- Apple will stop selling Mac Pro in Europe on 1 March
- Order by 18 February for delivery
- Resellers will be able to sell existing inventory after 1 March
- New 'pro product' by the end of the year
Apple has been forced to remove the Mac Pro from sale in Europe after an amendment to a safety regulation left the professional Mac incompliant.
Today the company has reached out to its sales and channel partners to confirm that orders for the Mac Pro must be placed by 18 February as the company will be unable to ship the model to these countries from the 1 March.
Apple told Macworld that the amendment to the IEC 60950-1 regulation increases requirements around electrical port protection and the fan guards in the system.
The Mac Pro met the previous standards prior to the amendment 1 addition. Apple told us that it considers the Mac Pro to be a very safe and very reliable product.
At issue are the large fans within the Mac Pro. Since they are unprotected, it would be possible to touch the fan blades.
According to Apple, the new requirements necessitate fan guards and some increased protection on the ports on the electrical system.
18 February deadline to order Mac Pro
The Amendment 1 of regulation IEC 60950-1, Second Edition goes into effect on 1 March throughout the EU countries and the EFTA trade zone.
Apple told Macworld that it wished to warn customers and partners about the change so that they would have sufficient time to order Mac Pro units and meet any needs prior to 1 March.
Apple confirmed that the deadline for orders would be 18 February since it will need to ship units by 28 February.
If customers and channel partners wish to purchase a Mac Pro they must order by 18 February to ensure delivery prior to 1 March.
Apple emphasised that reseller partners will be able to continue to sell Mac Pro products that they have in inventory after 1 March. However, Apple won't be able to ship its pro Mac into those countries.
Concerns about future of Mac Pro
News that Apple is taking the Mac Pro off sale in Europe will no doubt raise concerns from the professional Mac market. While the Mac Pro received a minor update following WWDC last summer, the last significant update was in 2010 and that has lead to speculation that Apple will retire the Mac Pro.
However, Apple CEO Tim Cook laid concerns to rest in an email to a customer last year in which he stated:
"Our Pro customers like you are really important to us. Although we didn't have a chance to talk about a new Mac Pro at today's event, don't worry as we're working on something really great for later next year. We also updated the current model today."
Where the safety regulation applies
The IEC 60950-1 amendment 1 applies to EU countries and EFTA states who follow those requirements.
This means that the full list of countries includes:
- EU countries:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
- Countries on the road to EU membership:
Croatia, Iceland, Montenegro, Serbia, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey
- European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries:
Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland
Apple emphasised that countries outside of these areas are not impacted and Mac Pro will continue to be available worldwide.
The company also confirmed that it would continue to support the hardware and software so that customers who require service parts of have any issues should have no concerns as far as maintaining parts and existing equipment.
Apple also emphasised that the Mac Pro is the only Mac product affected by this. "Our entire Mac line is compliant with this amendment 1 standard, with the exception of Mac Pro," said the company.
Apple sent the following communication to the channel
Mac Pro no longer sold in EU Countries after March 1, 2013
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.
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Related:
Andy Hertzfield leads backlash against 'lame' Mac Pro, Apple admits 'not new'
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Comments received
NeilFiertel said on Thu, 31 Jan 2013
hilarious for anyone with a Mac Pro..like an injury from the internal an on a Mac Pro would require disassembly and powering to up..only a child could injure themselves with the fan if the housing internally was removed. one could there fore require that all autos have a hood interlock since there are morphing parts such as a rather more powerful an therein..oh yes, then there are the moving tires on autos..van them also after March1. who runs that place anyway? Seems like some serious risk adverse loon made this regulation about a computer that is perfectly fine as it is albeit old tech now.
LondonGuy said on Thu, 31 Jan 2013
"it would be possible to touch the fan blades!!!????"
Have these guys not looked inside a Windows PC desktop? Plenty of fans to chop your fingers off by completely unguarded fans. I suppose all PC desktops will cease shipping too then?
