M3 Ultra Mac Studio Rumored to Launch in Mid-2024, But No Sign of New Mac Pro

[JippaLippa]

Who’s buying the AS Mac Pro? It’s a terrible product.

Yeah, quite a niche which I don't think will be able to support the product in the recent future.

Apple Silicon itself is a failure for Mac Pro especially for SoC design. Clearly, Apple doesn't know how to make a workstation just like Mac Pro 2013.

I still have my 2011 with me!
Doesn't work anymore, but it's one hell of a good looking piece of decor!

Apple will probably drop the Mac Pro.

The only reason for it to exist is to say all lines transitioned.

I honestly agree.
The Mac Studio ended up being the computer most people wanted, and from what I was able to gather it seemed to have been quite a success (I have an M1 Ultra myself).
The Mac Studio as it has been thought so far, it's not really a relevant product anymore.

Plot twist: Studio and Pro are retired, get replaced with a new mini-tower.

Would be cool to have the 2 lineups compiled into a new product, hopefully with a radical new design (for one thing, I think the Mac Studio looks very boring and uninspired).
That said, the mac studio has been such a success I don't see Apple dropping it anytime soon.

 

[MacDevil7334]

There absolutely is. The Mac Pro serves niche use cases, and will continue to do so.

Heck, even today, they have the M2 Max Mac Studio on sale while the M3 Max MacBook Pro is much faster.

Yeah but we know the Studio will be updated to M3 once the Ultra chip is ready. The situation with the Studio is transitory (and I bet most Studio buyers are holding off waiting for the M3).

To leave the Mac Pro on M2 once M3 Ultra chips are available would be insane. It was already a stretch to charge a $3000 premium over the Studio for the same performance and some added PCI slots. Charging $3000 for worse performance over the Studio doesn’t make sense. Yeah that happened toward the end of the 2013 trashcan Pro’s long stint. But, does Apple really want to go back to the days where its “top of the line” computer wasn’t its fastest?

Really I think the Mac Pro just needs to be discontinued. The direction Apple took with AS (great performance per watt) is ideal for laptops but doesn’t really make sense for a desktop tower workstation. Without support for things like eGPUs, I don’t really think the Mac Pro has much reason to exist in the AS era.

 

[Pezimak]

Probably because hardly anyone is buying the new Mac Pro. I mean it's a pretty small market of people who have PCIE cards that probably work with the Mac Pro these days, and that's the only reason to get the Pro.

Due to Apples policies and lock down direction, I can see the Mac Pro going the way of the Dodo real soon.

 

[asbeve]

I hope Apple has made progress on previously rumoured "Extreme" chip, and release a Mac Pro with a M3/M4 Extreme chip: with 4 Max chips fused together. That Extreme chip will probably, finally justify the tower form factor and be the "real" Mac Pro.

 

[DaniTheFox]

My guess is that the M3 Ultra will be their own design. Not a "Double Max". That's why it's already on the next process. And the M3 Extrem will be a "Double Ultra". This will take some time. So the Mac Pro will come later this year with two options. Ultra and Extreme.

 

[chucker23n1]

To leave the Mac Pro on M2 once M3 Ultra chips are available would be insane. It was already a stretch to charge a $3000 premium over the Studio for the same performance and some added PCI slots. Charging $3000 for worse performance over the Studio doesn’t make sense. Yeah that happened toward the end of the 2013 trashcan Pro’s long stint.

I mean, look at how they're positioning it.

"Mind-blowing performance now comes standard.
The new Mac Pro is a game-changing combination of Apple silicon performance and PCIe expansion for specialized workflows. And every configuration comes with the incredible new M2 Ultra — our most powerful and capable chip ever."

They're not lying: yes, it's fast, but also, it offers internal expansion. That's it.

The M2 Ultra won't suddenly become a terrible chip once the M3 Ultra is out. It won't be the latest and greatest, but that's OK. If you have special PCIe expansion needs that are worth $7k and up, "but there's a faster computer, too!" won't kill the deal.

But, does Apple really want to go back to the days where its “top of the line” computer wasn’t its fastest?

I'm not sure they care about that. It's "top of the line" in terms of price; it doesn't have to be top of the line in terms of performance.

