The next Big Mac event could feature a brand new Mac Pro, at least according to one single reference in Apple Mac OS X El Capitan’s internal code, reported by tech blog Pike’s Universum.
The reference was found in an info.plist file, and is labeled “AAPLJ95,1”. The entry is part of a compatibility list for Macs. The 2013 Mac Pro’s codename is AAPLJ90,1, which means that “AAPLJ95,1” could very well be specific to a Mac Pro that may still be in the works.
Optimistically, this is good news for fans of the Mac Pro, as Apple’s flagship production desktop has not seen an update since 2013. With that said, a mere refresh of the Mac Pro might not be enough to attract consumers and professionals to a system with great specs, by 2013 standards, but lagging behind in terms of expansion capabilities, especially with far more powerful chips available, including the recently released NVIDIA GTX 1080, and the upcoming 7th generation Intel Core Kaby Lake CPU, rumored to have been slated as the CPU of choice for the next MacBook Pro.
Furthermore, the recent supply shortage of Thunderbolt displays may be another indication of Apple planning something big for the next Mac keynote. A reduction in availability of a product to resellers is usually an indication of an impending announcement of a new version of said product, and if Apple is indeed planning to announce a new external display, it would make perfect sense to speculate that a new Apple display will likely pair up with a new flagship desktop, which can only be either a brand new Mac Mini, or a Mac Pro.
While there are rumors of a reboot of the Mac Mini, the latest findings by Pike’s Universum present what could be hard evidence of Apple’s plans to release a new Mac Pro, under the codename AAPLJ95,1.
Specs stands for both “specifications” and “speculations”, more than ever, as most rumors surrounding the 2016 Mac Pro are still largely unconfirmed, and theoretical at best. With that said, common sense may offer some insight into the hardware the new Mac Pro could integrate. If Apple truly intends to reboot the Mac Pro, there is a real possibility that the processor of choice could be the upcoming Intel Xeon E5 v4, which evolves from the current 3.5/3.7GHz quad-core/six-core E5.
Apple and AMD have shown to be strengthening their relationship in regard to desktop GPUs, especially in the wake of AMD’s release of its latest version of the FirePro, however, while Apple has shown a predilection for AMD powering the graphic capabilities of MacBooks, there is a chance that the new Mac Pro might feature NVIDIA GPUs, considering how well the latest GTX GPU was received, and also in consideration of early complaints about some AMD GPUs that caused issues in a number of 2013 Mac Pros.