Apple rumored to move Mac Pro production from US to Vietnam

According to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, the manufacturing base of Apple's Apple Mac Pro may be moved from the United States to Vietnam. Currently, the Mac Pro is assembled at a Flex factory in Austin, Texas, and Mac Pro components are still produced in China.

Apple originally planned to launch the super version of the Mac Pro with its own microprocessor for the first time next year, and then automatically downgraded the specifications because it was too complicated. Specifically, it will abandon the M2 "Extreme" version of the processor and will use it instead M2 Ultra microprocessor. It is reported that M2 Ultra processor adopts 24-core CPU and 76-core graphics processing unit (GPU), while M2 Etreme is integrated by 2 M2 Ultra, providing 48 CPU cores and 152 GPU cores.

The Mac Pro is the last of Apple's Mac lineup not to use its own chips. Apple announced in June 2020 that Mac processors will be completely switched to its own chips within two years, and it is now the end of 2022. Now it seems that due to the high complexity of the processor and the high production cost, Apple decided to abandon the plan to help Apple and its supplier TSMC save resources to invest in more chips.

Gurman also pointed out that Apple originally planned to manufacture the Mac Pro in China, but now the high-end Mac is expected to be assembled in Vietnam instead.

Earlier, Taiwanese media Digitimes also reported that according to industry sources, Apple still considers Vietnam as the preferred destination for its Mac production relocation from China. The media also pointed out that Apple intends to build a Mac production line in Thailand.