MacBook and iMac discontinuation

[tennisproha]

(sorry there's no general Mac hardware section to post this in…)

What's all this talk on here about Apple ending production on iMac and MacBooks because they are exiting the Mac market to focus on iOS? It makes no sense.

Apple is a computer company. iPhones and iPads are computers just like Macs. Why on earth would they abandon an amazing product? Are these people who are speculating this just ape-**** crazy?

 

[pdjudd]

There is the general Apple business discussion where it might be more appropriate for discussing this topic: Here [mod note: thread moved]

Anyway, its just rumor mongering. Apple hasn’t discontinued an entire computer hardware line recently and given that they seem to enhancing OS X and adding features to it, it doesn’t seem likely that they are abandoning it (if they were, they wouldn’t put in the effort that they are putting in). Rumors are largely based on lack of regular upgrades or significant ones in peoples minds. I don’t know how old the iMac’s are (looks like the last release was about a year ago) and the MacBook was overhauled about the same time. Most of the lack of upgrades though, seem to be limits on what Intel is putting out - they are getting slower in their improvements. The other is people saying that Apple not releasing hardware at WWDC means that there is nothing more period. Lack of hardware at a developer event doesn’t mean jack was far as I am concerned given that they can upgrade their product at any point even without an event to do so.

In short, there is no hard evidence to depict this, and given current events, Apple seems to still be invested in their Mac Hardware. IMO, most of these rumors are about feelings that people are having about things and not much else.

 

[tennisproha]

It's a product line related inquiry but the 2 lines are in seperate forums. Either way, here is fine.

Most of the lack of upgrades though, seem to be limits on what Intel is putting out - they are getting slower in their improvements.

Well people like to point out that Apple doesn't tend to use the latest and greatest Intel chips available to them at the time. This also seems to be the reason people like to build hackintosh'.

I agree on all your other points though. I just can't imagine Apple would abandon the Mac line. I mean mobile is great and improving but even with the transition to cloud, a full desktop/laptop system is crucial to any serious productivity and probably will be for the foreseeable future IMO.

 

[Hellhammer]

Well people like to point out that Apple doesn't tend to use the latest and greatest Intel chips available to them at the time. This also seems to be the reason people like to build hackintosh'

That's not true. Apple uses the latest Intel chips that are available at the time of the refresh. What Apple doesn't do is update the lineup immediately after a new batch of CPUs is released, so in some cases Macs may be shipping with previous generation hardware (e.g. current MBPs). The main reason people build hackintoshes is because Apple doesn't offer a tower Mac with good upgradeability, and the Mac Pro is very expensive.

Apple won't discontinue the Mac lineup. Period. If you see any talk about this it's just people scaremongering and being pissed off because they still don't have a Skylake MBP.

 

[JimmyPainter]

(sorry there's no general Mac hardware section to post this in…)

What's all this talk on here about Apple ending production on iMac and MacBooks because they are exiting the Mac market to focus on iOS? It makes no sense.

Apple is a computer company. iPhones and iPads are computers just like Macs. Why on earth would they abandon an amazing product? Are these people who are speculating this just ape-**** crazy?

WOW ... LOL ... It is actually nothing but a Rumor based upon "Apple Speak" but you also have it exactly backwards. Macbook, Macbook Pro, and iMacs are the only ones looking to survive. Yes Apple needs to sell computers. Just their own list of what people need or they want to build. They Just killed off their ONLY external Display (Thunderbolt). They will also discontinue anything requiring that external screen (Mac mini and Mac Pro). They also don't need 47 levels of notebooks so ... Macbook Air isn't needed either.

Giving us ..

Macbook and Macbook Pro.
Imac and iMac Pro.

