The Mac Pro tower is currently powered by the M2 Ultra chip. However, reports by industry experts suggested that Apple has been working on an “Extreme” chip for the Mac Pro. However, according to Daring Fireball, the company has axed its plans to develop an extreme performance M-series chip, at least temporarily.
The silicon design team at Apple, based in Israel, is currently focused on the development of upcoming Artificial Intelligence (AI) chips, adds Daring Fireball. The same team had led the transition of Mac from Intel to its own in-house M-series chips. It was tasked with the development of an “Extreme” performance chip for the Mac but due to changing industry trends, Apple has refocused the team’s efforts towards AI chips.
Extreme performance for the extreme professionals
As a result, Apple is unlikely to release a new Mac Pro which stands true to its name, by utilizing its large case. The initially rumored M2 Extreme was supposed to double up on the M2 Ultra’s power. Later reports from 2024, suggested that the M-series Extreme chip would be a cluster of four smaller chips. It would make sense, as the Mac Pro has a lot of space which makes it easy to cool a cluster of high-performance chips.
Currently, the Mac Pro and the Mac Studio both are powered by the M2 Ultra chip, which is a shame to the large Mac Pro tower. Both are great machines but both are supposed to be very different categories of machines. Based on the reports of halt in M-series Extreme chip development, a true Mac Pro is unlikely to launch in the next 2-3 years.
Daring Fireball’s Gruber notes that the development of the M-series Extreme chip was cancelled in the summer of 2024. Hence, it is likely that the chip was being developed as an M5 or M6 generation chip, scheduled to launch in 2025 or 2026.
