In the not-too-distant future, an Apple M1-powered Mac Pro will be available. However, the new desktop computer-workstation combination remains a mystery to us in many ways: there hasn’t been much chatter about the M1 Mac Pro’s release date, features, or upgrades yet.
Even though the rumor mill is currently quiet, we’ve combined Apple precedence with our analysis to make some reasonable assumptions for the M1 Mac Pro’s design.
It’s always conceivable that the big reveal may happen during Apple’s annual event in March, although that tends to be more educational.
What will be different this time?
At this point, it’s anyone’s guess. Because one of the benefits of a high-end, upgradeable system like this is that it lasts more than a few years, Apple needs to continue to support its existing installed base of Mac Pros with upgrades. That suggests Apple is unlikely to make significant changes to the chassis, especially considering how seldom Apple upgrades its hardware designs under normal circumstances.
When is the new Mac Pro going to be unveiled?
We’re almost confident a new Mac Pro will be released this year, given the Mac Pro and iMac 27-inch are the final two products Apple needs to complete its two-year transition from third-party CPUs to its own.
While we don’t have any further details, I expect the new model to be introduced at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, which takes place in early June. Software developers must be the first to know whether Apple plans to provide any new or distinctive features with the yearly operating system upgrade. The system itself is unlikely to be available until October at the earliest.
Switching from Intel Xeon CPUs to its processors and updating to more recent, high-bandwidth standards (such as PCIe 4 and DDR5) will very certainly necessitate a rebuilt motherboard, hopefully keeping the socketed CPU architecture. We’re still waiting to see how Apple wants to grow its M1 series to a system that doesn’t rely on discrete graphics and has more CPU cores than the present M1 Max. Will Apple release a series of progressively powerful single-die CPUs, or will it just double and treble the M1s already on the market? Will it spin off the GPU incorporated inside the M1s to produce new graphics modules, or will it continue to rely on AMD’s Radeon Pro GPUs? Inquiring minds want to know what’s going on.
There are rumors of a 27- or 32-inch iMac with a high-end display based on the M1 and an upgraded Mac Mini, but we’ve also been waiting for a less expensive version of its Pro Display XDR. That may suggest a midrange Mac Pro, which would be fantastic unless Apple plans to replace the Mac Mini with an upgraded model.
When will a new Mac Pro be available?
In all probability this year, however, if the supply chain crisis persists for too long, the new Mac Pro desktop might be delayed until early next year.