Apple’s 2013 Mac Pro, fondly dubbed the ‘trash can,’ was a bold move in design, but ultimately fell short in performance due to its thermal limitations. Now, more than a decade later, it has been officially added to Apple’s vintage product list. A product known for its stunning appearance, the Mac Pro was meant to cater to professionals needing high-end processing power.
However, its underwhelming thermal capabilities meant that users couldn’t fully tap into its potential, which led to the company reintroducing the tower design with Apple Silicon. This ‘trash can’ Mac Pro design, which ran on Intel processors, will now be remembered as an ambitious but flawed experiment.
The Mac Pro spent 12 years on the market, which is unusual for Apple’s typical vintage timeline. Normally, products are added to the vintage list five years after their initial sale, but the Mac Pro was an exception due to its longevity in sales. Although its components can still be serviced if parts are available, the ‘trash can’ Mac Pro will eventually be added to the ‘obsolete’ list. This occurred after the machine was discontinued in 2019 and replaced by a more powerful tower-style design that could handle high-performance Intel Xeon processors.
Despite being visually captivating and having memorable marketing moments-like Phil Schiller’s famous line, “can’t innovate anymore, my ass”-the Mac Pro’s performance did not live up to the hype. The thermal design simply couldn’t keep up with the high-power components, and the lack of upgradeability also frustrated many users who had grown accustomed to easily replacing components in older models. Even Craig Federighi, Apple’s SVP of Software Engineering, admitted the thermal constraints were a design flaw. The Mac Pro, however, still remains a milestone in Apple’s design history, and while it won’t be making a comeback, the lessons learned continue to influence newer products, particularly with the Apple Silicon line.