Mac Studio Teardown Indicates That SSD Storage May Be Upgradeable

The Mac Studio's SSD storage is not soldered in place and could be upgradeable, according to a teardown performed by YouTube channel Max Tech.

mac studio ssdImage via Max Tech

In a detailed teardown video of the new ‌Mac Studio‌, Max Tech revealed that the ‌Mac Studio‌'s SSD storage is located in two slots, and is relatively easy to remove or replace since it is not soldered down. The individual SSDs can be swapped between the two slots and appear to be modular.

On its website, Apple claims that the ‌Mac Studio‌'s SSD storage is "not user accessible" and encourages users to configure the device with enough storage at the point of purchase. This is likely because the internals of the ‌Mac Studio‌ remain difficult to access from the outside. The rubber ring on the base of the machine has to be removed to reveal four screws that provide a way to open the device, but once inside, the SSD storage is fairly easy to access and remove.

Max Tech suggested that Apple could offer SSD storage upgrades at a later date, similar to how it introduced a kit to upgrade the Mac Pro's storage in mid-2020, but the easy access could be intended for use in repairs only, enabling repair technicians to remove and replace SSDs more conveniently.

The SSD storage in Apple's other custom silicon-based Macs, such as the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini, is soldered in place and cannot be easily upgraded, but some skilled technicians have attempted to do so.

Related Roundup: Mac Studio
Buyer's Guide: Mac Studio (Neutral)
Related Forum: Mac Studio

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
iOS 26 Maps Glass

Apple Reportedly Moving Ahead With Ads in Maps App

Sunday October 26, 2025 6:22 am PDT by
Apple Maps could feature integrated ads as soon as next year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. In his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple's plan to bring more ads to iOS is moving "gaining traction," with the Maps app being next in line. The project will apparently give restaurants and other businesses the option to pay to have their details featured more prominently in...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iOS 26.1 Beta Liquid Glass Battery Drain Test: Tinted vs Clear Mode

Friday October 24, 2025 2:30 pm PDT by
In the fourth iOS 26.1 beta, Apple added a "Tinted" option that reduces the translucency of Liquid Glass for those who prefer a more opaque look. I saw some comments wondering whether the setting might preserve battery life, so I thought I'd do some testing. Test Settings I did four separate tests using the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and I kept the parameters as similar as possible. Here are the...
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

M6 MacBook Pro: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Monday October 27, 2025 9:15 am PDT by
Apple this month refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to follow in early 2026. However, these machines will represent the final update to the current design, with Apple reportedly developing a completely new version of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features for Your iPhone

Wednesday October 22, 2025 6:15 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. iOS 26.1 is currently in beta testing. The update will likely be released in the first half of November, and it is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer, but some...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
swift for android

Developers Can Now Make Android Apps With Apple's Swift

Sunday October 26, 2025 4:23 am PDT by
The first preview release of the Swift SDK for Android was published this week, allowing developers to build Android apps in Swift with official tooling and making it easier to share code across iOS and Android. The SDK enables Android apps to be built in Swift using officially supported tooling rather than community workarounds. In June, it was announced that Apple's Swift programming...
ios 26 digital id passport wallet

Apple Says U.S. Passport Feature on iPhone is Coming Soon

Monday October 27, 2025 7:41 am PDT by
You will "soon" be able to add a digital version of your U.S. passport to your iPhone, according to Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. Bailey reiterated that the feature is coming soon during her keynote at the Money20/20 USA conference in Las Vegas on Sunday. On its iOS 26 page, Apple says the delayed feature will be "coming later this year." Apple's...

Top Rated Comments

HappyDude20 Avatar
47 months ago
I find it funny when I first read this that I considered it to be Good News,

But really
It’s just the way it should have always been.
Score: 56 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alpi123 Avatar
47 months ago

Great news.

