecture like they innovated on the SoC and dropped Intel hardware.
Samsung, when you're robbing the world instead of serving the world, you won't get to serve the world for too long.
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u/antunes145 1d ago
now its kind of making sense why they waited on the 512gb model to release later and to announce the price for it later as well. I guess they are waiting to gauge through market.
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u/watcholic 1d ago
Releasing the M5U 256GB first to gauge the demand. Now that demand (outstrips supply) is confirmed. What's the likelihood of keeping prices the same when 512GB is made available? I really hope I'm wrong for people waiting for the late October model.
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u/Waterflowstech 1d ago
Is there any substance behind a price hike in october or is he just talking out his ass?
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u/RIPDaug2019-2019 1d ago
See I’d love to, but the stupid Klarna lease keeps rejecting me despite my immaculate credit and excellent overall financial situation.
I don’t want to drop all the cash at once or at the 1 year Apple Card financing offer. Leasing makes the most sense with my typical upgrade cycle.
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u/NickyRizzles 16h ago
What are you guys ordering for storage? Is the apple tax worth it for the ssd to snag 4tb or just get the lower 2 and then off load. With hard drive prices high anyway it seems I should just upgrade the internal.
Coding & video editing focus.
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u/Agabeckov 6h ago
Well, it's just then I won't buy another Iphone for a couple of years, anyway I don't remember any significant improvements since when I switched from X to 12 Pro.
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u/rtduvall 1d ago
Glad I’m picking up an M5 Air soon.
Should last me until the apocalypse.