Apple will soon let Mac Pro owners install their own chassis wheels

When Apple launched Mac Pro in December, the company took flak for designing a machine with non-interchangeable feet, restricting owners from swapping out foot pegs for wheels without the help of Apple or an Authorized Service Provider. That will soon change.

Buried in the Mac Pro Technology Overview published on Monday, under a section titled "Enclosure Considerations," is a note on chassis wheels. The passage suggests Apple will soon make the option available as an aftermarket purchase.

"The tower enclosure comes standard with feet; wheels are a configurable option. Both feet and wheels are available as a customer-installable kit and therefore can be converted from feet to wheels or vice versa."

Apple does not offer an estimated launch timeline for the wheel kit, saying only that "some options may have delayed availability." The company directs users to the Apple online storefront for more information, though no such product listing is present on the website at the time of this writing.

Relay FM's Stephen Hackett spotted the notice in Apple's white paper on Monday.

Mac Pro's $400 hubless wheel option was the butt of many a joke last year, with press outlets taking jabs at Apple for charging exorbitant fees for seemingly standard hardware. Compounding the perceived problem, customers who elected against a wheeled Mac Pro currently have to take the desktop in to an Apple retail store or ASP to install the part.

What, exactly, Apple's Mac Pro wheel kit will include and at what price remains unknown. The standard issue wheel set integrates directly into the stainless steel space frame, which normally extends "from foot to handle" as a single unit. It is possible that the wheel units will be designed to attach to Mac Pro's large feet, facilitating easy installation but adding inches to the machine's height.