Earlier this year, Apple announced a new powerhouse computer in the new Mac Pro, featuring a redesigned case and customization options to make it a true workstation for professionals.
Up to this point, Apple has always pointed to a launch sometime in the fall of 2019, but the company has not provided any additional details so far. But a strong indication that we may see the new Mac Pro soon is that the computer just earned approval from the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This is a required step in the process for a new device to launch in the consumer technology market.
The approval indicates that the Mac Pro has a model A1991 identifier, but that’s about it. There aren’t any additional juicy details accompanying the government approval, and we still don’t have a specific launch date to circle on the calendar just yet.
But if Apple does plan to stick to its “fall” launch window, then the Mac Pro has to arrive sometime before December, so the window is certainly starting to close.
When it comes to the FCC’s dealings with Apple, the published approval typically indicates a quick turnaround to an actual launch. As noted by AppleInsider, when the FCC published Apple’s approval of the iMac Pro last year the device went up for pre-order within a couple of days. That could certainly happen here again with the new Mac Pro.
Back in June Apple’s website said that the Mac Pro (and the $6,000 Pro Display XDR external display) would launch in September, but that didn’t turn out to be true. And as far as manufacturing is concerned, it was initially reported that the new workstation would be manufactured in China and not in the United States, a change from the trashcan Mac Pro this new cheese grater design is replacing. However, Apple changed course and the new Mac Pro is indeed being manufactured in Texas.
Here’s a brief recap of what the new Mac Pro has to offer: It will feature a new Xeon processor with up to 28 cores and 64 PCI Express lanes. It can be customized to boast up to 4TB of SSD built-in storage at the time of purchase, and uses a total of 6 memory channels with 2933 MHz ECC RAM in 12 slots. It can boast up to 1.5TB of system memory.
There are plenty of other customization options here, including other Xeon processor options. The short of it is that the Mac Pro is ridiculously powerful and designed for professionals, especially when it’s paired with the aforementioned Pro Display XDR.
So, we may get the Mac Pro soon! That’s exciting for the folks who want this expensive, super powerful setup. But of course nothing is confirmed just yet, so we’ll all just have to sit around and twiddle our thumbs until Apple actually launches the thing.