But in general, I don't quite understand the fuss around user-upgradability. Why do storage and memory need to be upgradable? Just buy as much as you need right away. Think you will need 32 GB memory in the future instead of 16 GB? Then just get 32 GB memory now. Think you will eventually need 4 TB storage instead of 2 TB. Then just get 4 TB now.
The thing is, people usually don't know how much storage they would need, especially considering the Mac Studio will last them 3-4 years and more. There's a 95% chance you'll find yourself needing more space in the future, and although cloud and external drives exist, nothing beats the ease of use and speed of internal storage.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ilikewhey Avatar
47 months ago

Great news.

But in general, I don't quite understand the fuss around user-upgradability. Why do storage and memory need to be upgradable? Just buy as much as you need over the machine's lifetime right away. Think you will need 32 GB memory in the future instead of 16 GB? Then just get 32 GB memory now. Think you will eventually need 4 TB storage instead of 2 TB. Then just get 4 TB now.

A machine that is good enough at the time when you buy it will also be good enough five years later.

Eventually after some years, the CPU becomes the bottle neck, and since that is not really replaceable anyway, whenever that point comes, you will need an entirely new machine anyway, not just a memory or storage upgrade.
because storage and ram gets cheaper as time goes on, 32gb today is the same price as 16gb a year or two ago. also it gives users options to just add more ram when they realized whatever new tasks they wanted to do requires it, instead of going out there to buy a new computer. the same is even more true for storage.

cpu is not much of a bottleneck unless you are running high intensive tasks all the time, a base i3 4 core from years ago is still relevant today for mundane task, this isn't the same as previous core 2 duo or bulldozer generation.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
greenbreadmmm Avatar
47 months ago

Great news.

But in general, I don't quite understand the fuss around user-upgradability. Why do storage and memory need to be upgradable? Just buy as much as you need over the machine's lifetime right away. Think you will need 32 GB memory in the future instead of 16 GB? Then just get 32 GB memory now. Think you will eventually need 4 TB storage instead of 2 TB? Then just get 4 TB now.

A machine that is good enough at the time when you buy it will also be good enough five years later.

Eventually after some years, the CPU becomes the bottle neck, and since that is not really replaceable anyway, whenever that point comes, you will need an entirely new machine anyway, not just a memory or storage upgrade.
Apple charges $400 for 32 go ram upgraded (when it was user upgradeable) vs $150 out of pocket from bestbuy.

Apple charges $400 for 1tb SSD vs $150 out of pocket.

If you can afford the apple tax, great! But I reckon cost is why a lot of people prefer to upgrade their machines themselves.

Saying “just get 4tb now” for the insane cost apple asks, is quite the statement.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kennerpl Avatar
47 months ago

Great news.

But in general, I don't quite understand the fuss around user-upgradability. Why do storage and memory need to be upgradable? Just buy as much as you need over the machine's lifetime right away. Think you will need 32 GB memory in the future instead of 16 GB? Then just get 32 GB memory now. Think you will eventually need 4 TB storage instead of 2 TB? Then just get 4 TB now.

A machine that is good enough at the time when you buy it will also be good enough five years later.

Eventually after some years, the CPU becomes the bottle neck, and since that is not really replaceable anyway, whenever that point comes, you will need an entirely new machine anyway, not just a memory or storage upgrade.
Yeah, but when your computer runs out of warranty and your SSD or RAM dies, just buy a new computer, right?
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bokito Avatar
47 months ago

[...] I don't quite understand the fuss around user-upgradability. Why do storage and memory need to be upgradable? Just buy as much as you need over the machine's lifetime right away. Think you will need 32 GB memory in the future instead of 16 GB? Then just get 32 GB memory now. Think you will eventually need 4 TB storage instead of 2 TB. Then just get 4 TB now.
3th-party SSDs and memory and just as good and sometimes even better than the ones Apple delivers for 50% of the price. Apple doesn't deliver something special though. Besides that those requirements change quicker than CPU, GPU and especially connections ports. By the time you need 128 GB RAM or 8 TB storage other vendors have it for 1/10th the price Apple is selling it now and the SSD might even be faster.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)