Mac Pro with Apple silicon is still in testing and could launch with an M2-based chip

Apple has not forgotten about the Mac Pro and how it is the only remaining computer in its lineup that still has an Intel chip. A recent report has claimed a new version of the high-end workstation has gone through several revisions, hence, the delay.

In late 2020, Apple announced its two-year plan to shift from Intel-based chips to its in-house, ARM-based SoCs. With only a couple of weeks left this year, it starts to look even more likely that Apple will miss its own deadline. And the Mac Pro is the only device that has yet to make the transition.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported in the latest Power On newsletter that a new version of Mac Pro powered by Apple silicon is still in the works. The high-end device is reportedly still being tested, along with a new Mac mini with the M2 Pro chip.

The same report also shared some information suggesting that the new Mac Pro has been delayed because of several changes in its specs, specifically its processing chip. Apple is also rumored to be planning to move the manufacturing of the Mac Pro to Vietnam, where AirPods are already being produced.

Original plans for the all-new Mac Pro purportedly included two configurations of M1-based chips. One chip was supposed to have the same capacity as a dual M1 Max while the higher-end version would have had specs that equal four M1 Max chips.

The upcoming Mac Pro is now expected to include a new M2 Ultra chip that would have up to 24 CPU cores, 76 GPU cores, and “at least” 192GB of unified memory. But Gurman noted that Apple had considered at one point developing a chip that would have doubled those specs, which the journalist previously called “M2 Extreme.”

Apple, however, cancelled plans for the M2 Extreme reportedly due to the complexity of the chip, its production cost, and how much it would drive up the Mac Pro’s price.

A launch window for the M2-powered Mac Pro is still unknown. But it could happen after the anticipated launch of the new MacBook Pros with 14-inch and 16-inch displays (with M2 Pro and M2 Max) and the updated Mac mini (with baseline M2 and M2 Pro) in early 2023.

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