Plugin

Advertisement

Mac Pro high-end M2 Extreme chip scrapped: Bloomberg | Jobs Vox

[ad_1]

It’s late 2022, and Apple has missed its goal of switching all Macs from Intel to M-series chips within two years. The Mac Pro is one such model, as Apple has yet to release a version powered by the M1 or M2 chip. New account Bloomberg Mark Gurman claims that Apple is still testing the M2 Ultra System-on-Chip (SoC) inside the Mac Pro. But the company has discontinued the top-end SoC variant, unofficially named M2 Extreme.

Additionally, Apple has made changes to the Mac Pro supply chain, which could further delay plans for the M2-powered version. Apple is reportedly planning to manufacture the new Mac Pro in Vietnam, removing parts of the current US-based assembly line.

Gurman recently wrote a new one PoweOn A newsletter focusing on the Mac Pro desktop.

The best possible computer Apple makes hasn’t seen an update in years. It is also a very niche computer aimed at specific professionals with special computing needs.

The report notes that “multiple changes to its specifications, a major shift in the company’s plans for high-end processors, and a potential shift in its production” have hampered Apple’s plans to launch the Mac Pro.

Apple is still testing the all-new Mac Pro, but there’s no estimated release date. The company was planning two Mac Pro configurations featuring different SoC variants based on the M1 Max. Then Apple switched to the new M2 chip.

The Mac Pro should have an M2 Ultra variant. The SoC will have 24 CPU cores, 76 GPU cores and 192GB of RAM. The “M2 Extreme” variant would be two M2 Ultras paired together. This would double the CPU and GPU cores for even more impressive performance.

iPhone 14 Pro in front of Mac Studio
iPhone 14 Pro in front of Mac Studio Image credit: Jonathan Geller, BGR

However, the cost and complexity of manufacturing the chip, which is “essentially a combination of four M2 Max chips,” convinced Apple to cancel the project. The M2 Extreme Mac Pro will cost at least $10,000. But it wouldn’t sell in large enough numbers to justify the development and production costs.

Gurman says that the next Mac Pro will have a new generation M2 Ultra chip. The PC will support “easy expansion for additional memory, storage and other components.”

Production of the new Mac Pro will move to Vietnam now that Apple doesn’t have to deal with pressure from the Trump era to manufacture goods in the US. The final steps in the production of the current Mac Pro take place in the States. It’s a concession by Apple to avoid headwinds from the previous administration.

Finally, Gurman says Apple will also update the Mac mini, giving it M2 and M2 versions. Additionally, the M2 Pro and M2 Max 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro variants will arrive next year. An iMac Pro update is also in the works. But it’s delayed for the same reasons as the Mac Pro.

[ad_2]

Source link

Implement tags. Simulate a mobile device using Chrome Dev Tools Device Mode. Scroll page to activate.

x