Apple last updated the Mac Pro in 2023, when it was the last Mac with an M-series chip, three years after Apple began using its own silicon in Mac. The Mac Pro may have a longer update cycle than other Macs because it's an expensive machine with features that meet the needs of a niche audience.
But if you're in that audience, you'll want to know when the next model is coming, so we'll be following the Mac Pro news and rumors. This article includes information on potential updates to the Mac Pro, as well as perspective on what these rumored updates mean for Apple's Mac lineup.
Mac Pro M4: release date
With no new Mac Pros appearing in 2024, despite the M4 Max arriving, it looks like we'll be stuck with the M2 Ultra Mac Pro until 2025.
The long wait is no surprise. In an April 2024 report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman on Apple's plans for its AI-enhanced M4 chip, he suggested that Apple would not update the Mac Pro until 2025.
In June 2024, Gurman again reported that the Mac release schedule had not changed. The M4 Mac Pro is not expected until the second half of 2025. In August, Gurman reiterated that the M4 Mac Pro would be released in 2025.
Mac Pro M4: processor
With the long wait, you might think we might get an M5 Ultra Mac Pro, but it looks like it will be the M4 Ultra we see in June 2025: in October 2024, Gurman reported that Apple “continues to work on an M4”. version of the Mac Pro.
In his April 2024 report, Gurman said the Mac Pro would be part of Apple's focus on AI and would be upgraded with an M4 with enhanced AI capabilities. Gurman did not give any details on how these AI improvements will be implemented or any other specifications regarding the M4.
Since that report, Apple has revealed the M4 chip, first in the iPad Pro, then in the iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro. In our Geekbench 6 tests of the M4 Max chip arriving in October 2024, we found that it was faster than the M2 Ultra. Read: How Apple's M4 chips allayed all my fears about buying a new Mac.
While this is bad news for the M2 Ultra Mac Pro, it should mean good things for the M4 Ultra, and that's what will happen in the Mac Pro. We also know that it has an improved neural engine for AI features.
Presumably it will be an M4 Ultra type chip. Apple's M1 Ultra and M2 Ultra chips are essentially two Max chips that work together, but it has been reported that Apple will change the processor architecture so we could see higher performance than previous Ultra chips.
The Information reported in December 2024 that over the summer, Apple canceled a “high-performance chip for Mac” to focus on developing an AI server chip. As John Gruber pointed out, the timing of this Mac chip project suggests that the canceled chip was likely a chip dubbed “Extreme” that would be faster than an Ultra. Based on this report, the Mac Pro will receive Ultra chips for the foreseeable future.
Mac Pro M4: design and specifications
Gurman also reported that Apple wants to significantly increase the maximum amount of unified memory in high-end desktop M4 Macs to 512 GB. The current limit of the M2 Ultra Mac Pro is 192 GB. So the M4 Ultra Mac Pro could support more than twice the memory than the current M2 Ultra Mac Pro.
The Mac Pro will have Thunderbolt 5. When Apple released the M4 Pro/Mac MacBook Pro, it was upgraded to Thunderbolt 5, so the Mac Pro will follow suit. Learn more about Thunderbolt 5.
No further reports have been made on the inner workings of the upcoming Mac Pro. Because Apple wants to focus on AI, the Mac Pro could be marketed as an AI development workstation, so Apple can upgrade other components to meet those needs.
The Mac mini received a redesign in 2024, resulting in a much smaller device. The Mac Pro has had its design for 11 years, but no reports have been made on the design, and if Apple changes anything, it is very unlikely that the Mac Pro will be smaller because that doesn't work well worked last time.
The next Mac Pro upgrade is expected to keep the same design, but the internals will likely change, the main one being an M4 Ultra upgrade.
Foundry
Mac Pro M4: Price
Here are the prices of the current standard base configurations of the M2 Ultra Mac Pro for reference.
Apple expects customers to configure their orders, so prices will vary from these base specifications.
- $6,999/£7,199/CA$8,999/AU$11,999 Mac Pro Tour: M2 Ultra, 24-core CPU, 60-core GPU, 32-core neural engine, 64 GB unified memory, 1 TB SSD
- $7,499/£7,699/CA$9,599/AU$12,999 Mac Pro Rack: M2 Ultra, 24-core CPU, 60-core GPU, 32-core neural engine, 64 GB unified memory, 1 TB SSD
Pricing for the new Mac Pro hasn't been announced, although we expect it to stay the same in the US. The price could be adjusted to newer exchange rates elsewhere. We expect that in the UK the price will be similar to the US, for example: £6,999 instead of £7,199.
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