 

[chucker23n1]

The whole apple silicon timescale is a bit weird I think. Because the chips are staggered the Max then performs similarly to the Ultra and then you get a portable laptop thats as quick as a desktop like the Mac Pro.

The thought process just doesn't make sense to me and the 6 month gaps. It's hard to rely on too like this year they have swapped it round - pro machines first. Although they were only 9 months old and annoying owners of m2 buyers. Then the MacBook Air is going to be 18 months old by the time its updated, probably dragging it out because of the 15".

They should lean on an 18 month time scale and get all out at once to stop these games of uptake on the m3 being better than the m2 pro, m3 max silmiar to the m2 ultra so they get the uptake sales.

It makes the higher end purchases even more pointless because the Max to ultra gains are silly. I would be really p*ssed if id bought an M2 Mac Pro regardless that its still quick.

I say you're overthinking it. Yes, Apple could wait until all M4 SoCs are ready, and all M4 cases are ready, and everything else is, and then release the entire M4 generation of a Mac line-up in one go. But why? The only benefit from that would be a clean line-up. But right now, instead, the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max were already ready, for the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro, so that's exactly what they released.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Honestly I think the Mac Pro is gonna get discontinued this year. With no dGPU support, no expandable memory, with the only thing you can really do with it being adding storage and BlackMagic cards, there's little reason to buy this anymore, especially at $7000. It's miles cheaper to just buy a Mac Studio and use external BlackMagic solutions. The only reason to still buy a Mac Pro is if you plan on using the limited PCIe for SSDs to make that Mac Pro a RAID storage solution, otherwise, why not just buy the Mac Studio?

The Mac Studio at this point is more a Mac Pro in everything except name, which is why I think the Pro is gonna get discontinued and the Studio rebranded as the new Mac Pro. Apple will market it that way by saying "we're at a day in age where we don't need giant towers anymore, as Apple Silicon allows us to greatly shrink our machines leaving more space for your desk for whatever you wanted."

 

[kiranmk2]

If it was me, I would update the Pro to an M3 Ultra and not the Studio. The Pro presumably has a low demand meaning that Apple could use the current N3B process (and not have to redesign the M3 Max chip for the Ultra). They would also presumably see sales of the Mac Pro pick up (more $$$) from people have to have the fastest product as the Mac Pro would now be faster than the M2 Ultra Studio. Then, see how sales go and either give both products the M4 Ultra on the N3E process or drop the Pro and stick with the Studio with M4 Ultra.

 

[sunny5]

I hope Apple has made progress on previously rumoured "Extreme" chip, and release a Mac Pro with a M3/M4 Extreme chip: with 4 Max chips fused together. That Extreme chip will probably, finally justify the tower form factor and be the "real" Mac Pro.

That "Extreme" still won't be enough for Mac Pro uses. Remember, Mac Pro 2019 can use 4x high-end GPU, up to 1.5TB of RAM, and upgradable.

SoC is a joke.

 

[emmab2006]

As an M2 Max 38 Core User , the M3 does not interest me , when you look at the performance gains , they are not overly that much , m4 however would be on my list.

 

[Agincourt]

Pretty much it's all been said. The 2019 Mac Pro was a top of the line design which could be expanded beyond any Silicon-based design if Apple continued to support it. I've seen a few professionals saying the 2019 Mac Pro is a dead-end product primarily because new operating systems and software are only advancing silicon features. Meaning that while new OS and software will run on the 2019, newer features don't get supported.

Otherwise the potential to expand graphics and RAM capacity to unheard of heights... if you've a Mac Pro it now seems more logical to simply convert it into a Windows machine. As an Apple it's way behind but as a Windows machine it's still very powerful by today's standards.

 

[zorinlynx]

Plot twist: Studio and Pro are retired, get replaced with a new mini-tower.

We've been wanting this since 2007. I don't think it's going to happen.

 

[spritle]

I hope Apple has made progress on previously rumoured "Extreme" chip, and release a Mac Pro with a M3/M4 Extreme chip: with 4 Max chips fused together. That Extreme chip will probably, finally justify the tower form factor and be the "real" Mac Pro.

Until they fuse together 4 "Extreme" chips - the Apple Extreme to the Max Pro Experience Edition.

 

[iZac]

If you can't buy an M3 SoC to drop in your existing MacPro then really what's the point of it.

