During its October iPad event, Apple confirmed that its redesigned Mac Pro would be available in December, but it wouldn’t get any more specific than that. The month has already started, so technically, we could see it any day now.
But according to German retailer Conrad Electronic, we still have about two weeks before we see the highly anticipated desktop. Conrad has begun taking pre-orders for the computer, and says it’s officially launching on December 16…
MacRumors was first to spot the pre-order page:
“It is unclear what Conrad is basing its availability citation on, but it appears to be the first specific claim of a launch date from a retailer, something many potential customers have been waiting for. Availability of the new Mac Pro is likely being constrained by new Intel Ivy Bridge-EP processors that were officially launched in September but which have apparently been somewhat slow to ramp up production. “
Although Conrad is an authorized reseller, it’s tough to tell if its information is legitimate or it’s just trying to drum up some pre-order business. If you start taking orders before everyone else, chances are you’re going to get more orders.
That being said, a December 16 date would make sense in that it would give buyers more than a week before Christmas. The Mac Pro probably won’t be a popular holiday gift, starting at $3000, but better before Christmas than afterwards.
The new Mac Pro has been rebuilt from the ground up and comes in various configurations with a 4, 6, 8, or 12-core processor. The base model starts at $2999 and includes a 3.7Ghz quad-core Xeon chip, 12GB of DRAM and a 256GB SSD.