Apple has confirmed to The Loop that it will stop selling the existing version of the Mac Pro, its longstanding high-end desktop computer, in all markets across Europe from March 1st.
A spokesperson for the company told Loop in Sight: “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.”
Rumors that Apple would soon be discontinuing the Mac Pro were picked up by 9to5mac and MacRumors earlier today when the following letter was issued to resellers:
“As of March 1, 2013, Apple will no longer sell Mac Pro in EU, EU candidate and EFTA countries because these systems are not compliant with Amendment 1 of regulation IEC 60950-1, Second Edition which becomes effective on this date. Apple resellers can continue to sell any remaining inventory of Mac Pro after March 1. Apple will take final orders for Mac Pro from resellers up until February 18th for shipment before March 1 2013. Countries outside of the EU are not impacted and Mac Pro will continue to be available in those areas.”
Apple will continue to take new orders up until February 18, both online and in its physical stores across Europe. Once the March 1 deadline passes though, the company will only be able to sell its existing stock – it won’t be able to issue any new units to its European distributors.
Consumers can therefore expect to see the Mac Pro on shelves for a little while after the new regulatory requirements kick in, but it’ll be a short lived affair – once the stock’s gone, it’ll be the end of that model as we know it in Europe.
It’s odd that the Mac Pro is being discontinued not because of a lack of demand, or a shift in Apple’s strategy, but because the company simply hasn’t changed the hardware to meet Europe’s new product regulation standards. Unfortunately, Amendment 1 of regulation IEC 60950-1, Second Edition, reveals very little about how and why the Mac Pro fails to meet the new standards.
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One of the reasons why Apple might be content to discontinue the Mac Pro is because it has a new model on the horizon which will, in fact, meet the electronic safety requirements for Europe.
In the summer of last year David Pogue, a technology columnist for The New York Times, said that an Apple executive had told him that the company’s desktop computers were getting a refresh in 2013. This was later confirmed to both Macworld and Forbes, referencing an email written by Tim Cook to an Apple customer: “We’re working on something really great for later next year.”
So perhaps the new Mac Pro isn’t too far away. Luckily the desktop computer is one of Apple’s least popular pieces of hardware – so hopefully consumers in Europe can hold out for the updated model.
Image Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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