Apple is testing a new version of the Mac Pro running macOS 13.3, according to a tweet shared by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today. Given that macOS 12.3 was released in March 2022 and macOS 11.3 was released in April 2021, it's likely that macOS 13.3 will be released in the spring as well. This timeframe could set the stage for Apple to introduce the Mac Pro at a spring event, shortly before releasing macOS 13.3 with support for the computer. The new Mac Pro is expected to feature Apple's new M2 Ultra chip, but a higher-end "M2 Extreme" chip was reportedly canceled.

Earlier this week, Gurman said the new Mac Pro will have the same design as the 2019 model, but lack user-upgradeable RAM.

In an October edition of his newsletter, Gurman said the long-awaited 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips would also be tied to macOS 13.3, suggesting that the notebooks could be announced this spring as well.

Gurman has previously claimed that a new Mac mini is in the works with M2 and M2 Pro chip options, but he hasn't commented on the Mac mini recently. It's certainly possible that it gets announced alongside the new Mac Pro and MacBook Pro models. In the meantime, Apple continues to sell Intel-based Mac Pro and Mac mini configurations.

Apple has not released any new Macs since the MacBook Air with the M2 chip in July.

Article Link: New Mac Pro With M2 Ultra Chip Might Launch This Spring Alongside macOS 13.3

If the only advantage of this Mac Pro over the Mac Studio is being able to upgrade storage and graphics, for likely a few thousand dollar premium, this will be one of the most niche Mac Pros ever.

Just take my money now!!!
All kidding aside, I need to replace the studio's 2013 MP D700.
Hoping this new unit will comply with our needs

I would guess it’s announced at WWDC in June, like the 2019 Mac Pro was. It’s running an unreleased OS now (with special secret features like GPU expansion maybe?) doesn’t mean it’ll launch when that OS update does.

Unless maybe there is an earlier announcement of the AR glasses, maybe they’re announced together. Not holding my breath for that one though.

How can you call something a pro machine if you can't even upgrade RAM? What a joke.

Seems like they were building toward something else, but have reneged to the current design. Which isn’t a bad thing. Most of the other Macs stayed with the current design for a first pass. But it sounds like they’ll have to play the really fast and powerful card, rather than expandability. Unless, one could swap out the entire SoC if they wanted, for a range of scaled variants. That could be kind of cool.

Will be very disappointed if new M2 minis aren't announced at WWDC or sooner.

Hopefully, it comes with more GPU power. My fingers are crossed it's not an incremental upgrade. Also, what's going on with Mac Mini? (Last update: November 2020)

temende said:

If the only advantage of this Mac Pro over the Mac Studio is being able to upgrade storage and graphics, for likely a few thousand dollar premium, this will be one of the most niche Mac Pros ever.

That became true with the 2019 Mac Pro. I ultimately had to go with the 2019 i9 iMac because the base specs of the Mac Pro were ridiculous for $6,000.

atonaldenim said:

I would guess it’s announced at WWDC in June, like the 2019 Mac Pro was. It’s running an unreleased OS now (with special secret features like GPU expansion maybe?) doesn’t mean it’ll launch when that OS update does.

Unless maybe there is an earlier announcement of the AR glasses, maybe they’re announced together. Not holding my breath for that one though.

I think it will announce in WWDC too. I however got a lot of heat in the past stating Apple doesn’t announce this kind of stuff at WWDC. I don’t agree but you might get the same responses

TBH, I was expecting Apple to wait for the M3. The M2 is an upgrade of the M1, but not very significant.

If this really is going to be the new Mac Pro, I won't expect any signs of an M3 for at least 2 more years. I cannot imaging Apple launching this new Mac Pro and have an updated M3 version coming in 2024.

DaPizzaMan said:

How can you call something a pro machine if you can't even upgrade RAM? What a joke.

I guess the new definition of pro will be someone who knows how much RAM they will need for the lifetime of the computer. Kidding aside, maybe they will offer it with an amount of RAM that will be overkill as will be the eye-watering price.

TheYayAreaLiving 🎗 said:

Hopefully, it comes with more GPU power. My fingers are crossed it's not an incremental upgrade. Also, what's going on with Mac Mini? (It's still carrying Intel's chipset).

yes. Binned CPUs stacked togther to form a GPU only afterburner type plug in card (s)!

DaPizzaMan said:

How can you call something a pro machine if you can't even upgrade RAM? What a joke.

Upgrading RAM is enthusiastic level not pro level. I never upgrade my RAM. Businesses I worked for in the past never upgraded RAM. We bulk order products. I use my system for work not opening it up. If my system starts lacking RAM, I order a new one which will also come with better CPU, type/speed of memory, faster SSD, better GPU etc.