What a load of horse pucky! The sooner the UK is free of stupid EU bureaucracy and the cr*p they impose on us the better. Bring on the referendum.
AJClayton said on Fri, 01 Feb 2013
Not Apple's fault this one. EU doesn't do itself any favours with crazy rules like this. There's clearly no point in Apple updating the Pro to be compliant as we all know a new model is on the way. Can't come soon enough for me as my Mac Pro 1,1 is seriously showing its age now but at least we know there is something on the horizon [sigh].
Dragonfly said on Fri, 01 Feb 2013
Seems odd that Apple were caught out with that. Do they not have a European Sales Director that keeps on top of up-coming regulations ? Usually these things don't just get announced with 18 days notice.
Can they not make a retro-fit fan guard that fits over the fans ? Pictures I've seen look like there's 4 holes around the fan where a guard could be fixed.
aaaashy said on Fri, 01 Feb 2013
this makes no sense whatsoever ....
1/ how could this EU directive catch out the best tech company in the world?
2/ why could Apple have not made a simple upgrade?
3/did i not hear that Apple was moving towards being a consumer-based company rather than being a Pro-based company .... and this ridiculous cover story allows them to stop production with less thasn 3 weeks notice
4/ how stupid is the EU, to ban a procduct because it has uncovered fans, when those fans will not be running when you remove the side of the case to access them????
5/ what is going on really?
brainflakes said on Sat, 02 Feb 2013
Ok I've read the directive (you can read it here, slide 32 to 36 www.slideshare.net/miraclejackhsu/introduce-iec-60950-1-2nd-ed-a1for-client) and the regulation DOES NOT BAN UNGUARDED FANS. It splits unguarded fans into 3 categories based on whether they cause pain or injury.
I ran the numbers for standard 10cm case fans and even up to 3000 rpm (faster than the Mac Pro's max speed) they are still considered so safe then can be put on the outside of the case with no guard and still be legal. Even the next dangerous category can be unguarded on the inside as long as there's a warning label.
I just can't see how any of the Mac Pro's fans could possibly fail these rules, and I can't just help but think Apple are using it as a PR excuse to deflect attention away from failing the electrical port protection requirements.
pschapman@talktalk.net said on Tue, 05 Feb 2013
Does this mean the the end of life for the Mac Pro in Europe and that the Mac Pro 2013 will not be coming to Europe, can apple confirmed this.
Is it to much to ask Apple to make a statement to clarify what the future of the Mac Pro in Europe. Perhaps MacWorld could make inquires?
mredgeperson said on Thu, 07 Feb 2013
People are just going to think that Apple have taken their eye off the ball with this. The EU is a sizeable market and someone wasn't keeping up with regulations. The EU legislature isn't renowned for the speed at which it works. Questions will be asked how no one at Apple spotted it.
Those who take the view that Apple has dragged its feet with development of workstation computers for professional use (one of Apple's oldest markets) are going to feel worried and vindicated at the same time. No amount of positive blandishments emerging from the top brass is going settle fears after years of underwhelming delivery. The support at Apple for higher end computing has seemed threadbare when compared with the specs on offer from other manufacturers.
For professional users, their machines are tools of their trade, not life-style options. Over the last few years it seems as though, as a succession of consumer iProducts has won the company its present riches, Apple may have forgotten that.
pschapman@talktalk.net said on Mon, 11 Feb 2013
To MacWorld
When you contacted Apple about this did they said that this applied to the current Mac Pro only or also included future models?
It would hurt Apple to provide a simple Yes or No to the Question "Will the new Mac Pro 2013 be released in Europe and the UK"?
pschapman@talktalk.net said on Wed, 13 Feb 2013
If one takes the letter sent out to UK Resellers literally then it would appear to be the end of the Mac Pro in Europe.
This would indicate that the new Mac Pro to be released later this year would be based on the current Mac Pro with the same configuration. It would use components from the present Mac Pro thus making it non-compliant with EU Regulations.
Could apple comment on these conclusions perhaps even Tim Cook?
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