Apple Planning USB-C iMac and Faster Notebooks in 2017, Mac Pro and Touch Bar Magic Keyboard in Question

[Appleaker]

They've been testing a new Mac Pro for a while but I doubt production is the sole reason for a delayed release. In their mind there was no rush, and similarly the Mac mini is bringing in money as it is.
As for the keyboard, I hope it is released. Battery life could be fixed as there is much more room for battery but it wouldn't be as good which might be a worry.

 

[Applebot1]

Much as I love my Mac when the time comes will seriously look at returning to Windows. Don't see value for money in a Mac as it stands.

 

[gnipgnop]

I think Apple has something up their sleeve in regards to desktops and that part of it relates to their interest in customized chips, but not necessarily the CPU at this point. Think GPU and chips like the W1 that are specific to certain tasks and compliment the CPU.

 

[Guy Clark]

It is quite clear that Apple have 'dictated' USB-C to be the way forward however if they drop Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 on the next generation 5k iMac then this wonderful product will be doomed. The iMac has been the flagship of the Mac brand for many years now however with this latest announcement there are uncertain times ahead.
Never has there been a better argument for opening up the macOS (OS X) platform as official Mac products are no longer offering what the consumer requires.

 

[echoout]

And certainly their laptops are still great and in general the best you can buy. If the computing power of the MacBook Pro isn't enough for you, then the real problem is that you are trying to have a laptop do the work of a desktop and Apple has failed to update its desktops.

I just wanted the new MBP to be faster than my 2012 that still kicks its butt in programs like Cinema 4D. It's not that the processors have hit a wall, performance is decreasing. This is in real-world usage, not in synthetic benchmarks. And it's been noted in many places that performance of popular programs is decreasing in each OS revision.

I don't see any other choices for a motion design professional and college educator but to look at moving on. I'm already being asked for lab configuration for 2020 and I just don't see capable Macs being in the mix. Our labs full of 2013 Mac Pros already seem inadequate to teach where the industry is heading and tools they are using. It's sad.

 

[hawkeye_a]

Seriously, how difficult/expensive is it for Apple to have a team of Mac/macOS engineers *just* upgrading the processors, RAM, GPU & storage on a regular basis? They've been making boxes for 40 odd years, and now that they're on the x86 architecture it's not like they're working with some exotic/custom hardware.

Apple charges a premium for its Macs which consumers have been willing to pay, does Apple lack the resources? the money? what?

Example: How difficult is it for them to cram the guts of an intel NUC into the MacMini?

Seems like they just lack the will to do it.

 

[cerote]

I wonder if Apple is just trying to bait a nice tax subsidy out of Trump.

And he will fall for it like many other companies are about to pull on him.
Say some stuff about moving some division to other country and then watch him get all huffy and offer tax cut. They take tax cut for "saving" that division and send other parts overseas.

 

[Stella]

"a lack of clear direction from senior management, departures of key people working on Mac hardware, and technical challenges."

Sounds like there is a morale issue at Apple. The CEO is steering Apple like he's blind and drunk. Its fortunate for Apple that SJ left nice set of products and future designs for Apple to continue to ride the wave. Looks like that is drying up though....

 

[cube]

cMBP or bust.

 

[69Mustang]

Make new Mac Mini with desktop-power CPU, replaceable internals, easily mounted to the TB display.

Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme.

{pant's tightening}

 

[nwcs]

If "great desktops in the pipeline" means an iMac that's basically the same but with USB-C and maybe an updated graphic card then that's not really all that great. And if they raise the prices like they did with the MBP then they might as well be telling some of us to look elsewhere for our next upgrade. Sad but true. The lack of a meaningful update is tolerable if the price were adjusted downward a bit but if it's going up to maintain a gross profit margin with barely any change then it's not worth it.

 

[pat500000]

Given the track record of Apple and how much better MacOS AMD drivers have been than Nvidia, I really hope you don't get your wish.

As a video editing person, amd works well with fcpx.

 

[Zarniwoop]

Seriously, how difficult/expensive is it for Apple to have a team of Mac/macOS engineers *just* upgrading the processors, RAM, GPU & storage on a regular basis? They've been making boxes for 40 odd years, and now that they're on the x86 architecture it's not like they're working with some exotic/custom hardware.

Apple charges a premium for its Macs which consumers have been willing to pay, does Apple lack the resources? the money? what?

Example: How difficult is it for them to cram the guts of an intel NUC into the MacMini?

Seems like they just lack the will to do it.

Margins in desktop businesses have been relatively low... if you compare it to iPhone's or iPad's margins, Mac's have pretty poor one. So... bean counters are facing the issue with relatively low R&D.

