Mac Pro goes on sale; shipping times quickly slide to February

The redesigned Mac Pro has gone on sale, but good luck getting one anytime soon: Apple won’t ship any until February.

The company Thursday morning began taking orders for the two basic models, which cost $2,999 and $3,999.

Apple’s website quoted early customers shipping times of Dec. 30, then told some customers that it could ship the machine by January, according to 9to5Mac. After a few hours, the shipping time for both models was pushed back to February, the website said.

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There are likely two major reasons for the lag time.

For starters, this is the first time Apple had put out a major redesign of the Mac Pro in three years. Since the last major update, the device has been slimmed down from a large and bulky gray aluminum desktop to a little sleek black cylinder that’s much smaller than its predecessor and is less than 10 inches tall. The machine is now capable of supporting up to three 4K Ultra HD TV monitors, a powerful tool for those in the film industry.

With so much time between radically different models, there was likely built-up demand for the new, more powerful machine.

Additionally, Apple likely didn’t have too many Mac Pro units on hand. The new machine is the first Apple computer to be built in the U.S. in a long time, so there’s a good chance Apple is still fine-tuning the domestic assembly process. That may have caused some shortages. Additionally, Apple has had trouble meeting demand on many of its recent products, including the iPad mini with Retina display and the iPhone 5s.

Fortunately, users may be able to avoind waitinf until February by looking on websites other than Apple’s. For example, MacMall, an Apple reseller, has the machine and lists a shipping time of five to seven days.

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