Mac Studio disassembly reveals the potential for scalable SSD storage

During Max Tech's disassembly of Mac Studio, the channel's host, Max Yuryev, found Apple's new hardware very interesting: two SSD ports. This may mean that Mac Studio storage can be upgraded after all.

SSD slots seem relatively easy to access

There's more good news: the SSD slot seems relatively easy to use-in the video, the Yuryev removes the rubber backing of the Studio, exposing four screws at the bottom of the housing that connects the device. After removing the panel, Yuryev found two SSD ports under the power supply of the Mac Studio and said he could access them (5:46) without further disassembly of the device.

As Yuryev continues to disassemble the Studio, removing its power and aluminum backplane, he looks closely at the SSD port (8:24). At first glance, he said that these ports were similar to those on his 2019 Mac Pro, but when he tried Mac Pro's SSD, it was not a good fit. Apple's Mac Pro SSD suite allows users to replace existing SSD with SSD that supports up to 8TB storage capacity.

Apple says users cannot access Mac Studio's storage space. Screenshot: Apple

But as Yuryev points out, Apple's description on the Mac Studio product page blatantly states that users do not have access to the device's storage space. "users cannot access Mac Studio storage," Apple's note points out. "if you think more storage capacity may be needed in the future, consider configuring it for higher capacity."

The Mac Studio can be configured with internal storage up to 8TB; the standard model with 512GB SSD storage costs $1999 and the addition of 8TB tacks costs an extra $2400. Although the internal storage of the Studio may be upgraded at some point, it is worth noting that because the RAM is integrated into Apple's M1 chip, it cannot be upgraded after the purchase of the machine.