Apple Executive Hints at Apple Silicon Mac Pro and Ongoing Focus on Apple Watch Battery Life

[deconstruct60]

Macworld is less optimistic (like me):

LINK

Apple confused about the Mac Pro? ROTFLMAO ... Apple sets the product requirements and specification for the Mac Pro. How can they be 'confused' on something they ENTIRELY define and design.


I posted above ( #70 ) that standard Apple policy is not to talk about future products. Mac Pro is a future product and this guy doesn't set Apple policy ( he not a named executive); he is just on the fringe of middle management. The reported tried to lead him into violating corporate policy and he tap danced around it. There is no mystery here on motivations; either by Apple or Macworld. Macworld is looking for click bait. ( Macrumors too). Macworld trying to bend over backwards to be the 'voice' of the disaffected , long suffering "maximum modularity" Mac Pro users and Macrumors being a bit too optimistic here (relatively to several Mac Pro users expectations. )

Likely going to get a Mac Pro that is not as hyper modular as some are wishing for. Some internal expandability still there and some not depending how it aligns with the baseline Apple Silicon implementation objectives.

Apple may not build the penultimate , modular tower , but they are not confused. Apple has often explicity outlined that they are not trying to make everything for everybody. There is a group of "Apple just build me a container box with as many slots as possible") folks who have latched onto the Mac Pro. I highly doubt the slots were the primary end goal for Apple in prevous Mac Pros. There were design decisions that other entities made that Apple just went along with , but it wasn't primarily Apple making those calls. There seems to be a set of users who looked at the Mac Pro 2019 and inferred that Apple had some super deep love affair with maximum slots more so than the overall system . It is more likely that is the 'confusion' here. Apple never did.

Apple jumping out of bed in the morning ecstatic about provisioning slots for Nvidia GPU cards? Nope.
Apple jumping out of bed in the morning ecstatic about user replaceable CPU modules? Nope.
Apple jumping out of bed in the morning ecstatic about 'raw iron' booting Windows ? Nope.
Apple jumping out of bed in the morning ecstatic about modular Afterburner ? Nope.
Apple jumping out of bed in the morning ecstatic about making (as opposed to buying off the shelf ) multiuser Linux server boxes that run Type 1 hypersor at there core in primary operating mode ? Nope.


Is Apple going to throw out all PCI-e expansion? Probably not. Only allow one internal drive ? Probably not.

Somewhere inbetween " extactly a Studio just slightly bigger box" and "hyper modular in every way" extremes is likley where the Mac Pro will land. That isn't 'confusion', that is just balancing the trade-offs. ( Mac Pro never did entirely pay for 100% of its subcomponents development costs. Not going to change when Apple switches to Apple Silicon.)

 

[Jorbanead]

Agreed. MR are reading a bit into what he said - and he specifically said "all the way up to the Mac Studio".

To be clear, he didn't mention Mac Pro, just the Mac Studio... they can cancel the Mac Pro line anytime, whenever they want.

He indirectly referred to it.

Why would he say “our goal is to take our entire product line to Apple Silicon. And that's something we intend to do.”

If they had no intentions of updating the Mac Pro, why would he say it’s something they intend to do? Mac Pro is the only Mac left, and all other macs have already transitioned. They also mentioned Mac Pro at an event last year too.

 

[CarAnalogy]

Agreed. MR are reading a bit into what he said - and he specifically said "all the way up to the Mac Studio".

Exactly. It could just as easily read the other way, that Apple Silicon goes up to the Mac Studio and the Mac Pro stays on Intel or doesn’t exist. In fact that seems the only reasonable way to read it.

 

[CarAnalogy]

He indirectly referred to it.

Why would he say “our goal is to take our entire product line to Apple Silicon. And that's something we intend to do.”

If they had no intentions of updating the Mac Pro, why would he say it’s something they intend to do? Mac Pro is the only Mac left, and all other macs have already transitioned. They also mentioned Mac Pro at an event last year too.

The wording is just so slippery. I didn’t read the source article but nothing in the MR summary actually refers to it. If you didn’t already know there was a product called the Mac Pro you wouldn’t learn anything about it from reading this.

