Apple Moves New Mac Pro Launch to Next Year

Apple is delaying the release of a much-awaited Mac Pro upgrade. The company introduced a new $5k iMac Pro for its professional customers earlier this year, but those waiting for a new Mac Pro will have to wait a bit longer.

Apple executives confirmed the delay today, stating that the new Mac Pro is a 2019 product. In Apple’s defence, the company didn’t really confirm 2018 as the release year for the new product. But this time around, Apple is explicitly stating 2019 as the release year for the product. “We want to be transparent and communicate openly with our pro community so we want them to know that the Mac Pro is a 2019 product. It’s not something for this year,” Apple executives said in an interview with TechCrunch. 

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Mac Pro is a much-awaited product for long-time, professional Mac customers. Although the new iMac Pro is the main high-end product of the year, many are waiting for a new Mac Pro as the new iMac Pro isn’t exactly affordable at $5,000.

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  • Scott Ross

    05 April, 2018 - 1:18 pm

    <p>Interesting,</p><p>I have a theory I wonder if it would run ARM processors? I wouldn't be surprised if they tried something so crazy. If that were to happen it would be the iphone x of computers…beta hardware. Then in 2020, boom a Mac Pro that worked most of the bugs out.</p><p>They did this in the past with the OG iPhone to iPhone 3gs, and the iPad to iPad2. </p>

    • Elindalyne

      Premium Member
      05 April, 2018 - 1:30 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#259938"><em>In reply to SRRLX1986:</em></a></blockquote><p>Absolutely not. Anyone using the Mac Pro for a legitimate reason won't be able to get by on ARM chips. Even if they're more powerful than they were in the past, they're not remotely close to being as powerful as the Xeon chips you'd find in a Mac Pro.</p>

      • thalter

        Premium Member
        05 April, 2018 - 1:50 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#259946"><em>In reply to Elindalyne:</em></a></blockquote><p>Also, many Mac Pro users (including myself) run other operating systems (Windows, Linux) in VMs using Parallels or Virtual Box. No amount of processor emulation can match speed of native x86 instructions for virtualization. </p>

    • jimchamplin

      Premium Member
      05 April, 2018 - 1:38 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#259938">In reply to SRRLX1986:</a></em></blockquote><p>Maybe as a co-processor. That might be a possibility, to accelerate iOS apps running on Macintoshes.</p>

    • skane2600

      05 April, 2018 - 5:24 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#259938"><em>In reply to SRRLX1986:</em></a></blockquote><p>I can't imagine a customer who wants a high-performance Mac, buying an expensive one that doesn't run their Mac applications or does so using an emulator. They might be better off buying a Mac Mini that would probably outperform such an ARM version. The primary issue in these transitions isn't really CPU performance, it's compatibility. </p><p><br></p><p>I just don't get this obsession with ARM everywhere. If ARM processors become just as fast as Intel's (or even if they already are) and somebody introduces a new OS that doesn't have any backwards compatibility issues, they could be a worthy competitor to the MacOS or Windows. I just don't see these emulation approaches being successful for several years, if it all.</p>

    • MikeGalos

      05 April, 2018 - 5:49 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#259938"><em>In reply to SRRLX1986:</em></a></blockquote><p>More likely they're planning on replacing the Intel Xeons with their own cloned x64 chip so they can increase their control and keep the pseudo-expandability they have gone with on the rest of their "Pro" lines. And, I'm sure they'll couch that lack of real expandability by having a requirement for Apple-spec memory and Apple-spec storage that are (slightly) more optimized for their processor but totally incompatible with any second source and they'll push that slight optimization as the reason they had the "courage" to go non-standard to "give their users the best".</p><p><br></p>

    • PincasX

      05 April, 2018 - 8:54 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#259938"><em>In reply to SRRLX1986:</em></a></blockquote><p>The current MacBook Pros already have ARM processors in the form of the Apple designed T1. I am guessing that all the rumors about ARM in future Macs isn’t Apple moving away from Intel but further utilization of ARM chips as co-processors that provide specific functionally. </p>

    • curtisspendlove

      12 April, 2018 - 9:15 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#259938"><em>In reply to SRRLX1986:</em></a></blockquote><p>I think it would pretty much be guaranteed to basically be an A-series processor. I can’t imagine them doing an x86 chipset. They would get virtually no benefit over existing x86 chips. </p><p><br></p><p>I just hope they have put thought enough into the developer story. It should be fine for Xcode development, they control and care about that stack. </p><p><br></p><p>But I love my Macs for web development. And I love that I can essentially seamlessly run the same stack I can on the server. I’m hoping that I don’t end up having to use my Mac as essentially a dumb terminal. At that point if offers me little beyond Windows or Linux (and might actually push me to considering WSL to be a superior solution). </p>

