Apple to Discontinue Mac Pro in EU Due to New Regulations

News
By Jane McEntegart
published

So long, old friend.

Apple is reportedly preparing to discontinue the Mac Pro in Europe following a change in regulatory standards. MacRumors reports that Apple on Thursday informed European distributors that it would be stopping sales of the Mac Pro in Europe and several other countries as of March 1. The reason for the discontinuation of the Mac Pro is said to be new regulatory requirements.

"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 said in a statement obtained by MacRumors.

Though Apple says it will no longer sell the machine in Europe as of March 1, the company is actually only taking online orders for another few weeks. The company says it will accept online orders until February 18. MacWorld writes that the new regulation applies to the power provided to the Mac Pro's I/O ports and the placement of its fan guards. No other Apple computer is affected by the new regulations.

While the Mac Pro certainly isn't the most popular Apple machine (the iMacs and MacBook lines are updated far more regularly), it's still rather surprising to learn Apple would rather discontinue the Mac Pro than come up with a version that complies with the new regulations. Then again, with a new Mac Pro due later this year, perhaps there's not much point tweaking the old model for new regulations.

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Jane McEntegart
44 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Jay-Z
    It's not everyday you see a computer let alone a Mac fail a safety regulation.
    Reply
  • joytech22
    There was no real point to a Mac Pro.
    Not when you could throw together a seriously powerful workstation for the same price and have money left over for software.

    I just don't get it. Where does it even belong? $4600 buys you something like 3-4 generation old technology.

    It's like buying a 1986 Porsche, it has a great name to it but can't really do much compared to a closely priced Ford XR6T 2008 (Australian full-sized 1.6t Sedan by the way, stock 360HP for $20,000)
    Reply
  • amigafan
    Normal Tom's reader will ask himself what are the requirements that Apple could not (or did not want to) fulfill. Here is the answer: http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/80587/what-are-the-regulatory-requirements-that-will-halt-the-sale-of-the-mac-pro-in-e

    Looks like bullcrap reason to me.

    At issue are the large fans within the Mac Pro. Since they are unprotected, it would be possible to touch the fan blades.

    "The new requirements necessitate fan guards and some increased protection on the ports on the electrical system," explained Apple.
    Reply
  • Soda-88
    Good riddance. EU is probably just protecting its citizens from overpriced junk under the 'fans being dangerous' excuse.
    Reply
  • halcyon
    I had a 2010 6-core 3.3Ghz Xeon Mac Pro. While it was not the best bang-for-the-buck there was nothing it couldn't do great (that I needed anyways). It was, however, more machine than I ended up needing. I wonder how long before they stop selling it in the US. In my experience OS X has been just easier (easier isn't always good though) than Windows (though I like Windows just fine) so it was great to have that power on a machine that just worked.

    ...but I've moved on. Windows 7 & 8 do the trick just fine and I'm good to go with my little MacPro wanna-be Dell XPS and my AMD Phenom X4 965BE.
    Reply
  • classzero
    Do people in the EU stick fingers in running fans that they need a law to stop it?
    Reply
  • halcyon
    ^ Folks in the UK get bored and just might.
    Reply
  • bluestar2k11
    classzeroDo people in the EU stick fingers in running fans that they need a law to stop it?
    No, that would be the US. (Remember we need everything telling us it's hot, and dangerous)

    Although my cat loves chewing on electrical cables, so maybe it's there to protect the cat from sticking it's paw into the fan trying to get that wild cable inside? Who knows hehe^^

    I do think it's funny Apple is discontinuing it though, but considering the system itself is worth maybe 300$ and they charge like 15x that, I can kinda see a value in it, even if it is a pointless regulation.

    But I thought all computer cases came with built in fan grills? Not only for user protection, but system protection from dust, and to keep random objects from entering the system?
    Reply
  • jn77
    hehehe.... I recently was in the market for a top of the line laptop.... It came down to a mabook pro and an alienware. The macbook pro tech was 2 years older than what the alienware has and the macbook completely loaded was $1500 more than the alienware........ The alienware at its price, also had a more powerfull procesor, more ram, larger hard drives and a blu ray reader (Apple does not come with blu ray readers by default)....

    What do you think I chose? (I did not want apple cider).....lol
    Reply
  • susyque747
    Good news from the all knowing Socialist/Fascist European Utopia, I have read about so many Mac Pro's catching on fire, end sarcasm.
    Reply