All he said was entire product line. Their product line is whatever they say it is. I honestly don’t see the point in an Apple Silicon Mac Pro. The current Intel one does what it’s for. The advantages of Apple Silicon don’t really apply. I hope they prove me wrong but I don’t see it currently from anything they’re saying or doing.

 

[hagar]

Couldn

I don’t know how MR draw the conclusions they do? This sounds more like an announcement that the Mac Pro line is being discontinued.

Couldn’t agree more. They explicitly omit every mention of the Mac Pro so MR concludes it’s coming.

 

[seek3r]

Based on the quote, it sounds more like the executive skirted the question about the Mac Pro and didn't say anything about it. Apple could just as easily realize their "full transition" goal by simply discontinuing the Mac Pro and declaring the Mac Studio as the new "high-end pro workstation."

That's how I read it too, he leaves the door open for them just releasing an M3 Ultra Studio and calling it a day.

I really am getting the impression there's a bit of a struggle going on in Apple between the MP team saying "we need the fastest biggest chip you can give us, damn the power consumption" and the chip devs saying "our core product goals are power efficiency above all else and we can't dedicate the resources to such a niche chip"

 

[ChelseaDrew]

My series 4 Apple Watch still last a whole day usually with my usage and I have the cellular model. With that said I am looking forward to the 2nd gen Ultra and seeing that that battery life is like as I plan to upgrade.

 

[spinedoc77]

Extremely happy with my Ultra's battery life. Easy 2 days, possibly 3 days even and that's with the watch face always on at high brightness. I'd take a week, but don't feel I need it as I always charge every night and 2-3 days covers pretty much anything like forgetting to charge one night, or traveling. I can't see them making the Ultra very much larger, it's already huge.

 

[NT1440]

That's how I read it too, he leaves the door open for them just releasing an M3 Ultra Studio and calling it a day.

I really am getting the impression there's a bit of a struggle going on in Apple between the MP team saying "we need the fastest biggest chip you can give us, damn the power consumption" and the chip devs saying "our core product goals are power efficiency above all else and we can't dedicate the resources to such a niche chip"

Apple execs don’t reference unreleased products in interviews, that’s part of their media training.

They did explicitly mention the Mac Pro as the last to transition in an actual event. Until you see a direct reference to the Pro being cancelled it’s the events that should be taken as gospel, not small interviews.

We’re reading tea leaves with this guys response, but you have to keep in mind Apple’s media training. They do not reference unreleased products by name unless THEY are the ones running the media event.

 

[sw1tcher]

I disagree. The quote (repeated below) is clearly in the future tense – "our goal is", not "our goal was" (the latter would be what you'd say when the lineup has completed the transition).

He also talks about taking the product line to Apple Silicon as something they intend to do – again, future tense, not yet done.

The statement "our goal is to take our entire product line to Apple Silicon" means it's still a process they're working on since the Mac Pro is still being sold, that's why they cannot say "our goal was..."

If/when the Mac Pro is discontinued, the statement "our goal is to take our entire product line to Apple Silicon" becomes true.

 

[jimbobb24]

There is a lot of mind reading in this write up of what was said.

 

[jimbobb24]

You’re absolutely right. A more basic Apple Watch for the elderly with one week battery life, all the health features, a more easy to read interface and none of the fancy stuff would be a great addition to Apple’s lineup.

It’s sad how the elderly in America don’t have access to chargers. I wonder how they are handling their cell phones.

As far as the other stuff that’s all in settings. You can make the text very large and the screen showing minimal information.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

With Apple's magic formula, the Mac Pro with the M2 will be the fastest desktop ever made and the most expensive.

Well, the fastest desktop Mac, but that’s about it.

 

[enterthemerdaverse]

It’s coming, but they should build it next to my town in Ireland so I can get fast delivery.

 

[theluggage]

If they had no intentions of updating the Mac Pro, why would he say it’s something they intend to do? Mac Pro is the only Mac left, and all other macs have already transitioned.