  • Chris_Kez

    Premium Member
    05 April, 2018 - 1:19 pm

    <p>If I was a "pro" waiting on this update, I would probably be feeling a bit annoyed and jerked around today. They released the current design in 2013. Three and a half years later (April 2017) they had a "transparency" briefing, wherein they told John Gruber, Matthew Panzarino, et. al. that they would be offering a small spec bump followed later by a full redesign. I think everyone kind of assumed that would come in 2018, though Apple never gate a time frame. Here we are a year later (almost to the day), and Apple is now saying to wait for 2019. Wow. </p><p><em>That</em> is courage. </p>

    • stvbnsn

      Premium Member
      05 April, 2018 - 1:43 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#259939"><em>In reply to Chris_Kez:</em></a></blockquote><p>And in 2019 WWDC introduce our brand new iPad Pro+ with keyboard! What’s a computer right, sorry pros you can go pound sand we here at Apple only really care about design now, you can do your work on Windows if you’re a big whiny baby! But hey you can get this new product in any shade of the rainbow you like! </p>

      • Polycrastinator

        05 April, 2018 - 3:40 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#259956"><em>In reply to stvbnsn:</em></a></blockquote><p>It's funny only because I really do want an iPad Pro to do some professional work. But.. not like this stuff.</p>

    • lvthunder

      Premium Member
      05 April, 2018 - 4:08 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#259939"><em>In reply to Chris_Kez:</em></a></blockquote><p>They just want you to buy an iMac Pro instead.</p>

  • shameermulji

    05 April, 2018 - 1:21 pm

    <p>"<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Apple is delaying the release of a much-awaited Mac Pro upgrade."</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Delayed based on what? This is a BS statement considering that when Phil Schiller first mentioned the new Mac Pro in 2017 he never explicitly stated when it was going to be released. All he said was that Apple was working on it.</span></p>

  • jimchamplin

    Premium Member
    05 April, 2018 - 1:40 pm

    <p>What about the Mac mini? Can't wait to hear about it.</p>

  • toukale

    05 April, 2018 - 1:58 pm

    <p>I followed this story closely last year and I don't remember them given a release date during that interview. That is a media created date.</p>

    • Stooks

      05 April, 2018 - 8:02 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#259983"><em>In reply to toukale:</em></a></blockquote><p>Please do not add FACT to this story, it jacks with the Link Bait.</p>

  • Brazbit

    05 April, 2018 - 2:01 pm

    <p>While you wait, please feel free to buy the same exact machine we introduced in 2013. Or if you want to really splurge you can get some underpowered 2016 parts added to the 2013 system. Oh and it's all still the same price it was at launch despite the components being as old as a first grader… </p>

    • Stooks

      05 April, 2018 - 8:01 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#259995"><em>In reply to Brazbit:</em></a></blockquote><p>Or the new iMac Pro that blows away the current Pro in every way. One that is the same price or lower than a equally configured Windows workstation.</p>

  • Skandalous

    Premium Member
    05 April, 2018 - 2:16 pm

    <p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">"In Apple’s defence, the company didn’t really confirm 2018 as the release year for the new product."</span></p><p><br></p><p>Then why does the first paragraph of this article explicitly state "Apple is delaying the release", which is wholly inaccurate? Apple never stated at all that the product would be released in 2018, and there's no evidence from the supply lines to indicate otherwise. </p>

    • shameermulji

      05 April, 2018 - 2:25 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#259998"><em>In reply to Skandalous:</em></a></blockquote><p>Exactly!</p>

  • webdev511

    Premium Member
    05 April, 2018 - 2:23 pm

    <p>Oh maybe they're kicking the can down the road to make sure Intel chips have the Specter and Meltdown fixes baked in. Have they used that one yet or are they saving it for later. </p><p><br></p><p>A the same time I'm still running an Ivy Bridge Xeon (10 core) on an x79 motherboard from 2011, so while I don't have THE best performance, it doesn't suck at all. Granted I upgraded to boot off of an m.2 and have a GPU from 2017, which you can't upgrade from the 2013 Mac Pro. The folks that are holding out are super hard core.</p>

  • PincasX

    05 April, 2018 - 2:43 pm

    <p>When Mehedi started writing for the site is was a breath of fresh air given that he stuck with reporting actual news. Now he seems to have picked up Paul’s blend of hyperbole, obfuscation and just making shit it packaged under a click bait headline. Trying to spin Apple providing its first timeline for when the machine will be released into a delay is really laughable. </p><p><br></p><p>The number of absurd headlines on this site in the last few weeks really gives the impression that Paul’s attempts to monetize his blog are really bombing and they are really desperate for clicks. </p>

    • Stooks

      05 April, 2018 - 8:00 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#260005"><em>In reply to PincasX:</em></a></blockquote><p>Ohh so true!!!!!!!!! </p><p><br></p><p>Also from a form and function perspective this site is so janky and laggy. Did they hire Mike Galos to create it with FrontPage 97??</p>