Yeah I honestly expected the full SoC to be on a daughterboard that could be swapped out, so you can keep the shell and PCI cards etc.

Imagine if they had a trade-in for the old SoC to get money off the upgrade! Would have made it a much better value proposition.

 

[falkon-engine]

Unless the Mac Pro comes with an Extreme chip with even more cores/threads, pcie5.0 expansion, possibly even memory expansion or CXL.mem support, I think it's time to put it out to pasture. What is the point of a Mac Pro, given a mac studio?

 

[MacsRgr8]

I also believe the Mac Pro will be discontinued. Only an extremely small niche market is served, and even with that not being able to get more RAM or speed than a "normal" Mac Studio Ultra. I wonder what the ROI was for launching the Mac Pro AS.
Looking forward to the M3 Max Mac Studio! I might even upgrade by current M1 Max to that...

 

[lenningj]

Looking forward to see the full power of the M3, surprised no word of M4 and what analysts expect to see from it.

 

[steveheffern]

If the Mac PRO had a CPU module that you could easily swap out every year with a new M Ultra AND if Apple had a yearly upgrade subscription Then video editors and AI people would flock to this machine putting fast SSDs in the PCI and having a beast to do the hard stuff. As it is, a bulky machine you have to replace instead of upgrade is stupid and environmentally wasteful. Yes, I know they repurposed the socket-based motherboard. So chuck it and make a CPU module based fitting.

 

[Chuckeee]

Who’s buying the AS Mac Pro?

Are there many industries out there that still need the Mac Pro?

The Mac Pro is dead

I'd be curious to know if they even sold a single unit of Mac Pro.

I really think the Mac Pro would be better off discontinued.

Really I think the Mac Pro just needs to be discontinued

Probably because hardly anyone is buying the new Mac Pro

Honestly I think the Mac Pro is gonna get discontinued this year.

While all this seems completely logical and I never understand the need for any Silicon Mac Pro that didn’t include support for 3rd party GPU PCI card. The very limited [some what outdated] Apple sales numbers present a paradoxical view [that I still don’t understand]. Specifically the Mac Pro units out sold the Mac Studio and the Mac Mini units combined!?! This was supposed to have been based on sales September 2022 quarter (M1 generation).

Most popular Mac: Here's Apple's best selling computer - 9to5Mac

A new study from CIRP looks at the mix of Apple's Mac sales and gives interesting insight into the most popular Mac and more.

9to5mac.com

 

[CBlakeston]

The Mac Pro has always been niche and never sold enough to make a profit. What I seem to be reading in all these these comments is..

“I don’t need or want it, so Apple should bin it”

I’m not sure when the entire world got so binary. Apple can have a product for sale that doesn’t suit your needs. It’s ok. For the people that want it, it’s there. For everyone else there’s the Mac Studio.

 

[vegetassj4]

Considereing the Mac Po is on a 900+ day release schedule, I'm not suprised:

MacRumors Buyer's Guide: Know When to Buy iPhone, Mac, iPad

This page provides a product summary for each Apple model. The intent is to provide our best recommendations regarding current product cycles, and to provide a summary of currently available rumors for each model. This page is based on rumors and speculation and we provide no guarantee to its...

buyersguide.macrumors.com

 

[IIGS User]

New Mac Pro? I'll take $699.99 to WHEEL IT OUT. 😄

Get it? Wheel it out?

Tap. TAPTAP. Is this thing on?

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

Apple’s professional line up continues to be a crap shoot.

Another reason why new leadership is needed

An all-new Apple Silicon Mac Pro would necessitate a price point that is out of reach even for most creative professionals. Or force Apple to sell it at a loss to meet mainstream budgets.

Not going to happen under Cook or any Apple CEO who's going to stay with Apple for more than a year.

And that's also why any future Mac Pro will, at best, be nothing more than a half-hearted spec bump of the one we got in 2023 which is really just a Mac Studio disguised in a big fancy "box".

MacBooks Pro and Mac Studio are a good combo of value/$ for consumers and big sales numbers and profits for Apple. If those Macs don't fit your needs then you're barking up the wrong tree.

Either way, the Mac Pro is dead.

 

[nickf]

Time for Apple to 'think different' (ask your Grandad) again and release an Intel Mac Pro.

(I kid, but only a little).