You need to plan properly so you don’t fall into this trap of constant upgrades. It’s good to over buy ahead of time from a CapEx perspective where you value your computer purchase across many years. This is what I did for my Mac Studio. I have stalled on 32GB of RAM for about a decade now, but I went ahead and upped it to 64 since I want my Studio to last a good 4-5 years.

Your mileage can very! Want to upgrade? Go ahead! But the whole concept of “Pro NEEDS to be upgradeable” needs to just stop.

Still waiting on a replacement for the 27 inch iMac. The almost 2 year old M1 iMac is not the same thing.

This is the machine I'm the most curious to see from Apple. Will they ever let you expand thing like ram, does it mean you have to buy a card with additional GPUs and CPU to get that ram? What will it look like? A cassette?

Should be good!

Apple has never built anything that deserves the "pro" branding. They are just a lifestyle company.

When it comes to high end computers, they always were behind what Dell or HP offered.

If the Mac Pro really comes with only 192 GB or RAM, that is a joke. HP allows up to 3 TB of RAM. There are applications were you really need that much. Ich wonder why there is no way to combine Intel and Apple silicon in a single machine. Such a machine could offer the best of both worlds.

Ethosik said:

Upgrading RAM is enthusiastic level not pro level. I never upgrade my RAM. Businesses I worked for in the past never upgraded RAM. We bulk order products. I use my system for work not opening it up. If my system starts lacking RAM, I order a new one which will also come with better CPU, type/speed of memory, faster SSD, better GPU etc.

You need to plan properly so you don’t fall into this trap of constant upgrades. It’s good to over but ahead of time from a CapEx perspective where you value your computer purchase across many years.

Your mileage can very! Want to upgrade? Go ahead! But the whole concept of “Pro NEEDS to be upgradeable” needs to just stop.

Click to expand...

And just because YOU don't have to upgrade, does not mean other professionals don't. I work in IT, and we upgrade machines all the time - ESPECIALLY the RAM and hard drive (swapping to SSD, or upgrading storage size).

TheYayAreaLiving 🎗 said:

Hopefully, it comes with more GPU power. My fingers are crossed it's not an incremental upgrade. Also, what's going on with Mac Mini? (It's still carrying Intel's chipset).

What are you talking about? Mac Mini comes with the Apple chips.

temende said:

If the only advantage of this Mac Pro over the Mac Studio is being able to upgrade storage and graphics, for likely a few thousand dollar premium, this will be one of the most niche Mac Pros ever.

I wonder if you will even be able to upgrade the graphics? Storage might be the only upgradable part. That would be a huge letdown.

DaPizzaMan said:

And just because YOU don't have to upgrade, does not mean other professionals don't. I work in IT, and we upgrade machines all the time - ESPECIALLY the RAM and hard drive (swapping to SSD, or upgrading storage size).

That just proves the argument. Blanket “Apple shouldn’t call ANYTHING Pro unless it does X” needs to stop. Pros vary in thousands of ways. Just because it might not have upgradeable memory doesn’t mean it’s not a pro device.

Now things like PlayStation 4 Pro? I agree, pro name branding is useless here.

Ethosik said:

That just proves the argument. Blanket “Apple shouldn’t call ANYTHING Pro unless it does X” needs to stop. Pros vary in thousands of ways. Just because it might not have upgradeable memory doesn’t mean it’s not a pro device.

I never said it's not a pro device. I said it's a joke of a pro device. There are other devices that are just as capable for pros with even more upgradability. There's no reason for them not to offer upgradable RAM.

DaPizzaMan said:

I never said it's not a pro device. I said it's a joke of a pro device. There are other devices that are just as capable for pros with even more upgradability. There's no reason for them not to offer upgradable RAM.

Look at the comment I responded to initially. You were saying this shouldn’t be called pro because of lacking upgradeable RAM. Look at the context of my post to understand why I said what I said. No it’s not a “joke” to call this a Mac Pro.

Skyscraperfan said:

Apple has never built anything that deserves the "pro" branding. They are just a lifestyle company.

When it comes to high end computers, they always were behind what Dell or HP offered.

If the Mac Pro really comes with only 192 GB or RAM, that is a joke. HP allows up to 3 TB of RAM. There are applications were you really need that much. Ich wonder why there is no way to combine Intel and Apple silicon in a single machine. Such a machine could offer the best of both worlds.

Production, VFX, and post studios aren't running HP and Dell in their offices lol. This is quite out of touch with reality.