      • MikeGalos

        06 April, 2018 - 11:17 am

        <blockquote><a href="#260081"><em>In reply to Stooks:</em></a></blockquote><p>I doubt they could afford me.</p>

    • SupaPete

      06 April, 2018 - 8:17 am

      <blockquote><a href="#260005"><em>In reply to PincasX:</em></a><em> When Apple after years of neglect of the Mac Pro put things up in the vein that they'd listen and would make a new one, mind you, that was last year, it was not unreasonable of most to expect that then a new device would ship within 1 year, not within 2.</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>So yes, to most people this very much feels like a delay and for good reason.</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>Yes, if one wants to only tie it to did the company announce a date or not, then yes, they hadn't and so no, based on that there was no delay yet.</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>But in the tech world when there is no new model of a device within 1 or 2 years, most people would already start seeing that as delay.</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>When the only tower type desktop "pro" computer by Apple has not been refreshed for such a long time and the Macbook Pros etc been treated poorly for so long that there has been a major uproad among the mac userbase, so loud that Apple felt pressured to put out a statement to address it, and when they then in that put things in the vein that they are now pushing on it and it then still takes two years after that point, yeah, it is very reasonable to see that as a huge delay.</em></blockquote><p><br></p>

      • PincasX

        06 April, 2018 - 12:39 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#260169"><em>In reply to SupaPete:</em></a></blockquote><p>Sorry, not buying it. Criticizing Apple for the amount of time it has taken to address the Mac Pro is totally valid. Saying "<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Apple is delaying the release of a much-awaited Mac Pro upgrade" is a straight up fabrication for two reasons. First, Apple didn't delay anything. Second, there isn't much-awaited demand. There are a handful of people, at best, that are in the market for a Mac Pro. The way people carry on about it you would think there was some massive demand for the thing, but really it is just an easy target for people that are looking to criticize Apple. It allows them to come up with bullshit articles like this one. </span></p>

  • MikeGalos

    05 April, 2018 - 5:42 pm

    <p>True. They didn't REALLY confirm 2018 as the release year. Schiller just said in April 2017 that "<span style="color: rgb(85, 85, 85); background-color: transparent;">that will take longer than this year to do," and then never corrected the reasonable assumptions that Apple not being capable of</span> meeting the stated eight month away year-end deadline implied that they'd not be missing it by over one hundred and fifty percent. </p><p><br></p><p>Right now, the only thing they've "really" confirmed is a ship date no later than December 31, 2019 – a full 32 months after they announced this vaporware. And seeing how they've made no announcements of specs or pricing or expandability or capabilities or shown even a prototype, vaporware is the appropriate term.</p>

    • NT6.1

      05 April, 2018 - 7:23 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#260055"><em>In reply to MikeGalos:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>The last few pros on Mac need to move on.</p>

      • curtisspendlove

        06 April, 2018 - 11:14 am

        <blockquote><a href="#260071"><em>In reply to NT6.1:</em></a></blockquote><p>There are still quite a few. And for some Pro workflows it is superior in nearly every way to a Windows machine. </p>

        • MikeGalos

          06 April, 2018 - 5:56 pm

          <blockquote><a href="#260225"><em>In reply to curtisspendlove:</em></a></blockquote><p>Not if they're stuck using a Mac that's already five years out of date.</p>

          • curtisspendlove

            06 April, 2018 - 8:30 pm

            <blockquote><a href="#260350"><em>In reply to MikeGalos:</em></a></blockquote><p>Most of the ones that need the power have bought an iMac Pro or are cursing a newer MacBook. </p>

            • MikeGalos

              08 April, 2018 - 10:40 pm

              <blockquote><a href="#260363"><em>In reply to curtisspendlove:</em></a></blockquote><p>And those who bought the unexpandable iMac Pro had to buy it with all the expansion they'd need over its lifespan at introduction year pricing. Think you might need more RAM for Adobe Premiere's 2021 release? Buy it now at whatever price Apple asks since you've got no choice. They're cursing that as well.</p>

              • curtisspendlove

                12 April, 2018 - 9:05 pm

                <blockquote><a href="#260838"><em>In reply to MikeGalos:</em></a></blockquote><p>“Buy it now at whatever price Apple asks since you've got no choice.”</p><p><br></p><p>The people who needed to buy the iMac Pro are making crap-tons of money with it and are happy it is speeding up their workflows. </p><p><br></p><p>The ones that didn't need it, but bought it anyway, made a really poor choice. </p>

                • MikeGalos

                  17 April, 2018 - 2:35 pm

                  <blockquote><a href="#262496"><em>In reply to curtisspendlove:</em></a></blockquote><p>The problem isn't that they had to pay too much for a computer that meets their current needs. That's a predictable cost of doing business. The problem is that without expandability in the iMac Pro they have to pay NOW for needs several years out at today's prices rather than the lower prices for the same components at the time when they actually need them.</p><p><br></p>

