Unfortunately for Apple, the shift to utilising its own silicon processors throughout the whole Mac product range, with the enterprise-focused Mac Pro being the last to adapt, is not expected to be completed by the 2022 target date.

However, getting to the point where iOS applications can run natively in macOS on Mac Pros powered by Apple’s own M-series chip—which would also result in enhanced performance benefits and lower battery consumption—has been challenging, as was noted.

The shift of production away from China to avoid more taxes on Chinese-made items, the redesign of the M-chips to include a “Extreme” edition, and consumer concerns about rising prices have all been mentioned as reasons for the holdup.

The M2 Mac Pro Delay

Gurman said that beginning with the release of the M1 chip in 2020, Apple intends to switch production of its high-end workstations to its own silicon.

The most powerful chip in the Macbook Pro series at the moment, the M1 Max, was to be combined into a single processor in two different versions of the Mac Pro product.

The Mac series of computers, on the other hand, has not benefitted from simplification, and the dual M1 Max chip, later renamed the M1 Ultra, was ultimately launched with the Mac Studio, a line targeted at artists and other people who depend on resource-intensive operations.

According to Gurman, the hopes for an additional M2 Extreme chip, which would have consisted of four M2 Max chips stuck together and offered “up to 48 CPU cores and 152 graphics cores,” appear to be doomed. In its place, an M2 Ultra chip promising additional performance gains is reportedly in development.

The price of manufacturing and selling Mac Pros to consumers are the two main obstacles in the way of their widespread adoption.

Since the most powerful Apple silicon is so intricately designed to be the Mac Pro’s defining feature, moving manufacture to Texas during Trump’s administration would be a huge financial burden.

Apple’s primary motivations for the switch were to avoid higher tariffs on Chinese imports and to uphold a public commitment to grow the US economy. Both of these factors suggest that the move was a public relations (PR) exercise, and they are likely to have a negative impact on the company’s ability to make a seamless transition to using its own silicon.

An M2 Extreme Mac Pro, according to Gurman, would “definitely” cost “at least” $10,000 per unit, making it unfeasible to produce regardless of the current economic climate.

Forget the speculation; as a product, the Mac Pro is in a bind. It’s a niche product, of interest mostly to businesses who need the additional power it provides but hindered by the fact that the Mac Studio already exists.

The only Mac Pros you can buy right now are powered by Intel. There will almost certainly be a new model in the series, but it may not debut for some years and might not even include Apple-designed components.