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Apple Mulling Preview of New Modular Mac Pro at WWDC in June
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and have to worry about anti trust issues with locking out amd cpus.
maybe just an pci-e TX card to enable mac os say starting at $200-$300
Well you’re right that you don’t understand the target market. Apparently you think everyone has the same requirements, and that they all need high GPU performance. Not true in the slightest. Nor do all use cases require boot drives larger than 128GB.
And yes, Apple’s upgrades are expensive. That’s been true for many years. You can complain all you want, but I don’t think it’ll do you any good. If you don’t find value in Macs and MacOS, by all means don’t buy Apple. There are many other computer manufacturers to choose from. Apple isn’t trying to compete on pricing with commodity PCs, so if that’s what you want, skip Apple and buy Dell/Lenovo/HP/Acer/Asus/whatever, or build your own.
Companies and individuals often buy Apple because TCO is lower. Sure the hardware is more expensive, but that’s only one factor in the decision matrix, right? (And it goes without saying that depending on the application, Mac may not even be an appropriate solution.)
But if you talk to users who bill $100-500 an hour, they will tell you exactly how little they care about the so-called “Apple tax”. They’ll spend $5-10k on hardware without batting an eye, and it pays for itself in the first few days or weeks. It’s all about productivity and buying the right tools for the job.
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sure... and it will be available at the end of december 2019
Probably not that soon.
Funny how this is starting to sound like a good idea ... like us Pros would just go-ahead and settle for something like that.
So your answer is instead of trying to change things people should just accept it? If people took that attitude I suspect this thread wouldn't exist as Apple would have killed off the Mac Pro already.
Whichever mockup designer thought it would make any sense at all to glue a touchscreen on a desktop is completely clueless
If the rumors of Apple switching to ARM CPUs is true, I wonder how often Apple would upgrade the Mac Pro (and other Macs for that matter)?
I’m looking forward to see what they are cooking up but as an audio professional I don’t see a machine aimed at VR and video pros on my buying list. But will be interesting anyways....
No, I won't do that. As I wrote elsewhere, I hate Windows and like Mac OS. But instead of upgrading every 2-4 years, as I used to do, I'll upgrade maybe once a decade. Heck, that's about as often as as Apple upgrades their Macs anyway, so I guess it all works out!
Believe it or not, I can both like Mac OS and complain about Apple. In fact, if I wanted to jump ship to Windows, I wouldn't complain about the mediocre hardware and exorbitant prices from Apple. I wouldn't care; these things would be irrelevant to me.
But yeah, I think it's ridiculous that Apple will sell the same hardware, unchanged, for several years. Yes, I think it's ridiculous that they'll sell a computer in 2019 with 128GB storage. Yes, I think the prices they charge for upgrades are ridiculous. Yes, I will complain about it, and I do so because I want them to change, because I want to remain an Apple customer.
Further, I think it's ridiculous that people will defend Apple's neglect of the Mac and the prices they charge as if this is reasonable.
Loved this video and think this is likely to be the general direction of the delivery.
Something I haven’t seen in the comments so far (but might have missed) is the general move by apple away from hardware revenue into services, I think that a Mac Pro along these lines fits this direction, the modular design still makes plenty of revenue and opens up many more sales opportunities, they’ll lose on the RAM “mark up” but they’ll have a platform that can develop and deliver VR/AR content, this is going a huge market that can ‘quickly’ adapt to any future changes In hardware requirements.
VR/AR App Store are sure to follow the macs new/increased ability run the content, so I think a WWDC update is highly likely in my mind
Also as a side note I wondered if the modules design could use the MacBook Pro in some way, effectively unitising the power of the tower as an ‘e-all’ for a MacBook Pro, for me this would be an ideal solution.
I agree. It makes me sad how so many people see things as black & white, totally love it or leave it.
If people keep buying years old equipment at the same prices, why change? I don't like it, but I see the logic in it. As for 128 GB in 2019, that would be good for an entry, base computer meant for surfing the web, checking email, and maybe writing in Pages/Numbers. For a computer like a Mac Pro, you're right. Way too little. I wouldn't mind seeing having the option to install multiple internal drives. One for OS/apps & other drives for data. Or maybe macOS on one, Linux on another, and Windows on a third.
I'm glad this is just a rumor site or this would be an indictment of Apple's tech incompetence. How hard could it possibly be to make a modular Mac Pro when so many other vendors have done it for decades AND Apple used to do it themselves?
I have very low expectations on any thing that they plan to release. It will have too many compromised and will be priced 2 to 3 times more than it should based on its specs and capabilities.
I have very low expectations on any thing that they plan to release. It will have too many compromised and will be priced 2 to 3 times more than it should based on its specs and capabilities.
What we don't know is, how many more people would buy Macs, or buy Macs more often, if they weren't turned off by the prices. Not that it means much, but here's one guy who would. At first during the Mac mini announcement, I thought I might be a customer. Then I saw the price to bring it up to decent specs, and decided to stick with my current Mac for a bit longer. I know I'm not the only one, though I have no idea how many others are out there.
