After nearly two years without an update, Apple to finally revamp Mac Pro next week

Mark Gurman | Jun 5 2012 - 2:41 pm PT

Yesterday, we reported that Apple has an incredible WWDC surprise: major updates to four of its Mac lines. We were able to affirm that three of these updates would cover the redesigned MacBook Pro with a Retina Display, refreshed 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Airs, and new iMacs in two screen sizes. Besides those three Mac lines updates, we were unsure if the either the Mac mini or the Mac Pro would make it as the fourth update. We speculated that it could be the Mac mini due to the newly available Ivy Bridge processors, but now, reliable sources are reporting that Apple will, in fact, unveil a new Mac Pro at WWDC next week.

Sources have also been able to provide some part numbers and prices to prove this:

MD770LL/A – K5BPLUS,BETTER, BTR-USA

MD771LL/A – K5BPLUS,BEST,BTR-USA

MD772LL/A – K5BPLUS,ULTIMATE,BTR-USA

The pricing is similar to current Mac Pro models. What’s interesting here is that we’ve seen updates to every other line of Macs that Apple carries….except one…The Mac Mini.

Our sources are currently unsure of the feature-set coming with the new Mac Pro, but these sources say that there will likely now be three configurations. Two standard versions of the Mac Pro and a third version with OS X Server capabilities. In early 2011, we reported on some of the work that Apple engineers had been prototyping up for a future version of Apple’s Pro desktop line. For that report, sources said that Apple had been experimenting with a new Mac Pro design that is rackable and stackable. These prototype machines also included space for more storage drives, an important feature now that the Xserve has been long discontinued. With a year having passed since we heard about these prototype Mac Pros and the ability of Thunderbolt to offload a lot of the expandability, the final new Mac Pro designs could be different than the current designs but we haven’t yet heard definitively either way.

MacRumors reported that Apple has begun pulling Mac Pro stock from some of its retail stores. We’ve heard the same from tipsters, left.

With Apple adding the super-fast USB 3.0 technology to its next-generation MacBook Pro, and with Apple’s latest Macs including the even faster Thunderbolt I/O technology, Apple will likely add these faster connection ports to their latest Pro desktop. Since the Mac Pro is Apple’s most high-end machine for professional workers of all types, the most important features are the internals. Earlier this year, Intel released a series of Xeon E5 chips that would seem like a lock for a new Mac Pro. These new Mac Pros will likely also likely feature the latest graphics chips.

Apple last updated the Mac Pro in July 2010, making this upcoming update significant. It is unclear why Apple had left the Mac Pro in its 2010 form for so long, but a reader email from 2011 might explain that. According to the Apple executive who replied to a 9to5Mac reader inquiring about the Mac Pro’s status, Apple had been “investing heavily” in the professional desktop computer. We are unsure what investing heavily will mean for the final product, but it should surely be an incredible update over the nearly two year old model.

The Mac Pro’s demise: greatly exaggerated, indeed.