During the annual WWDC conference, Apple unveiled several new Mac computers. The company has expanded its lineup with the larger 15-inch MacBook Air, M2 Ultra-based Mac Studio, and the new, long-anticipated Apple Silicon-powered Mac Pro. Contrary to what many expected, the 2023 Mac Pro has retained the highly sophisticated design Apple revealed in 2019—it is the same big aluminum tower with three massive fans, a large motherboard, and tons of ports and expansion slots. See how the internals of the Intel-based Mac Pro compares with the new Apple Silicon variant:
Here is how the new Mac Pro compares to its predecessor and the Mac Studio, which many believed had replaced Apple"s most expensive desktop computer.
- Apple Silicon M2 Ultra replaces Intel"s Xeon W chips.
- RAM and GPU changes: you can no longer replace GPU and RAM as these components are now integrated into the SoC. Also, the max amount of RAM is limited to only 192GB.
- Storage improvements: the base config now has a 1TB user-removable solid-state drive.
- Improved connectivity: the new Mac Pro features Wi-Fi 6E support and Bluetooth 5.2.
- Improved ports and expansion slots: with the 2023 Mac Pro, you get eight Thunderbolt 4 ports, two HDMI, and 7 PCIe 4.0 slots (one pre-occupied with the Apple I/O ports card).
- Cheaper: Although the base price is the same, the maxed-out Mac Pro now costs almost five times less than its predecessor.
2023 Mac Pro vs. 2019 Mac Pro vs. Mac Studio
Here is the detailed spec-by-spec comparison:
| 2023 Mac Pro | 2019 Mac Pro | Mac Studio | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | 24-Core Apple M2 Ultra | 8-28-Core Intel Xeon W | 12-Core Apple M2 Max | 24-Core Apple M2 Ultra |
| RAM | 64-192GB unified | 32GB-1.5TB DDR4 | 32-96GB unified | 64-192GB unified |
| Graphics | 60/76-Core Integrated Graphics 2 video decode engines | AMD Radeon Pro W5500X 8GB AMD Radeon Pro W5700X 16GB AMD Radeon Pro W6600X 8GB AMD Radeon Pro W6800X 32GB AMD Radeon Pro W6900X 32GB AMD Radeon Pro W6600X Duo 64GB | 30/38-Core Integrated Graphics | 60/76-Core Integrated Graphics 2 video decode engines |
| Storage | 1-8TB SSD | 512GB-8TB SSD | 1-8TB SSD | |
| Display | 8x 4K displays 6x 6K displays 3x 8K displays | 12 4K displays 6x 5K displays | 8x 4K displays 6x 6K displays 3x 8K displays | |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 802.11ax 6E Bluetooth 5.3 | Wi-Fi 802.11ac | Wi-Fi 802.11ax 6E Bluetooth 5.3 | |
| Ports | 8x Thunderbolt 4 3x USB-A 2x HDMI 2x 10Gb Ethernet 7x PCIe 4 | 12x Thunderbolt 3 2x USB-A 2x 10Gb Ethernet 8x PCIe 3 | 4x Thunderbolt 4 | 6x Thunderbolt 4 2x USB-A 1x HDMI 2.1 1x 10Gb Ethernet 1x SDXC UHS-II |
| Price | $6,999-11,799 | $5,999-50,199 | $1,999-$8,799 | |
The 2023 Mac Pro is now available for preorder on the Apple Store. The company plans to deliver the first orders on June 13, 2023, alongside the new 15-inch MacBook Air and M2 Ultra-powered Mac Studio.
Apple"s newest tower computer is an interesting device targeting a niche audience. Most Apple devices use the "Pro" moniker to indicate a more expensive variant (there is nothing professional in the iPhone 14 Pro or AirPods Pro). However, with the Mac Pro, it makes sense—the only reason to give Apple $3,000 extra are those PCIe expansion slots. And they cannot be used for discrete graphics cards, so you must have a very specific set of peripherals to justify such an expensive purchase. If not, the Mac Studio with the M2 Ultra CPU seems more reasonable and affordable.