11 years ago, Apple launched the cylindrical Mac Pro, quickly described as “trash” by observers and customers. Indeed, with its most expensive computer, Apple released a design that would become one of the most controversial in the company’s history, reflecting a period of significant discontent within the Mac community.
A mistake along the way
This version of the Mac Pro contrasted radically with the old classic central unit with an elegant cylindrical design in polished aluminum, but which was quickly compared to a “trash can”. The internal components were arranged around a central thermal core, with a single fan cooling the system by drawing air in from the bottom, through the core, and expelling it out the top. This configuration allowed for remarkably quiet operation, even under heavy use. However, like our editorial model, the Mac Pro 2013 heated up quickly and a lot. We nicknamed it the thermos…
At WWDC 2013, Apple was proud of this new design direction, with Phil Schiller famously stating in response to criticism of the stagnation of previous models and Apple’s commitment to business users:
I can’t innovate anymore, my ass.
The 2013 Mac Pro promised twice the performance of its predecessor in a significantly smaller footprint, powered by Intel Xeon processors and two AMD FirePro GPUs, with seven teraflops of computing power. However, this design’s reliance on external Thunderbolt 2 ports for expansion was a major point of contention, as it lacked internal slots for upgrades such as additional graphics cards or memory, making it less adaptable to the evolving needs of professional customers.
The Mac Pro’s inability to receive substantial hardware updates over the years has exposed its design limitations. In 2017, Apple publicly acknowledged these shortcomings, and in 2019 they introduced a new Mac Pro that returned to a modular tower design, offering vast internal expansion capabilities. It also received criticism for its design because of its perforated grid: the cheese grater.
Since then, Apple has largely rectified the situation, with its Macs running Apple Silicon such as the Mac Studio, the Mac Pro and even the Mac mini. The Mac mini M4 is our favorite right now.
