Apr 05, 2017 08:45 AM EDT By Lucy McClaren, UniversityHerald Reporter

Apple will be completely overhauling the Mac Pro in design particularly the dual GPU architecture to replace the 2013 model with "something great" set to arrive in 2018 the earliest. The rethought Mac Pro will have a modular system plus an Apple-branded external display designed specifically for Pro users.

Apple executives headed by Phil Schiller along with his colleagues Craig Federighi and John Ternus spoke to a group of reporters to discuss the present and future of the Mac Pro. Schiller apologizes for the absence of substantial upgrades and updates as well as the lack of cleverness in the design of the 2013 Mac Pro. He did stress that the Cupertino-based giant is still deeply invested in the Mac and cares deeply for its Pro users.

After acknowledging the limitations of the Mac Pro and also revealing new stats on sales and user base, Schiller reveals that Apple will be "completely rethinking" the Mac pro. This means a complete overhaul and redesign that will justify the highest-end, high throughput desktop system that meets the high demands of Pro users, Tech Crunch reported. The redesign starts with a modular system that will address the reconfigurability and longevity issues with the 2013 model.

The current Mac Pro is unable to meet the requirements of its Pro users, which as a term cannot be simplified for it encompasses a broad range of professions. Hence, the new Mac Pro should be able to fulfill the requirements of the different categories of Pro users starting with its primary segments like the video editors, music creators, and graphic designers. Another emerging segment of Pro users include scientists, architects, engineers, and software programmers.

Other than the modular system, the redesign will also scrap the identifiable component of the Mac Pro, which is a cylinder that houses a three-sided chassis. The dual GPU set-up is mounted on this triangular thermal core, which is designed to dissipate heat evenly. However, the design and GPU architecture were unable to meet workloads that require powerful graphics processing chip or the performance of a single-threaded CPU, Tech Crunch reported.

At its current design, the Mac Pro is not configurable to support a single large GPU. A more powerful single GPU would have been ideal for scientific loads, heavy 3D graphic applications, compute mixed loads in VR and even the high-end cinematic production. Incidentally, Apple is also willing to consider the idea of external GPUs more likely as part of its commitment to making the Mac Pro responsive to the different needs of its Pro users.

The new redesigned Mac Pro is still in the works and a 2018 unveiling may happen at the earliest. For now, Apple is catering to the immediate needs of its Pro users by offering in-between updates to make the high-end desktop faster and have better value for the buck.

The $2,999 model will now have a 6-core Intel Xeon processor and the dual AMD FirePro D500 GPUs plus 16GB of RAM. The $3,999 will have the 8-core Intel Xeon processor and dual AMD FirePro D700 GPUs with the same 16GB of RAM. For those not happy with these minor updates, there are still many months to go before the Apple roadmap may materialize so patience is a must before the new Mac Pro arrives, MacRumors reported.

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