Apple Continues to Work on All-New Mac Pro With Upgradeable Design

[TheTruth101]

Then your path forward is clear: Build a Hackintosh.

You best believe that Apple watches the Hackintosh community like a hawk, and if it REALLY started to take-off, two things would immediately happen:

1. Apple would lock-down macOS solid, using some sort of Trusted Computing hardware on the mobo.

2. There would soon be a tower Mac again.

But since Apple sees that the pirating of macOS and the interest in Hackintosh forums hovers in the .5% world, as far as loss-of-sales-revenue goes, they haven't done any of the above.

So, what I am really saying is, once you get away from the internet forums, out in the REAL world, the REAL interest in a classic-tower Mac is actually pretty damned small.

Totally agreed.

Specially today, people are doing things for the web, full HD would do just fine. Youtube proved something... what matters is the script, the content, not the resolution or video quality. The best videos may be recorded with a cheap camera, no color correction and they make loads of money. While you can make videos with Red cameras in 4K an not make a dime.

So... along time ago technology satisfied the market. Unless people start to produce virtual reality from their iPhones in 8K... there is no need for more processing power for the masses. People do not need 4K at all, is over killing. We are fine with HD. Stories lines do not need filters, lens flares and stuff, they need a good script.

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

That may be partially true, but I'm not buying it as the sole reason.

PCs needed to be flexible, and the tubes just aren't as a form factor.

Thus I believe one of the main reasons Apple didn't drive the industry is GAMING. Another is that Microsoft was and is innovating as well, releasing what Apple refuses to and giving people real alternatives.

But Apple jumped the gun too far ahead with the tube, just like they did with last year's TB MBP. It was a misstep that can and has cost them customers. Although they were smart with the TB MBP, they kept selling the previous model alonside the new, just like they did with the cMBP to Retina MBP transition for a year, I believe.

But the iOS division is so profitable that Tim wants to mimic its successes on the Mac side, and is trying to implement it by making the machines simpler/easier/cheaper to manufacture, and expensive for the users to upgrade and replace.

I predict this plan will fail long-term, and perhaps they noticed too, so they're backpedaling hard trying to keep people from jumping ship by speaking on a future product; something Apple has NEVER done.

So, "Innovate, but not TOO much"?

Riiiiiight.

 

[Unami]

I bet it will be at least 2019. They‘ll want to sell the imac pro for some time. Then it‘s lower end configuration will be surpassed by intel‘s desktop-gpus (like the 6-core 8700k that already lies between the 8 core and 10 core imac pro) and it‘s higher end configuration can be replaced by the macpro.

or they act like apple recently and just throw out yet another model. feels like the good old times - lots of models and high prices.

 

[greenmeanie]

I just think they will price them out of most people's reach and then say I told you so no one wants a modular desktop.

Maybe they will remember that pro users care way more about scaleability and compatibility than they do about 'revolutionary' design features. The tower was always the best form factor for a pro machine.

 

[apolloa]

Will be interesting to see what hardware porn Apple make. Shame they didn’t start the iMac Pro from 3 grand really.

 

[greenmeanie]

I liked mine also but the add ons price and my fan started to rattle so I just sold it.
I thought it wasn't a bad idea but pricey.

I do a lot of video editing, audio and multimedia production, and I've been very happy with my 2013 Mac Pro. The only time I notice the fan is when I play graphics-intensive games. Then it makes a nice room heater. But during "normal" work, I can't even tell it's running.

 

[nutmac]

All I really want in Mac Pro is iMac and iMac Pro - screen + upgradable storage, GPU, and RAM, and refreshed every year. Apple can even charge the same price as the existing iMac and iMac Pro.

 

[Larry-K]

Apple doesn't have a Patent on THAT Playbook!

EVERY "tech"-driven company sings the same tune...

They just sing it more loudly.

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

Wow... tired form-factors. Yet they work. In fact... it's what many (most?) people want... a tower.

Do you ever wonder why Dell, HP and others don't adopt a crazy design? Like maybe a cylinder?

How about this... Apple still sells a Mac Pro today with 2013 parts in it. #fail

So yeah... I'm gonna have to side with Dell and HP on this one. They use a standard tower form-factor, with upgradability and expanability, with normal PCIe cards, RAM, etc... and yearly updates. That last part is key.

I know you're trying to make Dell and HP seem lazy and uninspiring... but functionality sells in the workstation market.

Apple tried to "rock the boat" in the workstation market... and look where it got 'em...

They started selling a Mac Pro in 2013 and they're STILL selling it with 2018 just around the corner.

So you tell me who got it wrong...

