At the moment, there’s hardly any compelling reason to choose a Mac Pro over a Mac Studio equipped with the M2 Ultra chip. This is primarily because Apple has reportedly scrapped plans for an M2 Extreme chip for the premium Mac model.
According to a recent report, there are indications that a previously planned Extreme chip for a forthcoming Mac Pro model might also be uncertain now. In a worst-case scenario, this could mean there won’t be a genuinely new Mac Pro for a significant amount of time.
The current Mac Pro lacks an Extreme chip
It was initially thought that Apple had intended for the current Mac Pro to feature an M2 Extreme chip, which would have effectively doubled the performance of the M2 Ultra. Bloomberg reported on this plan back in 2022, only to later disclose that the chip was canceled due to issues related to complexity and costs.
This left the Mac Pro in a rather awkward situation, as it now operates with the identical M2 Ultra chip found in the higher-tier Mac Studio:
While the Mac Pro is housed in a significantly larger case with superior ventilation that could theoretically mitigate thermal throttling, practical tests indicate that this isn’t the case in actual use scenarios. Consequently, the only notable edge of the substantially more expensive machine remains the PCIe slots, which primarily serve to organize additional Thunderbolt storage devices.
Cancellation of Another Extreme Chip
In a report from The Information regarding a partnership between Apple and Broadcom centered around a new AI server chip, Daring Fireball highlighted an intriguing detail:
According to two individuals, Apple’s silicon design team in Israel is spearheading the AI chip development. This team played a key role in creating the processors that replaced Intel chips in Macs back in 2020.
This past summer, Apple terminated the development of a high-performance chip for Macs, which consisted of four smaller chips combined, to allocate some of its engineers in Israel to focus on the AI chip. This underscores the company’s shifting priorities.
In essence, Apple has canceled yet another M-series Extreme chip. But which one is it?
Some speculate that the report implies the cancellation of an M4 Extreme chip intended for a 2025 Mac Pro. However, Gruber points out that this notion doesn’t quite add up.
However, if Apple’s development on that quad-interconnected M-series chip was only recently canceled and was designed for a chip generation utilizing TSMC’s next-generation N3P process, it suggests that it was meant for the M5 or M6 generation, not the M4. The M4 generation is manufactured using TSMC’s N3E process, and any additional variants beyond the M4 Max, expected for updated Mac Studios and Mac Pros next year, were developed long before this past summer.
Thus, the recent report doesn’t provide clarity on whether a 2025 Mac Pro will feature an M4 Extreme chip. It could either be that the development is already in place for the new machine, or the factors that led Apple to forgo the M2 Extreme still hold, resulting in no availability. Regardless, that decision has already been settled.
What this signifies, however, is a potential void – the cancellation of an M5 Extreme chip.
Nonetheless, the abandonment of plans for a future Extreme chip indicates that there may not be an M5 version, and possibly not an M6 version either.
The Worst-Case Scenario
If the M4 Extreme chip is indeed under development, then the outlook isn’t overly grim for those anticipating a new Mac Pro. They could upgrade to a 2025 Mac Pro featuring the M4 Extreme, followed perhaps by a year with no significant updates, which might extend into 2026.
This scenario poses challenges particularly for high-end consumers such as film studios that frequently upgrade, as budget isn’t a concern. However, for many, a Mac Pro is a long-term investment that is used for several years.
However, if Apple has already scrapped the M4 Extreme for the same reasons as the M2 Extreme cancellation, that could imply no meaningful Mac Pro refresh until 2026 or potentially 2027. Such a delay would mean an excruciatingly long wait.
Photo: Apple
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