Apple puts its new high-end Mac Pro desktop systems on the 'back burner'

Apple has pushed its new high-end Mac Pro desktop systems to the 'back burner' with its new flagship M5 Ultra processor aimed at the new Mac Studio.

Apple puts its new high-end Mac Pro desktop systems on the 'back burner'
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Gaming Editor
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2-minute read time
TL;DR: Apple has reportedly paused development of a new high-end Mac Pro, canceling the M4 Ultra chip update. Instead, Apple is focusing on the Mac Studio with the upcoming M5 Ultra processor, indicating no significant Mac Pro updates are expected in 2026 despite its previous importance in the Mac lineup.

Apple is reportedly no longer cooking up a new high-end Mac Pro desktop, with an insider saying that the system has been put on the "back burner".

Apple puts its new high-end Mac Pro desktop systems on the 'back burner' 208
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We all remember the Apple Mac Pro system that looked like a trash can, but its unique design didn't do so well, and in the end Apple apologized about it. There was a bigger issue with the Mac Pro at the time, as Apple executives later admitted that the design backed the company into a "thermal corner", meaning it was close to impossible to upgrade the processor without causing the Mac Pro to overheat.

Apple changed things up big time with its totally redesigned Mac Pro desktop that had a traditional design over the oh-my-gosh unique style of the one from 2013. Apple promised at the time that the Mac Pro family would be updated regularly, and would remain an important part of the Mac family... but we all know that didn't happen.

The next major update to the Mac Pro was in 2023, which is when Apple moved from traditional desktop processors to its new in-house M2 Ultra Mac Pro system. It's been over two years since the M2 Ultra Mac Pro hit the market, and its new Mac Studio has overtaken it with the more powerful M3 Ultra chip inside, but the Mac Pro hasn't been updated.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says that this won't be changing any time soon, and that Apple doesn't have an M4 Ultra in the ovens, and that an M4 Ultra Mac Pro was nixed, and that the new high-end desktop chip will be the upcoming M5 Ultra. But so far, Apple is only focused on a new Mac Studio for its flagship M5 Ultra processor, which Gurman says "suggests the Mac Pro won't be updated in 2026 in a significant way".