If they intend to update the Mac Pro, why would they exclude it from the statement "We believe strongly that Apple silicon can power and transform experiences from the MacBook Air to all the way up to the Mac Studio"?

As for "taking their entire product line to Apple Silicon" - that's what they said in 2019, since when they have dropped both the 5k iMac and iMac Pro...

Ultimately, its an empty response that could mean anything, neither unambiguously promising a new modular Mac Pro or confirming that it will be dropped. Which is a problem since it leaves the Mac Pro in limbo.

 

[orbital~debris]

This whole thread feels like whipped-up hysteria to me.

There's really nothing to see here; people seem to be inventing Mac Pro -less scenarios based on selective over-analysis and/or poor language comprehension.

 

[surfzen21]

The Ultra battery life is great however there could be improvements, you still gotta turn off a lot of features to get the battery to last 2/3 days.

Get three days out of my ultra with display always on, blood oxygen and heart and other tracking on, love it!

Ultra battery is fantastic!

The battery life on Apple Watch Ultra is amazing! However, we need this killer battery life on the iPhone Pro line up.

Im really happy with the battery life as well.

I regularly get about 3 days if I ran it full to empty, which I don't.

I usually charge it for about 25 minutes every 36 hours and that's all it needs.

That's with sleep tracking, 1-1.5 hours of workouts every day and AOD. I turned off raise to wake because I found the watch bright enough without it.

Running outside with music goes through the battery the fastest. Any battery improvements there would be welcome. I usually lose about 2 percent every 10 minutes when I run. My max runs are around 60 minutes so its not an issue. Even if I ran twice as much it wouldn't be an issue.

Might start biking again and Ill test that on a 2-3 hour ride.

 

[surfzen21]

That really isn't that long; automatic watches last indefinitely and any quartz watch last 1-2 years. Calling it 'ultra battery life' is a joke, really.

Apples to Oranges.

Those watches tell time, date and maybe moon phase. They don't come close to the functionality of a smart watch.

Apple watch is closer to a phone then it is a traditional watch.

 

[Kierkegaarden]

It will be interesting to see what battery life is for the XR product — seems like a MagSafe battery would work well in that situation.

 

[blazerunner]

Apples to Oranges.

Those watches tell time, date and maybe moon phase. They don't come close to the functionality of a smart watch.

Apple watch is closer to a phone then it is a traditional watch.

Yeah, and when I've got a phone on me at all times, theres really no need for me to have a smart watch on me. Still, 2-3 day battery life on a watch is pitiful.

 

[falkon-engine]

"something we intend to do" isn't equivalent to "something we have done." So is another x86 Mac Pro based on either Sapphire Rapids on AMD Genoa coming?

Also, why didn't the Mac Studio get a M2 Max refresh? And why did the Mac Mini max out at M2 Pro?

 

[surfzen21]

Yeah, and when I've got a phone on me at all times, theres really no need for me to have a smart watch on me. Still, 2-3 day battery life on a watch is pitiful.

So your phone can natively continuously read your heart rate, blood oxygen, temp and track sleep.

What model is that?

But if having a smart watch doesn't benefit you and having to charge one for 30 minutes or so every 2 days is a deal breaker then obviously you don't need one.

 

[opeter]

Apple can cancel the whole Mac product line whenever they want. It may not be probable , but it is possible.

Correct. They also killed of the bigger iMacs and iMac Pros without any warning. So...

 

[blazerunner]

So your phone can natively continuously read your heart rate, blood oxygen, temp and track sleep.

We all lived perfectly fine before smartwatches. I'm fine without one today. And I'll continue being fine for the foreseeable future without a smartwatch.

You're life wouldn't change much if at all without all those features. But... you're free to buy whatever it is you want no matter how much disregard you have for needs.

 

[Tagbert]

I do not understand why there is no battery armband for apple watch... Even a third party charging armband! Anything...

It is THE achilles heel of apple watch, mine is basically a decorative armband 90% of the time.

I always get at least 30 hours out of my Series 7 watch so as long as I can charge once a day, the battery isn’t a problem. It helps to have a routine.