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Does the world need an M3 Mac Pro? It’s a question that’s surrounded the device since the Apple silicon generation supercharged much smaller devices like the Mac Mini.
Why have a massive PC tower when you can have a slightly less powerful cube on your desktop?
Even so, Apple hasn’t indicated any intention to discontinue the Mac Pro, so the release of an M3 version is still on the cards.
We’ve gathered all the information available, and some speculation, to work out if an M3 Mac Pro is coming and what it might look like.
M3 Mac Pro Release Date
There is no confirmed release date for the M3 Mac Pro. In fact, there isn’t even firm evidence that Apple will release one.
However, the rumour mill is suggesting that there will definitely be an M3 update for the Mac Pro either in 2024 or 2025. Mark Gurman at Bloomberg has repeatedly stated that a refresh to the device, probably with M3 Ultra chips, is on the way.
This may even happen at the same time as the release of the M3 Mac Studio and M3 Mac Mini. That would be an unexpectedly fast release though, considering we are expecting those two Macs to be announced at WWDC24 in June.
Considering the M2 Mac Pro was only released in June 2023, I can’t see Apple pumping out the Mac Pro M3 this soon. Apple is known for having a calculated, measured release schedule. They aren’t ones to chuck a product out for the sake of it.
On all the available evidence, we’re most likely looking at a 2025 release.
What Will The M3 Mac Pro’s Specs Be?
Whilst there is nothing concrete from Apple in terms of M3 Mac Pro specs, we can have a good educated guess from the previous M2 model.
The M2 Mac Pro is powered by an M2 Ultra chip. The M2 Ultra is basically two M2 Max chips combined together. Alongside this, the M2 Mac Pro has a whopping 60 GPU cores (the most of any existing Apple machine) and a 24-core CPU. In all, this made it the most powerful Apple machine when it was released.
Interestingly, Apple had plans to release a Mac Pro with two M2 Ultra chips but this never materialised. So it could come to pass that the M3 Mac Pro comes with two M3 Ultra chips.
Not only would this create a ridiculously powerful computer, but it would also provide an effective marketing angle. On the other hand, it would also make for a much higher price.
An M3 Mac Pro will likely have more GPU cores than its predecessor, considering the latest M3 Max MacBook Pro tops out at 40. This would also make it more attractive for users who are involved in things like video editing or graphic design.
More CPU cores also make sense, as does a larger Neural Engine.
Either way, we’ll get a much better sense of what we can expect from a Mac Pro M3 when the M3 Mac Studio is released.
M3 Mac Pro Price
This bit ain’t for the faint-hearted. The M2 Mac Pro costs a minimum of £7,199. It is a machine only for those who can fully justify the expenditure.
No one is sitting at home rocking a Mac Pro in their set-up. And if you are, please let me know how you became so rich.
The other thing to consider in terms of the M3 Mac Pro’s price is how Apple priced their release of the M3 MacBooks. Mercifully, Apple priced their base-level M3 MacBook Pro at $100/£100 less than the same-level M2 MacBook Pro.
I don’t expect this generosity with the M3 Mac Pro, especially if it has two M3 Ultra chips inside, but it might remain at the same price as the M2 version.
If Apple has any sense, that’s what they’ll do. If they raise the price to something near the $8000 mark, it’ll be incredibly hard to spin on release. Plus, an M3 Ultra Mac Studio will be so powerful that I find it hard to imagine anyone needing more.
Conclusion
As you can tell, there isn’t much information yet about the M3 Mac Pro. We don’t even know if there will be one.
And if there is, there surely can’t be much demand for it anyway. It’s well-known now that Mac sales have been nosediving for the last two years at least. People don’t have the money or desire to spend over $1500 on completely new hardware. The second-hand Apple Silicon market offers far too much value for money.
Will it be the death of the Mac Pro? I think Apple will give it one more throw of the dice.
Do you want to see an M3 Mac Pro? Let me know below!
