Apple’s Abandoned Mac Pro Projects: An Intel‑Powered Prototype and the ‘Extreme’ Chip Plans

When Apple announced in March that the Mac Pro was finally dead‑ended, most of us thought the decision was final. The sleek metal tower vanished from the website, and the company gently nudged professionals toward the Mac Studio. Yet, behind the scenes, the story was a bit messier.

According to a fresh Bloomberg scoop, Apple had not originally set out to kill the Mac Pro. In fact, the hardware team had two secret projects simmering in the labs – codenamed J170 and J190 – that never made it to market.

J170 was the real surprise. Even while Apple was feverishly rolling out its own Apple Silicon, this prototype was built around an Intel processor. Yes, you read that right: a brand‑new Intel‑based Mac Pro, apparently intended for niche professional workloads that Apple thought might still need the old architecture.

The other, J190, was meant to be the flagship of the new Apple Silicon era. It would have sported an M3 Ultra chip and was slated to launch alongside an M3 Ultra‑powered Mac Studio in early 2025. The plan sounded ambitious, but Apple eventually pulled the plug.

Adding another layer to the puzzle, Mark Gurman’s recent Power On newsletter hinted that Apple once toyed with an “Extreme” tier of chips – M2 Extreme and M3 Extreme – meant to sit above the already beefy “Ultra” line. The company reportedly scrapped those designs because the cost and expected demand didn’t line up with reality.

So why the double‑whammy? Sources say the cost of engineering a truly “extreme” silicon solution, combined with uncertain market appetite, made the projects financially risky. The Intel‑based Mac Pro, meanwhile, was a fallback for specific professional apps that still leaned on x86‑only code.

What’s coming next? Apple isn’t expected to resurrect the Mac Pro any time soon – if ever. Instead, the focus is shifting to new Mac Studio models powered by an upcoming M5 Ultra chip, with the first units possibly arriving as early as this fall.

For longtime Mac Pro fans, it’s a bittersweet ending. The tower had a cult following, and seeing it quietly disappear feels like the close of an era. Yet, Apple’s pivot toward more compact, silicon‑driven workstations might be the logical next step for most professionals.

What do you think about Apple’s choice to axe the Mac Pro line and abandon the “Extreme” chip concept? Drop your thoughts in the comments – we’d love to hear them.