When you’ve been anxiously awaiting the launch of the Apple silicon Mac Professional and dreaming of the quickest Mac ever, you is perhaps in for a disappointment. A report this previous weekend from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman mentioned that Apple is having main issues producing the so-called M2 Excessive chip that was alleged to energy the brand new machine.

Because of this, Gurman says, the top-of-the-line Mac Professional will probably have a barely sooner M2 Extremely chip with 24 CPU cores and 76 GPU cores. Granted, that’s nonetheless a really quick chip, however for Mac Professional consumers who’ve been ready to see the following pace evolution of Apple silicon on the Mac, it’s prone to be a disappointment. The hole between the Mac Professional and the following quickest Mac is meant to be huge, and the chip Gurman describes gained’t be.

However all shouldn’t be misplaced. Even with no loopy quick chip, Apple can nonetheless make the Mac Professional the centerpiece of its Mac lineup. Listed here are three concepts on methods to tackle this main downside.

Hold Intel inside

The simplest option to overcome its chip points could be to only maintain Intel round. The individuals who purchase a Mac Professional wouldn’t essentially care which firm makes the CPU so long as it’s quick, and Intel makes loads of newer Xeon W chips it might use.

It’s not a loopy notion. Whereas Apple’s Mac chips are ridiculously quick, many Mac Professional consumers would in all probability somewhat simply exchange one in every of their present Intel Macs with a sooner one than fear concerning the potential compatibility and expandability points with a brand new Apple silicon machine.

Willis Lai/Foundry

Deal with expandability

Essentially the most fascinating tidbit in Gurman’s report wasn’t the supposed cancellation of the Excessive chip, it was his declare that the brand new Mac Professional “will retain one in every of its hallmark options: straightforward expandability for extra reminiscence, storage, and different parts.” That’s a considerably imprecise assertion that’s open to some interpretation, however it appears to point that the Mac Professional’s processor will function a brand new structure that doesn’t use unified reminiscence.

That alone will probably be a robust promoting level for the Mac Professional. No different Apple silicon-based Mac gives aftermarket upgrades in any means, so if customers are in a position so as to add reminiscence and storage, that might undoubtedly be a singular promoting level. However what would make it extra distinctive is that if Apple bought the parts itself. It could be expensive for certain, but when Apple bought RAM sticks, SSDs, and standalone GPUs, it could absolutely cowl up the truth that the Mac Professional isn’t as quick as everybody thought it could be.

Retire the Mac Studio

If the Mac Professional is simply barely sooner than the highest Mac Studio configuration, maybe Apple doesn’t must promote the Mac Studio anymore. It at all times felt like a stopgap machine, type of just like the iMac Professional–a robust area of interest Mac that was filling the house between Mac Professional fashions. If the Mac Studio is a one-and-done machine, nobody could be shocked or upset, particularly if an up to date M2 Professional/M2 Max Mac mini and the rumored iMac Professional revival arrives subsequent 12 months as effectively.