Recalling The Mac Pro Wheels’ Accessibility Story

My friend Stephen Hackett posted a linked item to 512 Pixels today about the Mac Pro Wheels Kit, which Apple sells for $699, costing just $199 on Woot today. Reading his post instantly reminded me of a story I wrote for iMore (RIP) back in June 2019 about the Mac Pro to which the wheels attach, as well as the accompanying Pro Display XDR.

“While the new Mac Pro and accompanying Pro Display XDR seemingly don’t scream ‘accessibility’ at first blush, the truth is they can prove accessible in some interesting ways,” I wrote shortly after covering WWDC—in San Jose, no less—nearly 7 years ago.

Specific to the Mac Pro’s wheels, I wrote, in part, “these wheels just may be perfect from a disability point of view” because professionals with disabilities who work in a studio environment may find the wheels make moving the computer more accessible than lifting it. As I noted, you theoretically could ask for help, but the wheels’ presence offer agency and independence—which makes $700 feel like a veritable bargain, not to mention they’re affixed to a still-for-sale $6999 machine running Apple silicon that’s almost four generations old with the M5 family shipping and the M6 on the horizon.

I continued in my iMore piece: “It sounds trivial, but wheels have the potential to be a serious assistive tool for a certain type of user. Instead of lifting, someone could just push their computer around when it’s necessary to move it. And of course, the convenience for people without disabilities stands too. The wheel is arguably the greatest invention in human history, after all.”

As to the Pro Display, what I wrote in 2019 holds up in 2026 given my experience.

“Suppose you’re visually impaired and working at Pixar or some other high-end production shop. With the release of the Mac Pro and the Pro Display XDR, you could theoretically request one of the displays as a reasonable accommodation in order for you to do your job,” I proffered presciently, as it turned out. “(Budgets will vary from company to company, but I doubt Pixar needs to pinch pennies.) The monitor’s super high resolution, contrast, and colors—combined with the Mac’s accessibility software—would make doing video work or other types of visual work much more accessible.”

The Pro Display’s resolution, contrast, colors, and size all help me do better journalism.