Apple is said to have scrapped the most expensive variant of its upcoming Mac Pro desktop. The most expensive Mac Pro would have two “M2 Ultra” socs together, but the price for the desktop would potentially be around $10,000.
The Mac Pro was initially slated for a release with a variant of the M1 soc, but Apple scrapped that plan, claims Bloomberg author Mark Gurman. Currently there is only an M2 and no ‘M2 Pro’, ‘M2 Max’ and ‘M2 Ultra’. The M2 is included in various models of MacBooks and in the latest iPad Pro.
There are Pro, Max and Ultra variants of the M1. These are included in the MacBook Pro models with 14″ and 16″ screens, while the M1 Ultra can be found as a variant in the Mac Studio desktop. The M1 Ultra is two M1 Max socks together. The soc in the most expensive Mac Pros would be four M2 Max socs together. That is expensive and complex to produce, while few customers would have the money for a computer that goes towards $ 10,000 in the basic configuration.
The Mac Pro should have come out this year. Apple had said all Macs would have to run on M-socs within two years. In addition, the company hinted at an early release of the Mac Pro in March when announcing the Mac Studio. The new Mac Pro, like the previous version, would have expandable memory and storage. Other Mac products don’t have that.
Production would also take place outside China. That is also a reason for the delay. The production of the Mac Pro parts takes place in China, after which the assembly for the American market takes place in Texas. That will no longer be the case. It is unknown in which Asian country the production will take place.