Last Intel-Based Mac Pro Refresh Likely Referenced in macOS 11.4 RC
Bloomberg reported in January that Apple is working on a successor to the current Mac Pro that will feature an Intel processor rather than an Apple silicon chip. Now, a reference to an unreleased 10-core Intel i9 processor has been discovered by MacRumors contributor Steve Moser in the latest macOS Big Sur 11.4 RC update, released yesterday.
A 10-core Intel chip appeared in Geekbench scores last July, running on an iMac. Last month, Apple introduced the first iMac featuring an Apple silicon chip. Given that announcement, the company is unlikely to update its iMac line with any more Intel chip offerings but instead focus on Apple silicon.
The Mac Pro, however, used by higher-end professional users, could be one of the final Macs that gets updated with Apple silicon. In the meantime for those higher-end users, Apple may update its current Mac Pro design with a newer Intel processor, such as the one referenced in the latest macOS update.
Apple says its transition to Apple silicon, which began this past November, will take at least two years, and the highest-end, professional Mac Pro could be one of the last Macs that gets updated. For the eventual high-end Apple silicon chip, Bloomberg reports that Apple is testing chips with as many as 32 high performance cores.
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This article, "Last Intel-Based Mac Pro Refresh Likely Referenced in macOS 11.4 RC" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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