Apple is bringing back the Mac Pro with new chips designed for 2023, marking the first significant update in four years and completing Apple’s transition to its own Arm-powered Silicon. The new Mac Pro will be available from June 13th for $6,999.
Brand-new Mac Pro comes with M2 Ultra
While the exterior of the new Apple Mac Pro remains the same as the previous Intel version, the internal changes are substantial. It will feature Apple’s M2 Ultra chip, six open PCIe Gen 4 slots for expansion, and eight built-in Thunderbolt ports. The Mac Pro can be configured with up to a 76-core GPU and 192GB of memory, boasting up to 3 times the performance of the old Intel version when fully specced.
The new Mac Pro introduces the M2 Ultra chip, which consists of two M2 Max dies connected with Apple’s UltraFusion technology. It offers a 24-core CPU and up to a 76-core GPU, 30 percent faster than the M1 Ultra. The chip is built on a 5nm process, doubling the memory bandwidth of the M2 Max and supporting 50 percent more memory than the M1 Ultra. The CPU performance is expected to be up to 20 percent faster than the M1 Ultra.
The Mac Pro includes six PCIe expansion slots based on Gen 4, providing fast and reliable support for professional creatives’ cards, monitors, and expansion needs.
With eight built-in Thunderbolt 4 ports (six at the rear and two on top), the new Mac Pro offers twice the number of Thunderbolt ports compared to its predecessor. It supports up to six Pro Display XDRs, as well as Wi-Fi 6E connectivity, Bluetooth 5.3, three USB-A ports, two “higher-bandwidth” HDMI ports (supporting up to 8K resolution and up to 240Hz frame rates), and two 10Gb ethernet ports. Additionally, it retains a headphone jack.
Apple began its transition to its M series of chips in November 2020, starting with the M1 chip in MacBook Air, Mac Mini, and MacBook Pro. The M2 chip was introduced last year and initially shipped in the MacBook Air.
