Derty Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 (edited) It’s no longer available to buy on Apple’s official website… a golden age has come to an end… Apple last updated the Mac Pro in 2023, when it added the M2 Ultra Apple silicon chip, but the chassis itself has not changed since 2019. The company redesigned the Mac Pro that year to be more modular after the failure of the “innovative” trashcan Mac Pro, but the machine has never been a mainstream product due to its 6,999‑dollar starting price.apple. Apple has effectively replaced the Mac Pro with the Mac Studio, a smaller desktop that uses newer Apple silicon chips. The Mac Studio is now Apple’s high‑end desktop aimed at professional users. The current Mac Studio comes with an M3 Ultra chip, and it is expected to receive an M5 Ultra refresh later this year. Apple’s desktop lineup also includes the Mac mini and the iMac.apple+1 The Mac Pro’s decline began in 2013, when Apple introduced a radical cylindrical design that proved to be a major misstep. Its components were arranged around a central thermal core and cooled by a single fan that drew air from the bottom, through the core, and out the top, resulting in a quiet but ultimately inefficient system. When Apple unveiled the 2013 Mac Pro, Phil Schiller famously responded to criticism about the lack of updates and pro‑focused products with the line, “Can’t innovate anymore, my ass.” However, the design omitted PCIe expansion slots for graphics cards and other hardware, relying instead on Thunderbolt 2 for expansion. It also failed to anticipate future GPU developments, leaving Apple unable to fit larger graphics cards and other components into the machine. Apple eventually apologized to its professional user base, admitting that the 2013 Mac Pro was thermally constrained in a way that made meaningful upgrades impossible. It was not until 2019 that Apple introduced the current Mac Pro, which returned to a more conventional tower form factor and added eight PCIe slots. After the 2019 release, the Mac Pro received only one additional update: the move to Apple silicon in 2023. With just three Mac Pro revisions in 13 years, it is not surprising that Apple is retiring the line, especially since the Mac Studio offers nearly all of the same capabilities, apart from PCIe expansion. Key milestones • 2006: The launch of the Mac Pro tower Apple unveiled the first Mac Pro in 2006 as a replacement for the Power Mac G5, designed to be the most powerful and expandable Mac, featuring Intel processors and multiple internal bays and slots. For years, it was the go-to machine for video, audio and 3D studios, as well as professional environments requiring numerous PCIe cards and internal drives. • 2013: the ‘cylinder’ or ‘trashcan’ Mac Pro In 2013, Apple moved away from the tower design and launched a cylindrical, highly compact Mac Pro, featuring a central thermal core and limited internal modularity. It relied on Thunderbolt for external expansion and soon proved limited for new GPUs and powerful configurations, drawing heavy criticism from professional users. • 2017: Apple acknowledges the mistake In 2017, Apple publicly admitted that the 2013 design was a failure and that the machine was “thermodynamically limited”, hindering upgrades and the product’s evolution. At the same time, it promised to “completely rethink” the Mac Pro and work on a new modular design for professionals. • 2019: return to the expandable tower In 2019, Apple launched a new Mac Pro in a classic, highly expandable tower format, with up to eight PCIe slots for professional cards and a clear focus on internal modularity. This model reclaims its role as a high-end workstation, but with very high prices and an increasingly shrinking market. • 2023–2026: transition to Apple Silicon and end of the line In 2023, the Mac Pro finally switches to Apple Silicon, being sold with Apple’s own chips until 2026. However, Apple allows the more compact and cheaper Mac Studio to surpass it in power by 2025 and eventually discontinues the Mac Pro in 2026, shifting the ‘pro’ tower segment towards more integrated solutions such as the Mac Studio. Edited April 20 by Derty 6 Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/362670-apple-confirms-mac-pro-is-dead/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 An end of an era! 🥹 5 Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/362670-apple-confirms-mac-pro-is-dead/#findComment-2849347 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Nitty Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 I put together a video on my YouTube channel which delves into this topic for anyone interested: 1 Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/362670-apple-confirms-mac-pro-is-dead/#findComment-2850321 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts