Apple's Revamped Mac Pro to Launch in 2019

Apple's redesigned, modular Mac Pro aimed at professionals is set to launch in 2019, according to an update Apple recently provided to TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino, who took a trip to the company's Cupertino campus.

The team responsible for revamping Apple's pro product efforts was there to provide updated details both on the Mac Pro and how Apple is shaping it to meet the needs of real professional users.

2013 mac pro

Apple's current Mac Pro

Employees in the meeting included John Ternus, VP of Hardware Engineering, Tom Boger, Senior Director of Mac Hardware Marketing, Jud Coplan, Director of video Apps Product Marketing, and Xander Soren, Director of Music Apps Product Marketing.

Panzarino was told in no uncertain terms that the Mac Pro will not be arriving before 2019 as the product is still in development. From Tom Boger:

"We want to be transparent and communicate openly with our pro community so we want them to know that the Mac Pro is a 2019 product. It's not something for this year." In addition to transparency for pro customers on an individual basis, there's also a larger fiscal reasoning behind it.

Apple wants customers to know that the Mac Pro isn't coming in 2018 so those who are planning to make a purchase decision for a pro machine like the iMac Pro won't hold off in the hopes of a Mac Pro materializing later in the year.

In the time since Apple announced major changes for the next-generation Mac Pro last year, it has put together a "Pro Workflow Team" led by John Ternus, where employees who focus on pro-level products all work together.

Apple has also been hiring award-winning artists and technicians in an effort to understand the real workflows that creative professionals use to better tailor its products to them. The individuals shoot real projects and then use Apple's hardware and software to find "sticking points that could cause frustration and friction" for pro users.

Apple's Pro Workflow Team finds and addresses the issues that come up, even down to tiny details like tweaking a graphics driver, and it's not just Apple's products that benefit - the company's employees are also working with third-party apps. From Tom Bogar, senior Mac marketing director:

"We've gone from just you know engineering Macs and software to actually engineering a workflow and really understanding from soup to nuts, every single stage of the process, where those bottlenecks are, where we can optimize that," says Bogar.

The Pro Workflow team, in addition to improving current Apple products, is also an essential part of Mac Pro development. Their work is "definitely influencing" what Apple's planning for, with Apple achieving a "much much much deeper understanding" of pro customers, their workflows, and their needs. This understanding is "really informing" the work Apple is doing on the Mac Pro," according to Bogar.

No details were provided on the shape of the Mac Pro or the internal components that it might include, but Apple is still planning on a modular machine, as announced last year, so plans have not changed. Apple back then said that it was "completely rethinking" the Mac Pro, and that it is "by definition" a modular system. Apple at the time also said a pro display was in development alongside the new machine.

macproconcept1

A modular Mac Pro concept from Curved.de

Panzarino says we're not likely to hear any additional detail about the Mac Pro at WWDC in June, and that he expects Apple will keep quiet about the machine until next year.

Panzarino's full piece on Apple's efforts to tailor the Mac Pro and other pro-level products to meet professional needs, which goes into much greater detail, can be read over at TechCrunch.

Related Roundup: Mac Pro
Buyer's Guide: Mac Pro (Neutral)
Related Forum: Mac Pro

Top Rated Comments

Supermacguy Avatar
78 months ago
That's ****ing BS that they "still don't know how our users use our computers". What have they been doing for the last 9 years? Oh right, phones. It's a g**#amn shame they can't come to terms with Pro users' needs in a short amount of time and make that computer. How long have people on THIS MacRumors forum (specifically the Mac Pro section) be crying for a new cheesegrater/5,1 machine. A desktop computer isn't hard to design. The trashcan is trash and never should have been made. Pro's don't give a crap about desk space or how pretty it looks for the most part. Ports, easy expansion, long unit life, the ability to put new cards and multiple drives, preferably easy chip updates too. HOW CAN ANYONE AT APPLE NOT KNOW THIS?? BUILD A NEW 5,1 and we will buy it.
Score: 98 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ktecac Avatar
78 months ago
*Boardroom filled with Pro Workflow Team members, all thinking hard*
"Guys... get this... what if we let the customers... upgrade the RAM... themselves?"

*head explodes*
Score: 93 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dilster3k Avatar
78 months ago
Bizarre to imagine the development gap in-between 2013 to 2019 for the pro users... Unacceptable.
Score: 85 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AZREOSpecialist Avatar
78 months ago
Teams are Cook's solution for everything. More layers, more people talking and not doing. What was wrong with the 2010 Mac Pro tower? Even today it would fit in well with Apple's lineup. It didn't need to redesign the damn thing in 2013, all it had to do was keep pace with current technology. Think about it... had Apple simply upgraded the tower with current components, we would have a competitive Mac Pro today with all available technologies, the latest Intel processors and the fastest RAM. But no... Apple has to figure out a way to throw way more money at something that shouldn't have been a problem in the first place.

There's something very wrong with Apple's thinking here.
Score: 85 Votes (Like | Disagree)
moabal Avatar
78 months ago
What about the Mac Mini though?
Score: 84 Votes (Like | Disagree)
locovaca Avatar
78 months ago
Man, this sure read like a lot of marketing speak for “we still don’t know what to do with the Mac Pro”
Score: 69 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...