As the year draws to a close, Apple faces an uncomfortable truth about Apple Silicon, the macOS platform in general, and the Mac Pro in particular. Apple’s deadline to switch the entire Mac range to the ARM-based Apple Silicon by the end of 2022 was missed.
Where’s the new Mac Pro?
Apple’s new Mac Pro is on display in the showroom during Apple’s global developer conference … [+]
That’s not to say the Apple Silicon project failed. Taking a step back, it’s a clear achievement that has propelled the rest of the industry forward. This failure is about commitments set in 2020.
During this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference, the company said in June that “Apple plans to ship the first Mac using Apple silicon by the end of the year and complete the transition in about two years.”
With some wiggle room, the end of 2022 has become the accepted deadline. Every other Mac has migrated to first-generation hardware, new hardware has appeared in the form of the Mac Studio, and some models have transitioned to second-generation chipsets.
The Mac Pro is stuck in 2019. At Intel.
Apple Silicon has many selling points, from longer battery life in the Mac laptops, more efficient use of power on the desktop, lower operating temperatures all round, tighter ties to the operating system that allow for tighter code and an improved environment, and so on . But the crux of the matter is the performance, more precisely the increase in performance at the same cost.
Mac Pro has always been the synthesis of that vision. The Mac at the top of the portfolio that comes with the most outstanding specs, uncompromised performance, and around $700 wheels to wheel it through your office. Would it sell in large numbers? no Would it help define what it means to be a Mac? Yes. And that impression sells the full range of Macs to consumers across the portfolio.
Instead, we have a noticeable gap in the Mac lineup; a gap Apple said it would fill, and a gap that those who need as much performance as possible from their Macs expected to be filled now.
Perceptions are just as important as reality.
Are there any practical reasons for the delay? There is no doubt. Perhaps the biggest mistake was not communicating this to the community. Apple may not be in the habit of speaking directly to customers with a clear intent and goal… but how easy and more honest it would have been to say, “We’re behind on the Mac Pro, give us a few more months” during of the iPhone event in September?
Apple senior executives have conducted several interviews over the past six months to talk about Apple’s portfolio, some on the mainstream and some on the specialized online sites. Another opportunity to raise expectations and turn that missed deadline into a positive message.
Because the question is no longer ‘When will the Mac Pro be released?’ but ‘Will Apple ever release a Mac Pro?’
This lack of confidence in Apple’s marquee product is an unsettling way to end the year.
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