The IT Nerd

I don’t know what Apple is thinking here, but after seeing Apple launch the Mac Pro with the M2 Ultra chip alongside the Mac Studio with an option for an M2 Ultra chip, I don’t see any reason why anyone would want to buy a Mac Pro. Why do I think this is the case? Let me list the reasons why:

• There’s a $3K USD difference between the Mac Studio with the M2 Ultra and the Mac Pro: Keep in mind that they come with exactly the same M2 Ultra chip. So logic suggests that even though the Mac Pro might have a bit more thermal headroom because of the bigger chassis, which means that sustained workflows in theory should perform better on the Mac Pro, the performance differences likely won’t be huge. Thus, who would buy the Mac Pro if you would get almost the same performance from the Mac Studio for way less money? I wouldn’t.
• The Mac Pro isn’t as expandable as you think It Is – Part 1: Sure the Mac Pro comes with PCI-E slots. But you really can’t do much with them. For example, there are no options for GPUs. That’s going to be a #fail for a lot of people. And whatever PCI-E cards you can use in this new Mac Pro are likely to be for rather unique use cases. For example, you need more internal high speed storage, or some sort of specialized PCI-E card for some highly specialized workflow. Thus this reduces the appeal of the Mac Pro.
• The Mac Pro isn’t as expandable as you think It Is – Part 2: Just like every other Apple Silicon computer, you can’t expand the RAM after you buy it. Which means that you may be forced to max the machine out from the start. But it’s actually worse than that. If you have a workload that requires more than the 192GB of RAM that the Mac Pro can be configured from the factory, you’re out of luck.
• The Mac Pro isn’t as expandable as you think It Is – Part 3: While there are disk upgrade options available from Apple for the Mac Pro that you can install after purchase, those upgrade options are insanely expensive. And while the Mac Pro does come with two SATA connectors inside the case for say an internal SSD or two, most people will not use them as that will be a drop in speed versus the on board storage. Which means that many may choose external storage options instead. And that may push many to buy the Mac Studio as opposed to the Mac Pro.
• More Thunderbolt 4 Ports Mean Nothing For Most: For some, having two extra Thunderbolt four ports in the Mac Pro (8 as opposed to 6 in the Mac Studio) may be important to their workflow as it allows them to connect more Thunderbolt 3/4 devices. I don’t know who those people are. Perhaps they’re the people who need additional storage as I highlighted in my previous point. If you’re one of those people who needs 8 Thunderbolt 4 ports, please enlighten me as to why this is important to you by leaving me a comment below. But for most 8 Thunderbolt 4 ports is a non-factor.

Based on the above, I don’t expect the Mac Pro to sell well except for those who have very specific use cases that require what the Mac Pro has to offer over the Mac Studio. I also think that those who are current owners of the Intel version of the Mac Pro who have been waiting for an Apple Silicon version to come out will likely go to the Mac Studio instead of buying the Mac Pro. I say that because for many of those owners, this Mac Pro really seems like a bigger and More expensive Mac Studio with PCI-E slots, but the same inability to expand the RAM and use GPUs. So there’s no point for them to upgrade to anything other than the Mac Studio. The Mac Pro leaves me with the impression that Apple put this out there simply to kill the Intel Mac Pro and declare the transition to Apple Silicon complete. If that’s the case, then Apple really has disappointed a lot of people who expected better. Because the Mac Pro is basically dead on arrival.

This entry was posted on June 8, 2023 at 9:30 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Apple. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.