Apple Canceled M2 Extreme and M3 Extreme Chips Planned for the Mac Pro

Apple developed M2 Extreme and M3 Extreme chips for the Mac Pro before canceling both projects because of high production costs and weak demand for the desktop computer. The unreleased processors would have offered twice the CPU and GPU cores found in Apple’s Ultra chips, giving the Mac Pro a much clearer performance advantage over the Mac Studio. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said Apple created both chips during the development of its in-house Mac processors, but the company later ended the projects after reviewing their commercial prospects. “The idea was to offer twice as many graphics and main processing cores as that chip. I’m told Apple had developed both M2 Extreme and M3 Extreme chips before winding down those projects due to cost and demand concerns,” Gurman wrote in his Power On newsletter. Apple also tested other Mac Pro models Apple also developed two additional Mac Pro models that never reached customers. One model, known internally as J170, used an Intel processor even as Apple continued its transition to Apple silicon. Another model, called J190, included an M3 Ultra chip and was expected to launch alongside the M3 Ultra Mac Studio in early 2025. The canceled M2 Extreme and M3 Extreme chips explain why the Apple silicon Mac Pro struggled to justify its price. The final model used the same M2 Ultra chip as the Mac Studio while costing significantly more, mainly because of its larger enclosure and PCIe expansion support. Apple discontinued the Mac Pro in March after a 20-year run, while the Mac Studio remained the company’s main high-performance desktop. Gurman does not expect Apple to revive the Mac Pro soon, while new Mac Studio models with M5 Ultra chips are reportedly planned for later this year.