In the Mac family Apple offers various types of computers for various types of use. From the Mac Book Air to the Mac Book Pro through the Mac mini and Mac Pro. At the top of the range we find the Mac Pro, the most powerful computer of the company that is offered for the most demanding professional tasks. A Mac Pro of which, with all the transition to Apple silicon , we expect a renewal .
What will be the designs of the new Mac Pro of 2021?
The cylindrical Mac Pro parenthesis aside, the most powerful Mac in the family has always exhibited a fairly continuous cubic and modular design . In fact, the redesign that Apple gave to its machines in June 2019 was a return, in large part, to the previous midsize design of 2012.
Now, for the first time we hear rumors of two classes of Mac Pro, the one we know so far and another variant that, according to Mark Gurman , would measure less than half that of its older brother . Design-wise, we understand that the larger model will retain the current one, while the smaller variant will inherit something similar to the Mac Pro G4 Cube that we saw a few years ago.
In general terms, we could describe the small Mac Pro as a modular Mac mini , a kind of combination between the Mac mini and the Mac Pro that allows modifying and improving the internal components in a simple way without reaching the size, and price, of its older brother .
Will the new 2021 Mac Pro have an M1 chip from Apple Silicon or Intel?
Apple's strategy is clear: bet on processors designed and produced by the same company. For now we are in the first stage of the transition, so entry-level computers are the first to embrace the M1 chip . We hope, as the two years that Apple has set the deadline to complete the transition progress, more and more computers will make the change.
Done in this way Apple has time to improve the M1 chip, or the M1X or even the M2, to make it suitable for more powerful machines from which higher performance is expected. That is why the Mac Pro are postulated as the last computers to receive Apple processors , at least the largest model. According to the information we have so far, the new tiny Mac Pro will be presented directly with the M1.
With this strategy, Apple would keep the larger Mac Pro as the only computer with an Intel processor in the range . A computer to add third-party GPUs and with which to work with BootCamp and virtualization as before. It remains to be seen if in the future, in about four or five years, Apple plans to make the total leap to Mac with M1 by ceasing to offer any machine with an Intel processor.
What ports and connectors will the new Mac Pro 2021 have?
The issue of ports is always interesting whether we buy the computer we buy. We are used to the MacBook coming with a certain number of ports and a specific class , making, if we have certain needs, we want to make the leap to another Mac model. On the Mac Pro, however, the situation is radically different .
Thanks to its modularity, we can add the ports we want to the Mac . Do we want 16 USB-A? Marching. HDMI connectors? Analog audio output? Practically what we want. As we have already said, it is to be expected that the small Mac Pro will continue to maintain modularity in its design. In a way, the need for compatibility with the M1 can slightly reduce the use of certain elements, such as graphics cards, but in terms of ports we should be able to configure both machines according to our needs.
When will the new 2021 Mac Pro be available?
In terms of availability, we expect these machines to appear sometime between the end of 2021 and 2022. It could be at WWDC, it could be via press release or there could be a specific event in November. The two-year period that Apple has given as a reference expires, in fact, in November 2022 , so by then we should be able to acquire the new machines.
How much will the new Mac Pro 2021 cost?
On the price, we understand that the full-size Mac Pro retains the one of the current generation: $ 5,999. Meanwhile, the small Mac Pro could be around 3,000 euros . Nothing that comes dangerously close to the iMac Pro, not to be in direct competition, but makes it attractive to far more professionals than the regular-size Mac Pro aspires to satisfy.
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