The Mac Studio’s removable SSD is reportedly blocked by Apple on a software level

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

Over the weekend, it was revealed that Apple's new Mac Studio has a secret: it hasremovable storage. The Mac Studio can still be upgraded, despite hardware limitations, because Apple appears to be blocking replacement SSDs on a software level, according to a new video from YouTuberluke Miani.

The Mac Studio's storage isn't soldered onto the mainboard, as Max Tech discovered over the weekend. It's difficult to get to the storage device because of removing the rubber ring on the bottom of the device, removing the panel, and pulling out the power supply. Even if you can disassemble your Mac Studio to get to the hardware, Apple appears to be blocking any additional or swapped storage on a software level.

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If you are willing to disassemble your entire computer to do so, you will not be able to escape Apple's heinously expensive SSD upsells for extra storage.

The official line from Apple is: "Mac Studio storage is not user accessible."

My issue is not that the Mac Studio isn't user-upgradeable. The philosophy that Apple has taken to get to this point is what it is.

The Mac Studio has some sort of storage. Nothing about Apple's design requires the choice to bury it behind rubber sheets or lock it up on a software level.

Apple made it impossible to upgrade the Mac Studio's internal storage. Whether it was hoping to discourage end users from tearing apart their computers in search of cheaper SSD upgrades or because it wants to encourage customers to buy more upfront, it was either way.

It's true that the Mac Studio makes it difficult for customers to get to the slots for the hard drives in the first place, but that's also a choice Apple made. This isn't a laptop, a tablet, or even an all-in-one like the M1 iMac. It is a desktop computer, one that could have offered more storage at the expense of a slightly bigger computer.

Image: Luke Miani

Apple can't make a case for the benefits of the unified memory because it doesn't offer a user-replaceable component. Apple is preventing studio owners from doing it on their own.

We know Apple can do this, too, as it already does for the Mac Pro, which it happily sells new SSDs for users to slot in at their own leisure. Hopefully, the trend will continue with the Apple Silicon-powered Mac Pro, too.

The choice to limit the Mac Studio is a shame. It is a professional-grade machine, and it would be nice to see Apple treat it like it, instead of locking it into a box. If you want to upgrade the storage on your desktop computer in 2022, you shouldn't have to spend $5,999 on a Mac Pro.