Apple to reuse 2019 Mac Pro design for new 2023 Apple Silicon model, scrapping user-upgradeable RAM
Apple will allegedly reuse the design of its 2019 Mac Pro for its forthcoming Apple Silicon model, with the machine scrapping user-upgradeable RAM due to the all-on-chip architecture of the M2 Ultra processor coming with the high-end tower.
Reporting in his weekly Power On newsletter, Gurman says that “A high-end configuration of the Mac Pro, a model with 48 CPU cores and 152 graphics cores, has been canceled. Instead, Apple plans to release a version with the M2 Ultra, making it unclear — beyond the machine’s expandability — why most users would buy it over the cheaper and smaller Mac Studio.”
The new M2 Ultra machine, which is expected to be announced at some point this year after Apple terminated plans for an M2 Extreme version of the machine last year, will supposedly “look identical to the 2019 model,” featuring a stainless steel cheese grater-like frame with a foundation for modularity.
According to Gurman, the new Mac Pro will also lack one key feature from the Intel version: user-upgradeable RAM. “That’s because the memory is tied directly to the M2 Ultra’s motherboard,” says Gurman. “Still, there are two SSD storage slots and for graphics, media and networking cards.”