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Apple last updated the Mac Pro with the M2 Ultra chip in June 2023. Below, we outline when to expect the high-end desktop tower to be updated next.

Mac-Pro-Feature-Teal.jpg

In short, the latest rumors about the Mac Pro indicate the computer will be updated with an as-yet-unannounced M4 Ultra chip in the second half of 2025.

Mac Pro: Timing

  • When was the current model released? June 2023
  • When is a new model expected? The second half of 2025, likely October to December

Mac Pro: What to Know

Apple last updated the Mac Pro with the M2 Ultra chip at WWDC in June 2023, but the desktop tower's overall design remains unchanged since 2019.

A new Mac Pro will launch in the second half of 2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. If so, it seems likely that Apple will announce the next Mac Pro at some point from October through December next year. October is a common month for Mac announcements, and the Mac Pro has been updated in December twice since 2013.

Gurman said the new Mac Pro will be equipped with an M4 Ultra chip, which should offer significant CPU performance improvements over the M2 Ultra chip. The Mac Pro would also gain hardware-accelerated ray tracing for improved graphics rendering in games, a technology that was introduced with the M3 series of chips. Plus, Gurman said the next Mac Pro could support up to 512GB of RAM, up from the current limit of 192GB.

No other major upgrades or design changes have been rumored for the next Mac Pro yet.

For several years, it has been rumored that Apple has explored a high-end, so-called "Extreme" chip for the Mac Pro. This chip would effectively be a "quadrupled" version of the Max chip for Macs. For example, a 16-core CPU would become a 64-core CPU. However, Gurman said Apple canceled plans for an "M2 Extreme" chip a few years ago, and The Information recently reported that Apple abandoned plans for another "quadrupled" chip this "past summer." While we reported that this could make an "M4 Extreme" chip unlikely, Daring Fireball's John Gruber made a good point about how there is a long, multi-year gap between Apple designing and shipping new chips, so it is possible the latest chip canceled actually would have been an "M5 Extreme" chip or later if development was only recently ended.

If there ends up being no "Extreme" chip for the next several years, then the Mac Pro might continue to lack major differences compared to the Mac Studio, which is also expected to be updated with the M4 Ultra chip next year. As of now, the Mac Pro is essentially a larger, more expensive version of the Mac Studio with PCIe expansion slots.

If you are currently in the market for a Mac Pro, we certainly recommend waiting for the new model, as the M4 Max chip in the latest 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models is up to 25% faster than the M2 Ultra in the current Mac Pro.

MacRumors Buyer's Guide

Check out our MacRumors Buyer's Guide to keep track of when Macs and other Apple products were released, and when they are likely to be updated next.

Article Link: New Mac Pro and an 'Extreme' Chip: Here's What the Latest Rumors Say
 
Why does the mac pro still even exist?

They should move it way way upmarket as a nvidia H100/blackwell competitor for enterprise AI.
To the extent that Macs still address the “pro” market, it’s mostly via laptops, but I think philosophically Apple still wants to be able to say that there’s a “pro” desktop option too, harking back to the product matrix Steve Jobs unveiled in 1998.

To that extent they keep coming up with alternatives like the iMac Pro and the Mac Studio because they seem more ideologically committed to the idea than they are institutionally committed.
 
They for SURE will be doing an M5 Extreme, though. I mean, it’s a rumor from a LOOOONG time ago so it has to happen eventually, right? :)

Regarding the extreme, when you read “canceled plans for” just replace that with “never had plans for”.
 
For a Mac Pro to make sense they need to start looking at some level of modularity such as offering M.2 SSD support (absolute must have), and introduce expansion cards dedicated to specific tasks.

For example if the M4 Ultra has 80 GPU cores with 128GB unified memory out of the box, and a customer needs to really push graphics related tasks they could offer a dedicated GPU card with 320 GPU cores and dedicated graphics RAM.

Similarly, with the move towards AI focused businesses some customers may value the option to greatly expand the number of Neural Processor cores beyond those out of the box.

They should possibly consider moving the SOC to a dedicated card so that users can upgrade from M4 without needing to buy a whole new chassis.
 
There would need to be some big compelling reasons to go with a Mac Pro vs a Mac Studio running the same chips. Maybe the Mac Pro can get a bigger design change to shrink the case and provide a good reason in the chip setup as to why it would be better than a Studio?
 
Why does the mac pro still even exist?

They should move it way way upmarket as a nvidia H100/blackwell competitor for enterprise AI.

Mac studio and mini are more than enough for creative professionals, i see them at offices everywhere.

There are customers who need slots. And a beefy power supply.

And the Mac Pro fulfills that need; especially the rack mount version, for commercial/defense/scientific/industrial markets.
 
There would need to be some big compelling reasons to go with a Mac Pro vs a Mac Studio running the same chips. Maybe the Mac Pro can get a bigger design change to shrink the case and provide a good reason in the chip setup as to why it would be better than a Studio?
So far as I can tell, the bulk of the extra cost seems to be a super premium and expensive chassis, and PCIE slots despite an absence of compatible cards that you could actually use with the Mac Pro.

The premium chassis is wasted unless there are compelling PCIE expansion cards, which there aren't, and given you can't buy the SOC on its own, if you want to upgrade to a newer chip you have to buy a whole new computer wasting a perfectly good premium computer case.

I'm really hoping Apple add some modularity finding a way to allow users to keep the same case and upgrade the SOC when the M5 / M6 / M7 etc... is released, and start offering PCIE cards for dedicated tasks.
 
The M2 Mac Pro already supports this with a PCIe riser.
Here's OWC's option https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/SSDACL8M200T/
A fair point, but I still don't think it should be necessary to buy additional hardware just because Apple wants to use non-standard drives as the default storage method.

It would be far more consumer friendly if Apple added M.2 support to the Mac Pro out of the box.
 
Why does the mac pro still even exist?

They should move it way way upmarket as a nvidia H100/blackwell competitor for enterprise AI.

Mac studio and mini are more than enough for creative professionals, i see them at offices everywhere.
For lack of a better term. trickle down macinomics.

If studios or whomever have to switch to windows for their top end machines, I imagine they switch everything over for parity.

By keeping the Mac Pro in tact, perhaps it keeps some companies on the Mac platform as a whole?
 
I'm really hoping Apple add some modularity finding a way to allow users to keep the same case and upgrade the SOC when the M5 / M6 / M7 etc... is released, and start offering PCIE cards for dedicated tasks.
The only way that would happen is if The Woz returns to Apple and somehow reduces Tim’s obsession in fleecing us with extremely anticonsumer designs.

Just look how he went out of his way to make sure that the Studios and now Minis cant have industry standards SSDs so we can escape his abusive upgrade prices.
 
something about this hyper powerful mac pro y'all are complaining they dont make and update frequently enough is something that apple either

a) hasnt developed to their satisfaction yet
b) is not a product they're enthusiastic about selling

the consumer is consumed by their desire to have a product that satisfies their needs. apple just wants to know that they can sell a lot of whatever it is.

the company has a 3.75 trillion market cap right now. this thing isnt out in the wild because for whatever reason they arent currently positioned to make truckloads of cash. their last MP sold wheels for $600 i promise you they'll release this once they think it'll drive up $.
 
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Why does the mac pro still even exist?

They should move it way way upmarket as a nvidia H100/blackwell competitor for enterprise AI.

Mac studio and mini are more than enough for creative professionals, i see them at offices everywhere.
There are still many users need workstation computers and even Apple need it especially for their work and server.
 
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