New Mac Pro and an ‘Extreme’ Chip: Here’s What the Latest Rumors Say

Apple last updated the Mac Pro with M2 Ultra chips in June 2023.

In short, the latest rumors about the Mac Pro suggest that the computer will be updated in the second half of 2025, powered by the yet-to-be-announced M4 Ultra chip.

Mac Pro: Timing

• When was the current model released? June 2023
• When is the new model expected to be launched? Second half of 2025, probably October to December

Mac Pro: What to know

Apple last updated Mac Pro with M2 Ultra chip at WWDC June 2023but the overall design of the desktop tower remains unchanged from 2019.

According to reports, the new Mac Pro will be launched in the second half of 2025 BurundiMark Gurman. If so, Apple will likely release the next-generation Mac Pro sometime between October and December next year. October is a common month for Mac releases, and the Mac Pro has received two updates in December since 2013.

Gurman talks about new Mac Pro Will be equipped with M4 Ultra chipwhich should significantly improve CPU performance compared to the M2 Ultra chip. The Mac Pro will also get hardware-accelerated ray tracing to improve graphics rendering in games, a technology introduced with the M3 series of chips. In addition, Gurman said that the next-generation Mac Pro can support up to 512GB of RAM, which is higher than the current limit of 192GB.

There are currently no rumors of other major upgrades or design changes for the next-generation Mac Pro.

For years, there have been rumors that Apple has developed a high-end, so-called “Extreme” chip for the Mac Pro. This chip is actually a “quadruple” version of the Max chip found in Macs. For example, a 16-core CPU will become a 64-core CPU. However, Gurman said Apple Plans for the “M2 Extreme” chip were canceled a few years agoand information Recent reports claim that Apple Plans for another “quadruple” chip were abandoned This “past summer”. Although we reported that this may make the “M4 Extreme” chip unlikely, bold fireballJohn Gruber makes a good point There is a long, multi-year gap between Apple designing and shipping new chips, so if development ended recently, the latest chip to be canceled may actually be an “M5 Extreme” or higher chip.

If there ends up being no “Extreme” chip in the next few years, the Mac Pro will likely continue to lack major differences compared to the Mac Studio, which is also expected to get an M4 Ultra chip update next year. Until now, the Mac Pro was essentially a larger, more expensive version of the Mac Studio with PCIe expansion slots.

If you’re currently in the market for a Mac Pro, we certainly recommend waiting for the new model, as the M4 Max chip in the latest 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models 25% faster than M2 Ultra In the current Mac Pro.

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