Macbook Pro already exist but, the iMac Pro will be a New Creature designed to fill gap where Mac Pro used to exist (Xeon Processors and ECC Ram). It will have a Higher end GPU than plain iMac but will depend upon 3rd Party Thunderbolt 3 Extender Boxes to allow for the return of using PCI based 3rd party cards for extra Specialized Processing as the whole computer industry is moving back to these. Look no further than nVidea's Tesla or Intel's Phi "CO-Processors". The same way PCI Extender boxes from Cubix" used to allow for up to 5 Titan cards to help push CUDA, the next "Big Loads" will have the ability to be processed under or beside the your desk or maybe even in another room. Need 4 Red Rockets for your 10k Raw Red Camera video to crunch it down to 8k for comercial sale. Need to purchase some old PCI Audio cards for your new Recording Studio. Thunderbolt 3 will bring it to your Macbook Pro or your iMac Pro just the same. Need Multi-screen Setups, look to your 3rd Party again. Remember Radius back in the old days?

Anyway ... this will allow Apple to Slim down the MAC line and focus on "Shaking their Money Makers" iPad and iPhone. Don't be sad though ... As soon as we have OLED Flexible screens we should see a Super powerful 17 or 19" iPAD PRO.

AGAIN .. this is just a my guess as to where Apple is taking us next.

 

[Weaselboy]

Apple is a computer company. iPhones and iPads are computers just like Macs. Why on earth would they abandon an amazing product? Are these people who are speculating this just ape-**** crazy?

Yes they are.

In the last quarter Apple made over five billion in revenue on computer sales... more than they made on iPads (4.4 billion). Why in the world would Apple stop making computers and leave that money on the table? Answer: They won't.

 

[tennisproha]

That's not true. Apple uses the latest Intel chips that are available at the time of the refresh. What Apple doesn't do is update the lineup immediately after a new batch of CPUs is released, so in some cases Macs may be shipping with previous generation hardware (e.g. current MBPs). The main reason people build hackintoshes is because Apple doesn't offer a tower Mac with good upgradeability, and the Mac Pro is very expensive.

Apple won't discontinue the Mac lineup. Period. If you see any talk about this it's just people scaremongering and being pissed off because they still don't have a Skylake MBP.

Hmm that would be logical in regard to upgrade cycles but I do rmr reading about people complaining that I believe the Mac mini didn't have the latest chips in the refresh (aside from dropping quad core.) and maybe a MacBook as well at one time.

I do understand your point about the hackintosh though and that does make perfect sense with Mac Pro being so restrictive.

They will also discontinue anything requiring that external screen (Mac mini and Mac Pro). They also don't need 47 levels of notebooks so ... Macbook Air isn't needed either.

I hope not. The Mac mini and Mac Pro are cornerstones of the Mac lineup. Mac mini is both the entry-level and gateway to the OS X (macOS) world. And it's just so versatile. They would be ignoring quite a big customer base if they discontinue the mini. The Thunderbolt Display is just too expensive for what it is. I see your point about the Mac Pro though. They probably could get away with an iMac Pro since the professional customer base already probably uses iMacs.

 

[Appleaker]

It's not going to happen anytime soon, people are taking Phil Schiller's statement that an iPad Pro could replace a 5 year old PC to some people as meaning the Mac is dead. People are also speculating because of sales, however the Mac is staying strong and iOS devices can't be grouped into one to compare against Macs, they each have a different use case. The reason they are putting more effort into iOS for some things is because of its greater potential (as well as the masses of users).

 

[maflynn]

Apple is a computer company

Techncially Apple is an electonrics company, they dropped the computer from their name a few years ago.

o in some cases Macs may be shipping with previous generation hardware (e.g. current MBPs).

Sadly, the 15" model is a few generations behind, i.e., the 15" MBP is running on the Haswell chipset. I find that ludicrous at this point.

 

[tennisproha]

Techncially Apple is an electonrics company, they dropped the computer from their name a few years ago.

Technically, Apple is a technology company. They have many subsidiaries including a renewable energy branch.

But in reality Apple is a conglomerate; if you consider their venture capital endeavors.

 

[Kaspersky]

I would pay like 200 bucks for an official copy of Mac OS to PC. I would really pay... but I would torrent that.