More concerning for Apple is how many people never become Mac users because of the pricing. The person who never buys their first Mac can never buy their second. Long term, this could hurt Apple's marketshare.
But I don't think they care; they sell enough iPhones that the Mac doesn't matter to their bottom or top line. Another example of how Apple—or, more accurately, its long term customers—is a victim of its own success.
You are comparing modular computers of the past to current modular designs? You have to be an idiot.
Chinese Knockoffs with a big brand name AKA HP-Z or parts from newegg made in china
I don't think you are wrong. Apple taking this long and using a phrase as coy as "modular". Makes me envision something consisting of all proprietary upgrade modules.
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I couldn't agree more! I loved my 2000 G4 tower. Over the next eight years, I upgraded every component that could be upgraded, and then I passed it to my dad, who got two more years out of it before it died. I likened it to a '57 Chevy. Apple should take a cue from the auto industry, with its muscle-car reissues:
"Sometimes innovation involves going back to your roots -- taking something that was great, and making it even greater. Introducing the Steve Jobs Signature Edition Classic Mac Pro Reissue. Timeless ATX tower design, but not your grandfather's boring beige box. Whether you choose Liquid Obsidian, Metal-Flake Candy-Apple Red, or Shimmering Lapis Lazuli, it'll look like it's processing terabytes and terabytes of data per second before you even plug it in. And what's under the hood? YOU decide. It's built for the future, whatever your future may hold. Maybe you're just beginning your entrepreneurial journey, and you need a lean, mean, reliable workhorse that just plain gets the job done. So begin with the base DX model, starting at just $1,899. Add and upgrade whatever components you want, as your needs and budget grow. Are you already farther along down the road, and need more horsepower right now? Then the mid-range EX, starting at $3,199, is for you. Or have you reached the top of your mountain, and need the ultimate in power, performance, and flexibility? Then step up to the LX, starting at $4,999. We think you'll agree that it's the greatest computer ever created -- at least by humans on planet earth... The Steve Jobs Signature Edition Classic Mac Pro Reissue. Infinitely configurable, because your creativity is infinite, even if your budget isn't."
Hey, I can dream, can't I? I'm a prosumer/enthusiast who enjoys writing, web design, photography, and video, and I do a little freelance work on the side. My 2015 MBP and 2012 Mac mini are still adequate for my needs, but sometimes I get the spinning beach ball when I throw video or photo editing tasks at them. I don't know what I'll get when it's time to upgrade. For my day job, I use a Windows 10 laptop, MS Office, and Adobe CC. I don't dislike Windows 10, and I've considered jumping ship to Windows, but I prefer macOS, and my wife and I are heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem. If Apple still offered a reasonably priced, currently specced equivalent of the old G4 tower, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. As it is, when the time comes, I'll probably go with either a 27" iMac or a Mac mini with a 4K monitor. In any case, I'm curious to see what the new Mac Pro will be, although I can't imagine it will be within my price range.
No, it absolutely needs to be silent. The 2013 was quiet enough to use in a (sound) mixing room. Our older cheese graters had to be put in dedicated machine rooms cause of the noise. Cable runs and extenders to those rooms are a pain in the ass, never want to go back there again.
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Perhaps they’re waiting for technology to catch up to their specifications.
Apple has zero urgency around this. Zero.
Apple is considering previewing its upcoming redesigned Mac Pro at its Worldwide Developers Conference this June, according to a new report by Bloomberg today.
Apple has said it is working on a high-end high-throughput modular Mac Pro for its pro user base that will be easily upgradable and will feature components for the most system intensive tasks.
According to sources who spoke to well-connected Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman, Apple has "internally weighed previewing a new version of the high-end Mac Pro" at this year's WWDC, although no firm decision appears to have been made.
According to executives Craig Federighi and Phil Schiller, Apple is committed to making the Mac Pro the highest-end desktop system able to accommodate VR and high-end cinema production. Apple has also put together a "Pro Workflow Team" to tailor the Mac Pro and other Apple products to its professional users.
The modular workstation is expected to ship alongside an upcoming Apple-branded pro display, which rumors suggest will be 31.6 inches with a 6K resolution and have "outstanding picture quality" enabled through a new Mini LED-like backlighting design.
We still have no word on when in 2019 the Mac Pro is coming, but Apple did promise a 2019 launch date in early 2018. If it's anything like the last Mac Pro in 2013, we should indeed get further information at WWDC, which Apple is planning to hold from June 3 to June 7 in San Jose, California, based on permit filings uncovered by MacRumors.
Article Link: Apple Mulling Preview of New Modular Mac Pro at WWDC in June
[doublepost=1550703983][/doublepost]Apple has zero urgency around this. Zero.
How many years does it take to design a Mac. Does Apple really have any, I mean any, Mac hardware engineers left. Either that or somehow they came up with something so convoluted that it takes years to design. Come on, it's a Mac. Computers are commodities these days. We don't need another trash can Mac with a Touch Bar.
"Some plants may not bloom again for another 7–10 years while others may bloom every two to three years." - Wikipedia on the Corpse Flower.
It reminds me of the Mac update schedule.
It reminds me of the Mac update schedule.