Oh, there's NO denying that Apple "Got it wrong" with the Cylinder. But not NEARLY as "wrong" as you allege. If you will listen to pretty much ALL of the commenters to this Article that actually HAVE a Cylinder Mac Pro, what you UNIVERSALLY hear is how much they LOVE the machine. It seems that the ONLY people that whine about the Cylinder Mac Pro are the ONLY ones that aren't really qualified to judge it: Those who have never even USED one, and probably haven't ever even SEEN one in real life.

But regardless of whether a particular product is a "Hit" or a "Miss", Apple is the ONLY one in the industry that TAKES those bold steps; sometimes they work spectacularly, or at least well-enough to be considered "successful", like the Toaster Mac, Mac II, Mac IIfx, Mac II CX, Mac LG, PowerMac 5xx, PowerMac 8500, PowerMac 9500, PowerBooks (most, if not all), iBooks (all), Unibody MacBook, CRT iMac, Sunflower iMac, (all) LCD iMacs, Mac mini and G3/G4 and G5 Tower designs. Sometimes they don't, like some of the weird Amelio-era PowerMacs, particularly the PowerMac 6600, G4 Cube and to some extent (but not as much as you would allege), the Cylinder Mac Pro.

But you will notice, the "Hits" are a LOT more numerous than the "Misses". And that's about all ANY innovative company can ask for...

But, in ALL of that, there is one common thread: Apple INNOVATES. Apple NEVER "Follows". Every single one of those designs is actually a wholly-realized concept from start to finish; not just a pile of generic cards stuck into a generic mobo with Apple's logo stuck on the front.

And NO ONE ELSE can really say that and MEAN it.

 

[milo]

For the complainers of the computer (iMac Pro) they won't buy or can't afford, Apple is working on another pro desktop that you won't buy or can't afford. But, upgradeability! TGIF!

I've been using the mac pros for years. I've upgraded all of them. And yeah, I'm going to complain when apple makes dumb decisions.

 

[ColdShadow]

I really hope the ditch that ridiculous trash can design.
that was one of the worst Apple designs ever.so bad.embarassing in fact.

 

[Macatize]

 

[greenmeanie]

And people going around Posting "It is for Pro's it's not for you" can just stop.
Most people that bought a MacPro is your average user that has it in their home. If Apple relied just on the PRO market when selling them they would go the way of the Apple Server.
I keep hearing the PRO Market but the places I have worked switched over to ESXI and data centers no Apple stuff at all.

​

[doublepost=1513376573][/doublepost]I don't know maybe they will just make it a FULL SIZE Trash Can.

I really hope the ditch that ridiculous trash can design.
that was one of the worst Apple designs ever.so bad.embarassing in fact.

 

[rjbenson83]

upgradeable computers don't make sense for the business or consumer, i agree with Apples original sentiment. To upgrade all of the components needed for an appreciable gain in performance you might as well buy a new computer (the costs proposition would favor this). Apple has studied the data, an overwhelming majority of people don't upgrade major components. But Apple also has to understand that people don't use that level of logic when spending their hard earned money, so they should just give the people what they want, and upgradeable computer, but don't actually offer any reasonable upgrade paths, lol.

 

[femike]

Just make a reasonably priced upgradable headless mac with desktop components that the average user can afford. Apple could have it in the same case as the Mac Pro as well.
I see MacOS market getting smaller if they continue to push expensive all-in-ones and mac pro's.

 

[nt5672]

They were careful in the spring to say the Mac Pro would not be released in 2017, rather than saying it would be released in 2018. The new announcement still does not specify that it will be released next year.

The takeaway is that Apple is not sure that the Mac Pro will be released in 2018. Therefore I would expect a late 2018 release at the earliest.

I think that time is about right. Since Ive is back, it is going to take him months to think of and squeeze every ounce of beautiful design out the new Mac Pro. It will completely unusable, but it will be another notch in his dream land.

 

[solipsism]

You put WAY MORE thought into my thought than I did. I bet your a blast to have a casual conversation with!

More so than most because even if I do say something inane it's typically well considered and isn't just a knee-jerk response based on fleeting emotions which means it can be discussed.

 

[asdavis10]

I've been using the mac pros for years. I've upgraded all of them. And yeah, I'm going to complain when apple makes dumb decisions.

Sounds like the iMac Pro wasn't designed for you. The modular Mac Pro that Apple said they were working on releasing next year is.

 

[ChrisA]

Seriously all Apple needs to do is buy the same parts I can buy right now at Newegg.com place them in a brushed aluminum box add a GTX1080 GPU card and be done with it in two weeks.

Basically Apple needs to build a HACKINTOSH Just use available parts but support it.

