Information has come out that Apple is planning a new Mac Pro model, one that will be half the size of the Mac Pro 2019 as part of their 2-year programme to move the entire Mac range over to Apple Silicon.

It is being reported that Apple is testing new Arm-based SoCs (System On Chip) with as many as 32 high-performance cores for higher-end desktop computers (compared to the 4 high-performance cores in the M1 SoC), which you can read more about in our article Apple MacBook Pro M1X Processor Leaked - Find Out More - UPDATED

In addition, we learnt about a new half-sized Mac Pro planned to launch by 2022, that Bloomberg reported in November 2020 saying…

“Apple engineers are currently developing a new ‌Mac Pro‌ that looks like the current design at about half the size. It's unclear if that Mac will replace the current ‌Mac Pro‌ or if it's an additional model. Apple's chip designs could help the company reduce the size of its computers due to increased power efficiency, but the current ‌Mac Pro‌ is large, in part, to fit components like additional storage drives and graphics chips.”

In a report in mid-January 2021, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman gave more details about the new Mac Pro models.

Updated Full-Size Mac Pro With Intel Chips

The first updated ‌Mac Pro‌ is designed to replace the Mac Pro 2019 ‌Mac Pro‌ using the same design and be equipped with Intel processors rather than Apple silicon chips, with a suggestion it could be the only machine in the Mac lineup to continue to use Intel technology.

Half-Size Mac Pro With Apple Silicon Chips

The second new Mac Pro will be half the size of the current Mac Pro and will use Apple silicon chips, placing it between the existing ‌Mac Pro‌ and the Mac mini. The new Mac Pro mini will feature a similar aluminium exterior, and Mark suggests that it could "invoke nostalgia" of the old Power Mac G4 Cube.

More Powerful Graphics

When it comes to graphics it is understood that Apple is already testing 16-core and 32-core graphics chips, with even more powerful custom graphics in the works…

“For later in 2021 or potentially 2022, Apple is working on pricier graphics upgrades with 64 and 128 dedicated cores aimed at its highest-end machines, the people said. Those graphics chips would be several times faster than the current graphics modules Apple uses from Nvidia and AMD in its Intel-powered hardware.”

Not Until 2022

With next-gen processors, we are getting a glimpse of what might be in an Apple Silicon powered Mac Pro wth 32 high-performance processor cores and 64 or even 128 graphics processor cores as well. Now that would be an Apple computer for the professional, but not before 2022.