Mac Pro shipping times get longer, refresh or death imminent?

Shipping times for built-to-order Mac Pros have dropped to 1-3 weeks on Apple’s website today, sparking off another debate on whether Apple is planning a either refresh the line or provide funeral services for the Mac Pro.

From MacRumors:

But while the pieces seem to be coming together at the right time for a substantial Mac Pro upgrade, a bigger question is whether the line will even continue to survive long enough to see another update. A late October report claimed that Apple is “questioning” the future of the Mac Pro given declining sales as customers have continued a trend of shifting toward portable computers, and we’ve heard similar rumblings that even pinpointed a discontinuation date in January.

Does this in any way sound familiar to the Mac mini rumors from back in 2007? Remember how everyone claimed Apple would kill off the Mac mini because it wasn’t selling very well? Only for Apple to turn around and release a redesign? Yeah, if we had to hazard a guess, the Mac Pro will see a refresh in the upcoming months. With Intel’s Sandy Bridge E5 Xeon processors on the verge of release, support for AMD’s Tahiti line of graphics cards slipping, and other rumors making the rounds, it sounds like we can expect a refresh in the near future.

Jeff Cochin has more than ten years of experience in data recovery, management and warehousing. On Macgasm he mostly writes about Apple news and software reviews. Jeff's journey with Macbooks began in 2008, showcasing his enduring commitment to the Apple… Full Bio