 

[jm001]

Apple's damned if they do, damned if they don't according to a few posters on this forum. Apple has been out of touch with it's computer desktop line for awhile and I, for one, am glad to see they're addressing this category of their company. It used to be all about the Macs, especially the desktops, back in the 90's and early 2000's. I became a fan of Apple COMPUTER Co. back in the //c days and then graduated to the Mac Plus. It's always been the desktops and the OS that have kept me a fan. To hell with you naysayers.

 

[The Cappy]

So what do I do with the $13,000 iMac Pro that I just bought?

Ugh. Doesn't it make you just a little disappointed in yourself to be cracking the same joke 100s of other people are also cracking?
Answer 1: There are people who actually know the answer to that question without seeing the snark in it... and they're the only people who should be buying that computer.
Answer 2: This is a price that will get mentioned by a lot of silly juveniles, but it's a price that probably no one will pay. Some people will want the highest end processors, and some people will want the most storage and some people will want the highest end gfx card and some people will want the most RAM... and they won't necessarily be the same people. The most expensive processor isn't the fastest at single-threaded tasks, for instance.
[doublepost=1513380011][/doublepost]

Seriously all Apple needs to do is buy the same parts I can buy right now at Newegg.com place them in a brushed aluminum box add a GTX1080 GPU card and be done with it in two weeks.

Basically Apple needs to build a HACKINTOSH Just use available parts but support it.

There you go. Someone who doesn't know the difference between a PDQ gamer rig and an actual pro workstation.

 

[superduperultra]

It's going to be modular, but it's also going to be small.

I will quote this post on release day to prove I was right.

It will look something like the Louque Sweden Ghost S1 MkII:

 

[Moonjumper]

upgradeable computers don't make sense for the business or consumer

It isn't just the upgradability that is important, it is also repairability of user replaceable parts.

The hard drive had a problem on the iMac I used to have. It took the Apple Store a couple of weeks to fix it, and that fix started several days after the problem started because of available appointments at the store. So more than two weeks without being able to use the computer for work. A generic drive could have been slotted in by me and be up and working again very quickly.

 

[rumplestiltskin]

To those lusting after a Mac Pro in a config similar to the previous aluminum model, be careful what you wish for because you might just get it.

That machine was an awful design from a repair standpoint. If the power supply went bad (and it often did), you needed to completely gut the machine in order to get to the PS that was -buried- beneath the inner floor of the machine. Had Apple simply put a door on the outside bottom, this would not have been necessary.

Let's be clear: The G3 and G4 models with the motherboard on the door were the easiest units to repair. Apple could have continued with such a design for the G5 and Intel models (although some different dimensions would undoubtedly have been required). Some of those models could take four hard drives plus an optical drive; the latter no longer being necessary would permit either a smaller enclosure or greater expansion.

But Jony Ive can't be seen to "go where anyone has gone before" so don't expect anything but 1 step forward and 2 steps back. The Mac Pro enclosure will be an enormous disappointment except for those who continue to drink way too much of the Apple KoolAid.

 

[technorganic]

Ok, well I WAS going to let your Hater Rant go; but you have SEVERAL untruths:

1. AppleScript isn't going ANYWHERE. Here are some Developer notes from High Sierra:

https://developer.apple.com/library...eScript/RN-AppleScript/RN-10_13/RN-10_13.html


2. Same with Automator. In fact, it has been given some SERIOUS love in High Sierra and iOS 11:

https://wccftech.com/ios-11-macos-10-13-will-feature-a-brand-new-automator-app-rumor/


3. No support of OpenGL? Since WHEN???

https://developer.apple.com/opengl/

Having said that, they DO seem to be more interested in Metal2 going forward...


4. And as far as the Nvidia PROPRIETARY CUDA non-Standard goes, there is PLENTY of support for High Sierra, with the latest macOS CUDA Drivers being released on 12/8/17...

http://www.nvidia.com/object/mac-driver-archive.html


So, any more NONSENSICAL, EASILY-DISPROVEN, LIES?

1. All they did were some minor bug changes. No new features. It's pretty dead looking. No new real changes since 10.11
https://developer.apple.com/library...eScript/RN-AppleScript/RN-10_11/RN-10_11.html

2. Uh, where are these new versions of Automator at then?

Apple got rid of the guy and position in charge of automation technologies like Automator and AppleScript. https://9to5mac.com/2016/11/17/mac-user-automation-sal-soghoian/

3. High Sierra is still using OpenGL 4.1 which is now 7 years old. So yeah, no support for current OpenGL.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202823
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenGL#OpenGL_4.1