When it comes to performance, the Mac Pro has always been at the top of the heap. Its shift to Apple Silicon has been eagerly anticipated for a previous couple of years because of this.
The question of whether or not an Apple Silicon Mac Pro makes any sense at all in the new lineup Apple has built must now be taken seriously in light of the most recent reports indicating yet another delay. Given the circumstances, perhaps it’s time for Apple to say goodbye to this design forever.
Apple Silicon Modularity Doesn’t Work
Everything that makes the Apple Silicon Macs function is opposed by the Mac Pro. It was returned in 2019 as the most modular Mac in the lineup in addition to being the most powerful. This was Apple’s version of the conventional desktop tower, thus many of the parts could be easily upgraded, fixed, or replaced.
That is counter to the principles of Apple Silicon design. These incredibly efficient circuits combine memory and graphics into a single unit. Nothing can be upgraded by the user by design.
The most recent sources state that Apple intended to employ an Apple Silicon processor in a revamped Mac Pro while doing away with the opportunity to upgrade graphics. The logic of Apple Silicon’s architecture makes it difficult to envision how memory could be expanded, even while storage would still be able to be upgraded. One of the main selling advantages of the Mac Pro would be lost without this kind of adaptability, and Pro users are already displeased with the concept.
The elephant in the room
The brand-new desktop in the lineup, the Mac Studio, which Apple unveiled last spring, felt like a worthy replacement for both the 27-inch iMac and the Mac Pro. With it, the M1 Ultra, the M1’s most potent variant to date, made its appearance. The company’s UltraFusion technology was used to package the M1 Ultra by joining the two sides of the M1 Max die. With up to 64 GPU cores, the outcome was astounding performance, especially in the graphics department.
Despite this, Apple asserted that the Mac Pro was still in the works at the exact same event. We all assumed at the time that this meant Apple was developing a more potent chip, which later became known as the M1 Extreme in rumours. Some reports claimed that an M1 Extreme-style chip was being developed, but as the backlog grew, it became obvious that the chip wasn’t going to be used after all. Apple management maintained their commitment to the Apple Silicon Mac Pro throughout.
The M2 Ultra will reportedly be used in the upcoming Mac Pro, according to recent rumors. As it sounds, that would be the upgraded version of the microprocessor that made its debut in the Mac Studio. That leaves very little distinction between these two desktops, as you can surely understand. What possible incentive could there be to purchase the Mac Pro given how much more affordable and compact the Mac Studio is?
It appears that Apple’s strategy is to forgo updating the Mac Studio in order to protect its own product line. But let’s face it, that’s not a viable option, especially for a business like Apple that carefully considers its product portfolios. It is obvious that the business has painted itself into a corner, therefore it might be wiser for it to just give up now.
It’s okay to leave now
A Mac Pro update is still expected later this year, according to Mark Gurman, who has reported on several of these rumors. If that is the case, Apple might attempt to time it with the M3 processor debut. We’ll have to wait and see if this holds true.
Apple may very well be working on a completely new solution, for all we know. Perhaps it has found a method to properly set the Mac Pro apart from the Mac Studio. I sincerely hope it keeps the Mac Pro around if it does. But based on the information we currently have, I believe it makes much more sense for Apple to kill the Mac Pro off now rather than letting it become another canceled product like AirPower.
