antonis
macrumors 68020
Does anyone know how much profit Apple makes on the Mac Pro?
What percentage of revenue of the CPU's are Mac Pro's?
All the arguments here are plausible:
Pro users need MAX horsepower
Why does anybody need more power than a maxxed out iMac?
X-Plane 10 needs more grfx power than a GeForce 680 MX
Time and effort spent on Mac Pro R&D is better spent on iDevices R&D
Apple can't eliminate their only Workstation
Apple is already abandoning Pro-users, see the software lineup
etc, etc.
Bottom line (duh): Apple is trying to decide what gives more profit:
1. High margin, but very small customer base?
2. Lower margin but for the "masses"?
3. What are the consequences of the choice?
I seriously don't know. But allowing the current situation that in the EU countries you simply cannot buy the Mac Pro says a lot.
I hope Apple has a surprising "Pro" update for us in the pipeline. But it has to show itself quick. Damn quick!!
All these points are valid, but I think there's one more side of that matter that is still missing: Apple cares about their profile, they've proved that in the past. It's not a given that they always make a decision strictly based on raw profit. By abandoning pro market for good, they are going to lose much of their traditionally high prestige and I don't think they are willing to. Musicians, designers, photographers etc were a target group that Apple always took under consideration.
All that said, for this moment (future might prove me wrong of course) I'd bet that they are still going to present a new Mac Pro within 2013 and make a come back.