Apple reportedly had an M1-powered Mac Pro ready to ship months ago but decided against launching it. Instead, the company decided to unveil an M2 Extreme-powered version later this year.
The Cupertino giant is seemingly also not working on redesigning the Mac mini anytime soon.
M1 Mac Pro was ready to ship months ago
In an interview with YouTuber Max Tech, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reveals that Apple had an “M1 Mac Pro ready to go months ago.” However, the company scrapped its release and decided to wait for the more powerful “M2 Extreme” version.
This is because of the semiconductor shortage and better management of resources. With TSMC fabricating all of Apple’s chips, the company needs to manage its resources accordingly.
The reporter believes the Cupertino company will preview the Apple silicon Mac Pro by the end of this year. The machine will then go on sale by spring next year. Apple seemingly planned to preview the Mac Pro at WWDC22, but that did not pan out due to semiconductor shortage and supply chain issues.
The entry-level Mac Pro will feature the M2 Ultra, with the Extreme chip reserved for high-end models.
Rumors suggest the M2 Pro/Max chips will feature more cores for the CPU and GPU. Like the M2 chip inside the new MacBook Air, the Pro/Max version should bring about a 20-40% performance jump. So, the M2 Ultra should also offer a similar performance uplift compared with M1 Ultra. As for the M2 Extreme, it will basically be two M2 Ultras fused together to deliver even better performance.
Don’t expect M2 Mac mini to launch with a new design
Gurman believes the upcoming M2 Mac mini won’t come with a redesigned chassis. The current Mac mini looks similar to the Mac Studio, so it would be odd for Apple to refresh the former’s design.
On the bright side, Apple plans to launch an M2 and M2 Pro version of the Mac mini. The Pro variant will replace the now-discontinued high-end Intel Mac mini.
Apple has several products in the pipeline that are due to launch later this year or early 2023. Apart from the iPhone 14 series, it is also working on M2 iPad Pro, Apple Watch Series 8 and a new low-cost iPad with a USB-C port.
