Mac Pro Fuels Mac Studio's Future with Promised Upgrades

Just when you were getting acquainted with the brand-new Mac Studio desktop and its capabilities, rumors of it getting axed by Apple are popping up. In case you didn’t know, this 2022 desktop fills the gap between the Mac mini and Mac pro. That said, it performs better than the Pro in some instances. The Mac Studio is powered by an M1 processor but Apple is updating other devices with the more powerful M2 processor. This is making fans of the Mac Studio wonder whether this computer will get the same treatment.

Even though only Apple knows the answer, there’s a lot of speculation online. Mark Gurman from Bloomberg is one such individual, often delivering rumors regarding Apple devices in his newsletter “Power On”. In this case, Gurman argues that the new Mac Pro will very likely be released in the spring and offer the M2 Ultra chip. If that’s the case, it won’t make sense for Apple to also update the Mac Studio with M2 chips, because it would compete with the more expensive Mac Pro.

Gurman goes on to speculate that Apple might “never” update the Mac Studio, or wait until further chip generations, like M3 or M4. By then, each device will have its market share, and the Pro would likely be the best-featured one. One might wonder why Apple would release the Mac Studio in 2022, only to discontinue it a year later, however. This is especially true given this computer had some noteworthy reviews, claiming it to be a “professional” Mac for power users (given its $52,000 price tag for the top-end version, it better be).

An interesting difference between the Mac Studio and the Mac Pro is that the latter is modular and allows for upgrading, whereas the Mac Studio doesn’t. But that’s just the beginning. For instance, the Mac Pro allows up to 1.5 TB of RAM whereas the Mac Studio “just” 128 GB. The Pro supports up to twelve 4K displays, while the Studio four Pro Display XDRs and one 4K display.

The Mac Pro is not replaceable for people that need certain features. This makes it somewhat difficult to understand why an upgrade to the M2 would make such a difference for users. Even though the M2 processor family performs better than the M1, it remains to be seen whether an M2-powered Mac Studio can come close to what the Mac Pro can currently do.

In short, whereas it may be possible that the Mac Studio never gets the M2 processor, the Mac Pro is not the most likely reason for this. Both devices offer different features for different users, and there are cases where the Mac Pro is the only choice. In reality, it looks like Apple hit the mark with a powerful computer that sits well below the Mac Pro and sales will probably be the major factor when it comes to upgrading this offering if it ever happens.

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