What's Happening With the Mac Pro?

Apple hasn't updated the Mac Pro since 2023, and according to recent rumors, there's no update coming in the near future. In fact, Apple might be finished with the Mac Pro.

Bloomberg recently said that the Mac Pro is "on the back burner" and has been "largely written off" by Apple. Apple apparently views the more compact Mac Studio as the ideal high-end pro-level desktop, and it has almost replaced the Mac Pro.

Apple is working on an M5 Ultra chip that will come out next year, but Bloomberg says the company is only planning to use it in the ‌Mac Studio‌, and not in an updated Mac Pro. Apple has no plans to update the Mac Pro in 2026 in a "significant way." If we are truly at the end for the Mac Pro, will we see Apple discontinue it when the next-generation ‌Mac Studio‌ launches?

The current ‌Mac Studio‌ has a newer, higher-end M3 Ultra chip that supports more CPU cores, more GPU cores, more maximum storage (16TB vs. 8TB), and more maximum unified memory (512GB vs. 192GB). The ‌Mac Studio‌ can support up to four 8K displays, while the Mac Pro is limited to three, and the Mac Pro doesn't have Thunderbolt 5.

The Mac Pro has fallen behind, and the gap will only increase with the launch of an M5 Ultra ‌Mac Studio‌. The only benefit that the Mac Pro offers over the ‌Mac Studio‌ is PCIe expansion slots. It's heavier, bulkier, and more expensive than the ‌Mac Studio‌ when comparing equivalent RAM and storage. For most people, there's no reason to choose a Mac Pro over a ‌Mac Studio‌, but some of Apple's high-end customers still need the space for things like RED capture cards and specialized audio interfaces.

Over the years, Apple has struggled with meeting the needs of pro users who want a desktop. The now-infamous "trash can" Mac Pro that came out in 2013 prioritized design over functionality, and the machine ended up being a failure. Apple was criticized for misunderstanding its pro user base because there was no space for internal upgrades like additional GPUs.

Apple was never able to update the trash can Mac Pro because it wasn't thermally capable of supporting rapidly evolving GPUs. In 2019, Apple unveiled a modular Mac Pro that had a more traditional enclosure able to support expansion with eight PCIe slots and three impeller fans. Apple did update the Mac Pro a couple of times after that, but it has once again been sidelined.

Apple is still selling the M2 Ultra version of the Mac Pro and it hasn't been discontinued or removed from the company's website. Until it's officially discontinued, there's a chance we could get another Mac Pro at some point in the future, but it doesn't sound like 2026 will be the year.