Apple discontinued the Mac Pro earlier this year, marking the end of a 20-year era for a computer that epitomized the pinnacle of the company’s desktop lineup. However, reports suggest that Apple had much grander ambitions for the machine prior to its replacement with the Mac Studio.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple was developing an M3 Extreme chip, which could have provided twice the CPU and GPU cores of the M3 Ultra. This processor was meant to occupy a tier above the Ultra variant, potentially giving the Mac Pro the significant performance enhancement it had sorely lacked. Ultimately, Apple scrapped this plan, citing concerns over production costs and limited demand for such a high-end device.
Apple Had Been Working on an Extreme Chip for Years
Speculation surrounding an Extreme-tier Apple chip first emerged in 2022 when Gurman revealed that Apple was working on an M2 Extreme for the inaugural Apple silicon Mac Pro. This ambitious processor was rumored to pack as many as 48 CPU cores and 152 GPU cores, effectively doubling the anticipated M2 Ultra configuration. However, the expensive manufacturing costs raised eyebrows. Gurman estimated that an M2 Extreme Mac Pro could have launched at a staggering price point of at least $10,000, making it an extravagant and niche offering.
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Engineering hurdles also reportedly hampered progress. Apple ultimately concluded that the costs related to development and production were hard to justify for a machine likely to sell in limited numbers. Bloomberg’s recent updates indicate that Apple later conceptualized an M3 Extreme chip before ultimately canceling that initiative for similar reasons.
The Chip Could Have Given the Mac Pro a Compelling Reason to Exist
Apple launched its initial Apple silicon Mac Pro in 2023, featuring the same M2 Ultra chip as the Mac Studio. While the Mac Pro provided PCIe expansion, it was priced at nearly double, yet offered almost identical CPU and GPU performance. An M3 Extreme could have altered this dynamic significantly. Gurman reports that this chip was engineered with double the CPU and GPU cores of the M3 Ultra, which currently maxes out with a 32-core CPU and an 80-core GPU.
Interestingly, Apple also developed an M3 Ultra Mac Pro that never saw the light of day. Consequently, the Mac Pro remained confined to its 2023 chip configuration until its discontinuation in March, with no immediate plans for a return.
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