Back when Apple announced its transition from Intel processor in June 2020 , it madea couple of promisesthat have n’t been fulfilled . Most notably , it said the transition would be completed “ in about two days , ” which is either four months or eight calendar month behind agenda , look on when you start counting .
And in addition to vowing to “ continue to suffer and release fresh versions of macOS for Intel - ground Macs for eld to come , ” which it ’s done , Apple also said it “ has exciting novel Intel - free-base Macs in development . ” While we did get a new27 - inch iMac with 10th - generation Intel chipslater that summer , suffice it to say , we have n’t seen any new Intel Macs , exciting or otherwise since the first M1 Macs rolled out . And with just one Intel - based Mac remain in Apple ’s lineup , it would seem it ’s just a matter of meter until theMac Pro baffle its Apple atomic number 14 makeover .
In fact , about a year ago , John Ternus beleaguer the beingness of such a machine , saying there was “ just one more product to go ” in the transition , “ but that ’s for another day . ” But as more and more time slip by , maybe everyone would be happier if that twenty-four hours did n’t come just yet .
The core issue
The latest rumour about the Mac Pro are less than intriguing , as the unique architecture of the M2 poker chip is reportedly force Apple to rethink several of the Mac Pro’sunique characteristic , including substance abuser - upgradeable RAM and nontextual matter . And the rumored M2 Extreme chip with 48 central processor cores and 152 graphics cores is unlikely to make an show , with Apple alternatively going with a slightly overclocked M2 Ultra with a 24 - core CPU and 76 - centre GPU .
The Mac Studio costs thousands less than the Mac Pro but is just as fast .
Foundry
That ’s plenty fast , of class , but compare to the current M1 Ultra Mac Studio , it ’s not worth anywhere near the $ 17,000 starting terms for the top - of - the - line Intel Mac Pro with a 28‑core Intel Xeon W processor . When the Mac Pro launched in 2019 , its closest rival was the 18 - Core Intel Xeon W in the iMac Pro , which blench in benchmark comparisons ( 13,453 versus 26,604 in Geekbench multi - core trial ) . Granted , the Mac Pro cost about $ 10,000 more than the iMac Pro , but that sizable Mary Leontyne Price disruption only underscored how much more speed you were catch .
Based on the a la mode report , that wo n’t be the case with the new Mac Pro . While it will apparently be faster than both the current top - of - the - line Mac Pro and the top - conclusion Mac Studio — particularly if Apple does n’t update the Mac Studio to an M2 chip — the crack wo n’t be about as large as with the previous Mac Pro . Geekbenchbenchmarks for the M1 Ultratop out at around 24,000 , so we can assume the M2 Ultra would come in around 30,000 or so with the same 20 to 25 pct boost . That ’s high than the current 28‑core Intel Xeon W processor ( 26,604 ) but not by a wide tolerance .
With such rattling power at even the lowest end of its Mac chip , Apple has painted itself into a nasty quoin with the Mac Pro . perchance Apple can cut the price drastically by using Apple silicon , but that ’s not as important as carrying out to its target audience . Buyers await the Mac Pro to be “ a organisation create to let a blanket grasp of professional person push the limits of what is possible , ” but with meagerly operation improvements and limited enlargement , purchaser wo n’t be getting the same boundary - force machine .
Intel inside (again)
Even if it were to bring a huge speed boost , Mac Pro buyers might be loath to tack to Apple atomic number 14 anyway . The Mac Pro is the kind of auto people buy to occupy a very specific motivation , and those needs might be tied to be peripheral devices and app that do n’t shape as well ( or at all ) on Apple Si Macs . And as a reader direct out this workweek , some Mac Pro user need to run Windows natively too , whichisn’t possibleunder Apple Si without virtualization .
If Apple puts Intel inside the next Mac Pro , it will make a lot of people happy .
Apple
For those citizenry — and my guess is there are a lot of them — an kick upstairs Intel model is probably preferable to an M2 Ultra - based model , particularly if Apple were to habituate one of Intel ’s newest Xeon W-3400 or Xeon W-2400 chips . Last hebdomad , Intelunveiled its new workstation - course chipswith up to 56 cores and 112 threads . Those are excellent glasses that are certain to match or ticktack the rumored M2 Ultra .
As my colleague Jason Cross points out , Apple would be more probable to use the W-2400 chip that top out at 24 cores due to thermal . ( The high - remainder Intel CPU in the Mac Pro has a thermal intent power of 205 watt . The W-2400 series ranges from 120W to 225W while the W-3400 goes from 270W to 350W. ) Apple prioritizes power efficiency with its M - serial chips , so it would be unlikely to employ a micro chip with such a high power draw .
But even the dispirited - end scrap would still be an excellent upgrade over the current Mac Pro , while still offer users the expandability and after - market upgrades they need . I do n’t reckon any potential vendee would be mad at a novel Intel machine that preserve the Mac Pro ’s mission yet still delivers a massive speed boost over the 2019 poser Apple still deal . Intel would let users easily upgrade their current setup , keep the upgradeability they crave , and buy Apple some more time to make a right Apple silicon manikin .
And if any of those purchaser really want an Apple Si machine , they can always purchase a MacBook Pro to go along with it .
