Apple had big plans for the next Mac Pro. However, according to a Bloomberg report, these plans were scaled down to allow a more practical and affordable version of Apple Silicon’s flagship that will be launched in 2023. From M2 EXTREME, to ‘just’ M2 ULTRA.
Apple Silicon Mac Pro: What & when?
The main flagship of all Apple products is yet to be released. And we’re talking about the anticipated Mac Pro armed with Apple Silicon inside. This beats was planned to be released in 2022. However, 2022 comes to an end and there’s no Mac Pro on the horizon. It seems that the code name Jade 4C-Die which is M1 Max multiple by four will remain just a code name. Indeed, the 2022 Apple Silicon Mac Pro was supposed (at first ) to be armed with not less than four (4) M1 Max chips, allowing heavy users the privilege of editing up to 120 streams of 4K and 28 streams of 8K ProRes videos. Nevertheless, that’s not going to happen.
M2 EXTREME? Probably not
The second and more accurate Bloomberg rumor indicated that Apple’s new generation of Mac Pro would contain a ‘Pro’ version of the M2 chip, which will probably be called M2 EXTREME (instead of ULTRA). As for the physical structure, Apple’s own SoC was supposed to be “half the size” of the current Mac Pro (Intel version), designed with aluminum chassis, and would remind the structure of the old Power Mac G4 Cube. The M2 Ultra chip is planned to allow some serious specifications for professional users, including up to 24 CPU cores, 76 graphics cores, and the ability to top out the machine with at least 192 gigabytes of memory. An M2 Extreme chip would have doubled that to 48 CPU cores and 152 graphics cores. However, Bloomberg has updated these forecasts, stating that Apple has likely scrapped that higher-end configuration.
Manufacturing and market segment
According to Bloomberg, based on Apple’s current pricing structure, an M2 Extreme version of a Mac Pro would probably cost at least $10,000 — without any other upgrades — making it an extraordinary niche product that likely isn’t worth the development costs, engineering resources, and production bandwidth it would require. Also, there’s a shift in manufacturing — The new Mac Pro’s components will be products in Asia and manufactured in the US. For that, Apple needs to make major manufacturing adaptations and that takes time. So basically these are the reasons for delaying Apple’s flagship — the Mac Pro.
So what’s going to be?
As stated by Bloomberg: “Instead, the Mac Pro is expected to rely on a new-generation M2 Ultra chip (rather than the M1 Ultra) and will retain one of its hallmark features: easy expandability for additional memory, storage, and other components”. If so, the main difference between Intel and Apple SoC is the size and price of the Mac Pro, as the Apple Silicon version has the potential for better heat management and a more compact design. Anyway, the Mac Pro with the new generation of M2 Ultra is being tested as we speak. We’d guess that Apple will introduce this machine in 2023.
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