Apple is developing two versions of the Mac Pro as a successor to the Mac Pro that was first released in December 2019, according to a new report from Bloomberg.
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The first updated Mac Pro is a direct successor to the current Mac Pro and will use the same design. It may also feature Intel processors instead of Apple silicon chips, and it could be one of the only machines in the Mac lineup that continues to rely on Intel technology. Rumors suggest that most other machines are switching to Apple silicon.
The second machine will use Apple silicon chips and will be less than half the size of the current Mac Pro, placing it somewhere between the existing Mac Pro and the Mac mini. It has a largely aluminum exterior, and Bloomberg suggests it might “evoke nostalgia” for the Power Mac G4 Cube.
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Apple is testing Apple silicon chips with as many as 32 powerful cores for its desktop computers, and graphics options with 16 to 32 cores are also in the works. However, for the most advanced machines, Apple is developing more expensive 64- and 128-core GPUs, which are said to be several times faster than the graphics options Apple uses from AMD.
There is no word on when the two new Mac Pro models will be released. Apple is working to transition its Mac lineup to Apple silicon chips, a process expected to take two years. In an earlier report, Bloomberg said the Apple silicon Mac Pro was slated to launch by 2022.