Many Mac Pro users have been waiting for an update for quite some time, as Apple’s beastly semi truck of a Mac hasn’t seen an update since 2010. It now appears that Apple is likely to unveil new models soon, likely at WWDC. But what should we expect from the new Mac Pro? Some supposed leaked specs from MIC Gadget (via AppleInsider) shed some light on what we might see.
It’s important to note that these specs are absolutely unverified, and the evidence backing them up is practically zilch. Even so, I feel that the rumored specs are in fact likely to come pretty close to what Apple will reveal when they do finally release the refreshed towers.
The report suggests that the upcoming Mac Pro models will feature faster 1600MHz memory, SATA III/SAS support, and PCI-Express 3 for connecting video cards and other internal hardware, as well as USB 3 connectivity and Thunderbolt support.
Rather than new Ivy Bridge CPUs, the new models will feature Intel’s Xeon E5 chips released earlier this year, supposedly due to poor power management in the new Ivy Bridge desktop chips. This seems likely. It often takes a while for desktop CPUs to catch up to their mobile counterparts in areas like power usage.
Of course, given the almost obvious nature of the report, these claims could easily be nothing more than guesses. But whether they are accurate or not, I wouldn’t be surprised if the new Mac Pros expected to launch next week match the report fairly closely.
Apple leaked images several months ago showing the Mac Pro hooked up to a Thunderbolt display, so it’s likely they’ve been planning an update to the Mac Pro for quite some time. Aside from Mac Pros, Apple is also expected to reveal new MacBooks and iMacs next week.
We’ll probably find out for sure what Apple has planned sometime next week, if not at the WWDC keynote. Stay tuned!