Apple Shelved Two Mac Pro Models, Including an Intel-Based One

[jimscard]

Apple developed two Mac Pro models in recent years that never made it to market, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

In his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman revealed that Apple internally developed two unreleased Mac Pro projects codenamed J170 and J190 before ultimately discontinuing the machine altogether.



J170 was apparently a new Intel-based Mac Pro, which is notable because Apple had already completed its transition to Apple silicon by the time the project was in active development. Gurman did not specify what "certain uses" the Intel model was meant to address, but its existence suggests Apple explored keeping an x86 option alive for specific professional workflows even years into the Apple silicon era.

J190, meanwhile, was said to be an M3 Ultra-equipped Mac Pro that was supposed to launch alongside the M3 Ultra Mac Studio in early 2025, but Apple shelved it before release. It would have paired the same chip found in that Mac Studio with the Mac Pro's unique-to-the-lineup PCIe expansion slots.

Neither model shipped, and Apple discontinued the Mac Pro entirely this year, ending its 20-year run. The Mac Pro had been left on the aging M2 Ultra chip from 2023 while the Mac Studio continued to receive refreshes, and it was priced roughly double that of a similarly configured Mac Studio despite offering essentially the same performance.

The J170 and J190 cancellations add to a growing list of shelved Mac Pro plans. Apple had also developed "Extreme" chip variants, processors with twice the CPU and GPU cores of Apple's Ultra chips, for a future Mac Pro before winding down those projects over cost and demand concerns.

Gurman said he does not expect Apple to bring back the Mac Pro "anytime soon — if ever." Apple is instead expected to refresh the Mac Studio with M5 Ultra chips as early as this fall.

Article Link: Apple Shelved Two Mac Pro Models, Including an Intel-Based One

Just because Apple designs alternative products doesn’t mean they were “supposed to” launch in any timeframe or ever.

 

[peter2]

MacBook Neo ROI has put extra nails in the coffin. I'm all for a powerful Mac like the Pro, but the sales obviously don't make it something of interest for them anymore.

You cannot expect sales when you are, at the same time, purposely holding the product line in an obsolete state. For instance, at my work, we were holding off on purchasing a large number of Mac Pro machines (and XDR Displays) until they were reasonably updated. Instead, Apple killed both products. Moreover, they killed the products in such a way that since the day of announcing the "killing," we could not even order the non-updated mahcnines/displays -- we would buy even the old models if it was possible. Congrats Apple, this is not how to operate towards enterprise customers. With Apple's approach, they simply engineered the commercial failure.

 

[All Taken]

You cannot expect sales when you are, at the same time, purposely holding the product line in an obsolete state. For instance, at my work, we were holding off on purchasing a large number of Mac Pro machines (and XDR Displays) until they were reasonably updated. Instead, Apple killed both products. Moreover, they killed the products in such a way that since the day of announcing the "killing," we could not even order the non-updated mahcnines/displays -- we would buy even the old models if it was possible. Congrats Apple, this is not how to operate towards enterprise customers. With Apple's approach, they simply engineered the commercial failure.

I can appreciate that thought process, however, it isn't a unique thought process to us outside of Apple? I mean Apple have enough brains to know that a stagnating enterprise and professionals line isn't a popular one and the scales must've tipped eventually to make it not worth while to update because the return just isn't what they want at this stage of the corporation. Sad as that is, we just are not enough of a base and it has to come down to sales.

Think about it this way, you produce a pro line of products for nearly 30 years. You have been through technical revolutions during this time, you understand when your products stagnate it leads to poorer sales. You also know that when you refresh your professional line what the typical ROI is. At what point do you call it a day? This is what hurts to admit, they must have the data - they are not in the habit of leaving money on the table if a strategy works.