The Mac Pro, introduced in 2013, is still manufactured in Texas and carries the label “Assembled in the USA” – this is changing with the new Mac Pro generation.
According to a new Wall Street Journal report, the Mac Pro introduced at the beginning of the month will no longer be assembled in the USA. According to this, the assembly of the new professional device will take place in China in the future - this was also officially confirmed by Apple to the WSJ. To be precise, Quanta Computers will take over production of the new Mac Pro in a factory near Shanghai. Given the lower wages, manufacturing the new professional computer in China will of course be cheaper. However, the greater experience with assembling Apple products may also have been a reason for the change. The assembly of the 2013 Mac Pro brought with it many problems over time - Apple's US suppliers repeatedly had to struggle with various difficulties, which meant that production of the devices was more expensive than expected.
“Final assembly is only part of the manufacturing process”
Apple has emphasized several times in the past that China has significantly more skilled workers, which is why “Assembled in China” should not be underestimated - the error rate in production there is significantly lower than in other countries. The current Mac Pro from 2013 is the only major Apple hardware product made in the USA. All other devices are assembled by Chinese suppliers such as Quanta, Foxconn and Co. In a statement to the WSJ, an Apple spokesperson said: “Final assembly is only part of the manufacturing process,” adding that the new Mac Pro is designed and engineered in the United States and contains some components made in the USA. As a high-end device and expensive workstation for professionals, the Mac Pro is not a mass product. Nevertheless, Apple’s step is remarkable and bold in view of the ongoing trade war between the USA and China.
A real beast
The new Mac Pro is an absolute powerhouse. It is equipped with a new Intel Xeon processor and can accommodate up to 28 cores. The new heavyweight starts at $5,999 in terms of price. The smallest model comes with 8 cores and has 3.5 GHz - 4.0 GHz Turbo Boost. In the high-end version, the Mac Pro can be equipped with 28 cores - these clock at 2.5 GHz and a Turbo Boost of up to 4.4 GHz. As far as memory is concerned, the 2019 Mac Pro offers configurations with up to 1.5 TB of DDR4 ECC memory in 12 user-friendly DIMM slots. For graphics, there are two MPX modules that can be configured with up to four GPUs. The new Apple computer can be pre-ordered from autumn. Prime Day offer – Amazon Music Unlimited subscription heavily reduced (Image: Apple)