                • curtisspendlove

                  20 April, 2018 - 6:14 pm

                  <blockquote><a href="#263532"><em>In reply to MikeGalos:</em></a></blockquote><p>“The problem is that without expandability in the iMac Pro they have to pay NOW for needs several years out at today's prices rather than the lower prices for the same components at the time when they actually need them.”</p><p><br></p><p>For those that are offended by that, they can choose other options. </p><p><br></p><p>Most computers are becoming commoditized. This will continue and is already baranchomg our to other manufacturers. Microsoft among them. </p><p><br></p><p>:: shrug ::</p><p><br></p><p>I honestly don’t think most people care much about that nowadays. </p>

                • MikeGalos

                  28 April, 2018 - 12:06 pm

                  <blockquote><a href="#264758"><em>In reply to curtisspendlove:</em></a></blockquote><p>The issue I'm talking about isn't commoditization, it's the lack of expandability in a supposedly "Pro" product.</p>

                • curtisspendlove

                  07 May, 2018 - 4:02 pm

                  <blockquote><a href="#266765"><em>In reply to MikeGalos:</em></a></blockquote><p>I get what you are saying. </p><p><br></p><p>What I’m saying is if I spend 5 years with a $20,000 (maxed-out) computer that brings in $500,000 per year…</p><p><br></p><p>I, and my business, don’t care that I have to buy another $20,000 computer in five years to make the next $2.5mil. </p><p><br></p><p>And, unless you’re “DIY”ing the upgrade (for example you LIKE building computers), buying the cheap device and upgrading later often costs more overall. (Who would have predicted the long crypto-currency effect on GPUs, for instance. I’m still holding off upgrading the family gaming rig until the prices are reasonable for what I want.)</p><p><br></p><p>Even when you can save some money with upgrades, one has to take the “opportunity cost” into the equation. </p><p><br></p><p>If I, or someone else, is spending the time upgrading a computer, is there a better use of that person’s time? </p><p><br></p><p>I daresay, in almost every case, that person could be better spending time on something higher value than saving a few thousand bucks over ten years. </p><p><br></p><p>(Honestly, if my children weren’t interested in the internals of the gaming rig, and didn’t want to spend time with me working on it as a hardware project, I’d just spend the money on a pre-built rig and we’d go for a drive to pick it up or go fly drones or whatever.)</p>

  • ianhead

    05 April, 2018 - 8:10 pm

    <p>I'm kinda glad that it's taken them this long, otherwise my 2013 trash can wouldn't have sold on Ebay for as much as it did.</p>

  • warren

    05 April, 2018 - 10:59 pm

    <p>How can literally every other computer manufacturer out there create new generations of their products with improvements to form factors, specifications, material quality….. and they do it year in and year out….. but Apple…. just…. somehow…. <em>can't</em>?</p><p><br></p><p>All this malarkey about "Apple never promised a Mac Pro for 2018" is not important or relevant. It should never, EVER take a self-respecting computer manufacturer SIX YEARS to iterate ONCE on specifications.</p><p><br></p><p>It's genuinely insulting to Apple's pro customer base (e.g. me before the 2010s) that in spring 2018, they are still charging $5,000+ for 2013 CPU technology. Those should be Xeon Gold or Xeon Platinum systems, like everyone else has. Sure, Apple's computers would still be hobbled compared to the competition due to the single-socket restriction in the trash can form factor. But at least it'd be something to keep customers from defecting to Windows and Linux. Which they are. </p><p><br></p>

    • BlackForestHam

      06 April, 2018 - 2:34 am

      <blockquote><a href="#260106"><em>In reply to warren:</em></a></blockquote><p><em>How can literally every other computer manufacturer out there create new generations of their products with improvements to form factors, specifications, material quality…</em></p><p><br></p><p>You live in a fantasy world if you believe that. </p>

    • Jules Wombat

      06 April, 2018 - 2:44 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#260106"><em>In reply to warren:</em></a></blockquote><p>They Obviously don't feel they need to hurry, maybe it will be awesome, juts like waiting for a new Console every three years. </p>

    • NT6.1

      06 April, 2018 - 7:14 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#260106"><em>In reply to warren:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>They just don't care about pros anymore.</p>

  • matsan

    06 April, 2018 - 2:09 am

    <p>For crying out loud – Just give us an Apple-branded mATX-sized motherboard and be done with it. Apple can include whatever BIOS, wifi, NIC they want but give the options and deliver an affordable solution!</p>

  • Bob Shutts

    07 April, 2018 - 7:01 pm

    <p>I’m actually fine with this if the extra time results in an upgradable unit. </p>

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