Mac Pro Replacement Due in 2018

According to John Gruber of the Mac blog Daring Fireball, Apple is set to release a replacement for the Mac Pro in 2018:

“Apple is currently hard at work on a “completely rethought” Mac Pro, with a modular design that can accommodate high-end CPUs and big honking hot-running GPUs.”

Apple enthusiasts, tech journalists, and even die-hard Apple fans had all but given up on a new Mac Pro. It has been years since a refresh, and there was no announcement in sight. The biggest issue with the existing Mac Pro is the lack of upgradability. This news, along with suggestions that the future model will provide modular upgrades is good news. The bad news, of course, is that it will be well into 2018 before it goes on sale.

Fortunately, there is more good news. Until the new Mac Pro is released, Apple is upgrading the existing Mac Pro lineup. The $2999 model goes from 4 Xeon CPU cores to 6, and from dual AMD G300 GPUs to dual G500 GPUs. The $3999 model goes from 6 CPU cores to 8, and from dual D500 GPUs to dual D700 GPUs. Unfortunately, nothing else changes, no 5k display support, no USB-C, etc. Every single one of those features will come with the 2018 revision.

This announcement couldn’t have come at a better time for Apple. There was a growing feeling that Apple no longer cared about the enthusiast or professional market, instead focusing all its effort on iOS and the iPhone. For another year at least, this should put those complaints to rest.