Assuming Apple has been on the same schedule for as long as we can remember, macOS Ventura 13.3 will arrive on all supported Macs on Monday or Tuesday. It’s not a huge release – the most notable new feature is a handful of emoji – but it could mean something other than East huge is on the horizon.
Back in January Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that the Apple Silicon Mac Pro was running macOS Ventura 13.3 while the rest of the world was still on 13.1. It’s no surprise that the Mac Pro is running a newer version of Ventura in testing, as there are likely several hardware features exclusive to the machine that require optimization and compatibility tweaks with macOS.
It’s also no surprise that Apple used macOS 13.3. The dot 3 release of macOS has generally been the biggest mid-cycle release, so it makes sense for Apple to test it on the Mac Pro as it’s likely that future Ventura updates will focus on bug fixes. , performance improvements and security updates. . So now, with this version due out in a few days, does that mean the new Mac Pro could arrive at any time? Maybe.
Even if it’s coming to macOS 13.3, the next Mac Pro will almost certainly have its own initial version of macOS. For example, when the MacBook Air M2 and 13-inch MacBook Pro arrived last June, they were running their own version of macOS Monterey 12.4, which arrived for existing Macs on May 16. Then, when macOS 12.5 arrived on July 20, the M2 Macs were updated with the rest of the Ventura-compatible devices as usual.
So if the Mac Pros in test are indeed running macOS 13.3, Apple could launch a new model between the launch of macOS 13.3 next week and the arrival of macOS 13.4. Following Apple’s usual schedule, that would give Apple until mid-May to unveil the new model.
So it’s no exaggeration to say that a new Mac Pro will arrive sooner rather than later, probably before WWDC. Even without the Apple Silicon transition, the Intel model would be old by now, and if Apple hopes to convince its high-end users of the benefits of Apple Silicon, it has to start yesterday.
Apple’s silicon upgrade to the Mac Pro could be coming very soon.
Apple
Event horizon
As March rolls on, we’re always on the lookout for any sign of a spring event. While last year’s event took place in March, 2021’s event didn’t take place until April 20, so Apple could still send out invites over the next few weeks.
But are there enough to fill a full speech? What was once supposed to be a major unveiling of Apple’s next big thing now seems to have been pushed back to WWDC or into the fall. We already have the new spring color of the iPhone, the MacBook Pro, the Mac mini and a 2nd generation HomePod. And the Mac Studio and iMac, the big spring 2022 and 2021 announcements respectively, are unlikely to be updated until 2024.
But the Mac Pro could still cause a stir this spring along with the other rumored products that aren’t an AR headset. On the Mac side, there is the 15-inch MacBook Air. Just this week, a surprising reference to an unreleased AirPods model number and case was spotted in iOS 16.4. And a new Mac Pro will almost certainly come with an upgraded Pro Display XDR.
Of course, the Mac Pro might not actually be event-worthy, and Apple releases another round of press releases announcing the new computer and its M2 Ultra chip. But either way, you can start the countdown once macOS 13.3 arrives.
