Apple seemingly cancels M2 Extreme Mac Pro

At WWDC20, Apple promised to complete its transition to Apple silicon inside Macs in two years. That timeline has long gone, but the company is yet to reveal its 2019 Intel Mac Pro replacement.

A new report details the reason behind the delay in the Mac Pro’s launch. It also sheds light on why contrary to initial rumors, Apple won’t launch an M2 Extreme Mac Pro.

M2 Extreme Mac Pro may not see the light of the day

In his latest Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman claims Apple was working on an M1-based Mac Pro. It would have featured a chip combining four M1 Max into one. However, the Mac Studio featuring a dual M1 Max chip, a.k.a M1 Ultra, launched first. Apple pushed the launch of the Mac Pro to the M2 generation. It would have used an M2 Extreme chip, which would have packed 2x M2 Ultra chips for some serious horsepower.

Rumor suggests the M2 Ultra would feature 24 CPU cores, a 76-core GPU, and 192GB RAM. In the M2 Extreme configuration, it would come with 48 CPU cores, 152-core GPU, and up to 384GB RAM. However, Gurman suggests Apple has most likely scrapped the M2 Extreme chip. This is primarily due to the complexity of the chip and its production cost. The company wants to use the resources saved for its other Macs that are in high demand.

Price was another concern, as the M2 Extreme Mac Pro could cost over $10,000. This would have made it a niche machine that found limited takers, making it hard to justify its development cost. Unlike the current Mac Pro, Apple plans to manufacture its successor in Vietnam.

Now, the Apple silicon-based Mac Pro is expected to use an M2 Ultra chip. It will set itself apart from other Macs by providing an option to upgrade the memory, storage, and other components. The machine should launch sometime in 2023.

New MacBook Pros coming in early 2023

Contrary to rumors, Apple did not launch the M2 Pro/Max MacBook Pros this year. Gurman claims they will now launch in early 2023. Additionally, he says Apple is working on M2 and M2 Pro-powered versions of the Mac mini.

Lastly, the company is working on a high-end iMac Pro, but its development is running behind schedule for the same reasons as the Mac Pro.


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