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Report: Apple Planning Major Mac Pro Refresh

Phil Schiller said the Cupertino tech giant is "in the process of … completely rethinking the Mac Pro."

Angela Moscaritolo
 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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In the market for a new Mac Pro? You may want to hold off buying one for a while if you can wait, because some big changes are coming.

According to TechCrunch, Apple is giving its existing Mac Pro a "performance bump" today and planning to announce improved iMacs later this year. But Apple has some bigger changes for the Mac Pro later down the line.

Speaking with a small group of reporters recently, Apple's Senior Vice President of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller said the Cupertino tech giant is "in the process of … completely rethinking the Mac Pro," according to the report. It's something Tim Cook hinted at in December last year.

"If we've had a pause in upgrades and updates, we're sorry for that — what happened with the Mac Pro — and we're going to come out with something great to replace it," he added.

Schiller told reporters that Apple currently has nearly 100 million Mac users. It's been four years since the Mac Pro got a significant update, but that's changing. Apple is working on a new Mac Pro and a new external Pro display, but don't expect them to be released any time soon.

"As part of doing a new Mac Pro — it is, by definition, a modular system — we will be doing a Pro display as well," Schiller said, according to TechCrunch. "Now you won't see any of those products this year; we're in the process of that. We think it's really important to create something great for our pro customers who want a Mac Pro modular system, and that'll take longer than this year to do."

For now, Apple is updating the existing Mac Pro for customers who can't wait many months for the new model to come out. Starting today, the $2,999 Mac Pro will offer a 6-core Intel Xeon processor, dual AMD FirePro D500 GPUs, and 16GB of memory. The $3,999 version offers an 8-core processor and dual D700 GPUs.

The Mac Pro upgrade comes after Apple last month quietly announced a new, iPad to replace the againg iPad Air 2. The company also tweaked its iPhone lineup, adding a (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus and releasing the iPhone SEin 32GB and 128GB capacities to replace the existing 16GB and 64GB models.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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