Apple has revealed that it will stop selling the Mac Pro in European Union after March 1. Apple explained that the Mac now fails to meet evolving regulatory requirements there.
Apple, according to The Loop, said, "Due to evolving regulatory requirements, Apple will stop selling Mac Pro in EU, EU candidate and EFTA countries on March 1, 2013. After that date, resellers can sell existing inventory but Apple will no longer ship Mac Pro in those countries.”
At issue is the design of the fan blades, which are exposed, and exposed ports of the electrical system that no longer meet EU standards. The current Mac Pro design had its origins in the Power Mac G5, first announced in the summer of 2003, so the design is getting long in the tooth. Perhaps Apple decided, aware of the regulatory change, that a major redesign could wait for the launch of the next Mac Pro.
While the suspension of sales in Europe cannot be taken as evidence that Apple will imminently release a new Mac Pro model, we do know that one is coming later in 2013. It was widely reported that Apple CEO Tim Cook, in 2012, told a customer “Although we didn’t have a chance to talk about a new Mac Pro at today’s [WWDC] event, don’t worry as we’re working on something really great for later next year."
If Apple intends to use the Intel Ivy Bridge-E CPU, that would mean availability as early as, possibly, calendar Q3 of 2013. As a result, there will be a gap from March 1st until the time when that new Mac Pro ships.
Demand for the Mac model has been fairly low compared to Apple Notebooks, let alone iPads, so it probably won't be hard for customers to endure the gap in time.
Previously, here at TMO, we've explored some of the possible scenarios for a new Mac Pro, both in the Mac Pro basics as well as a great design concept. It will be interesting to see how Apple handles the launch of this much anticipated Mac for professionals -- the heavy duty truck drivers, according to Steve Jobs's legendary comments.