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Apple Silicon Mac Pro Tower Q&A

Published July 24, 2023

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What version of macOS is pre-installed on the Apple Silicon Mac Pro?

The Apple Silicon Mac Pro models -- the Mac Pro "M2 Ultra" 24 CPU/60 GPU and Mac Pro "M2 Ultra" 24 CPU/76 GPU -- first shipped with a version of macOS Ventura (macOS 13) specifically macOS 13.4 (22F2073).

Apple Silicon Mac Pro with Display
Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (Apple Silicon Mac Pro)

The Apple Silicon Mac Pro models are compatible with the current version of the macOS.

How do you transfer data from an older Mac to an Apple Silicon Mac Pro? Are adapters required?

Just like Apple states for other recent Macs, the company explains that you can transfer data from your older Mac to a new Apple Silicon Mac Pro using the "Migration Assistant" app:

  • Connect the older Mac and the Apple Silicon Mac Pro to the same Wi-Fi network, which is most straightforward, but could take a long time depending on the amount of data to transfer and the speed of the network connection.

  • Connect a Time Machine backup of your older Mac stored on an external USB hard drive to your new Apple Silicon Mac Pro. If your older Mac does not have a USB-C shaped port and you are not using a storage drive equipped with a USB-C port, you will need to use an Apple USB-C to USB adapter (MJ1M2AM/A), Apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter (MJ1K2AM/A), or Apple USB-C VGA Multiport Adapter (MJ1L2AM/A) to connect the older hard drive to the new Apple Silicon Mac Pro .

Apple's support site offers specific instructions that should be reviewed before attempting to transfer data. As a precaution, EveryMac.com also would strongly suggest that you create an extra backup of your older Mac before attempting to transfer any data between systems.

Site sponsor Adorama sells these adapters as well as the Mac Pro with free shipping.

How do you restore the operating system on the Apple Silicon Mac Pro?

Apple does not include a physical restoration method for the Apple Silicon Mac Pro or other Apple Silicon-powered Macs. Instead, the macOS on the Apple Silicon Mac Pro is configured with integrated "macOS Recovery" capability.

To access macOS Recovery, simply boot the Apple Silicon Mac Pro and continue to press and hold the power button. Momentarily, a window with startup options will appear. Click the "Gear Icon" listed as "Options" then select Continue to start the recovery process.

More details about "macOS Recovery" specific to Apple Silicon processor-equipped Macs are provided on the Apple Support Site.

Can the Apple Silicon Mac Pro run older macOS apps?

Yes, for the most part. The majority of macOS apps that will run on late model Intel-based Macs also will run on the Apple Silicon Mac Pro, and other Apple Silicon-powered Macs, using Apple's integrated "Rosetta 2" software environment.

Can the Apple Silicon Mac Pro run Windows?

Unlike Intel-based Macs, the Apple Silicon Mac Pro cannot boot into Windows directly. However, it is capable of running Windows using versions of Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion created specifically for Apple Silicon processors.


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