 

[pondosinatra]

What's a Mac?

Sent from my iGadget

 

[Wowereit]

I know a lot of folks on here have been saying the same, but it's hard to look at it any other way. It just seems they're being purely business focussed - the iPhone / iPad has better margins and ships in higher volumes, so why waste time on the Mac? It sucks for those who have invested into the Mac desktop ecosystem and are now being left hanging

They shouldn't forget that Apple products were designed to work best as an ecosystem.

If you already have iMac, MacBook, Apple TV, Time Capsule and iPad, iPhone is a no-brainer.
If you just have iPhone and iPad and everything else is Google/Microsoft, Apple has a hard time keeping you as a customer. One bad year for Apple and one hot new thing from someone else and you're gone.

And there are lots of those customers. They make up the majority of iPhone-buyers.

 

[theluggage]

Can we have an iMac that looks like this?

...but with less mediocre innards: Fortunately for Apple, the Surface Studio has MS's equivalent of a 'fusion drive' with a 5400rpm HD (wonder where they got the inspiration for that?) and no all-SSD option, a ~meh GPU and no fast i/o.

Apart from the "easel mode" touchscreen party trick (which does sound intriguing) and the looks, the current 5k iMac leaves it in the dust.

However, relying on your competitors to produce exploding phones and under-specced flagship products is not a good business strategy for Apple.

 

[Guy Clark]

Much as I love my Mac when the time comes will seriously look at returning to Windows. Don't see value for money in a Mac as it stands.

And you will soon be returning to Mac or considering Linux !

 

[544263]

And you will soon be returning to Mac or considering Linux !

Elementary OS Linux is a very nice alternative. I've ordered a t450s with fingerprint reader, 20 GB RAM, 1TB SSD and it's powered by Elementary OS Linux. - VERY nice especially for developers. I've opted for t450s instead of t460s because i prefer the looks of it and it has a swapable battery. Elementary worked out of the box. I'm now too swiping the finger when doing "sudo ...", it's fun ;-)

 

[marty11]

I can deal with usb-c, but it better have an SD slot.

 

[Applebot1]

And you will soon be returning to Mac or considering Linux !

Can't argue with that lol. Just frustrating the direction it's going. Is it possible Apple will ditch the Mac?

 

[JoelTheSuperior]

Elementary OS Linux is a very nice alternative. I've ordered a t450s with fingerprint reader, 20 GB RAM, 1TB SSD and it's powered by Elementary OS Linux. - VERY nice alternative especially for developers. I've opted for t450s instead of t460s because i prefer the looks of it and it has a swapable battery. Elementary worked out of the box.

When the time comes for me to upgrade I'm tempted to do the same. Lenovo has some very nice, well priced offerings right now.

 

[jclardy]

An iMac spec bump? How is that not giving up on desktops. Microsoft built a better Apple computer in 2016 than Apple is building in 2017.

What about the 2 year old Mini? Let me guess, Skylake and soldered RAM/SSD will be that upgrade. Maybe they'll be generous and give it a thunderbolt 3 port.

Apple really needs a new desktop line that is just a normal computer. The Mac mini is just a laptop in a tiny box. The iMac is a laptop with a massive screen and the Mac Pro is a workstation class machine. Apple has no real "desktop" computer.

 

[MH01]

I would say none of the above. Ballmer mucked about screwing up product lines for zero reason. Tim is just not updating as fast not actively running things. Scully helmed a sinking ship.

I would equate this to more like a car company like Nissan. They were hot to trot in the early 2000's then by failing to keep pace with design they have fallen out of favor but still make loads of cash.

Thinking about it, they are Sony. Once innovators that hung onto some key products and let the competition go past them, what do you think?

Im not form the US, so not sure about the Nissan reference there

 

[tubeexperience]

...but with less mediocre innards: Fortunately for Apple, the Surface Studio has MS's equivalent of a 'fusion drive' with a 5400rpm HD (wonder where they got the inspiration for that?) and no all-SSD option, a ~meh GPU and no fast i/o.

Apart from the "easel mode" touchscreen party trick (which does sound intriguing) and the looks, the current 5k iMac leaves it in the dust.

However, relying on your competitors to produce exploding phones and under-specced flagship products is not a good business strategy for Apple.

The "meh GPU" is faster than what's in the 5K iMac.

The hard drive isn't ideal, but it's easily upgradable to an SSD,

 

[PatriotInvasion]

It is quite clear that Apple have 'dictated' USB-C to be the way forward however if they drop Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 on the next generation 5k iMac then this wonderful product will be doomed. The iMac has been the flagship of the Mac brand for many years now however with this latest announcement there are uncertain times ahead.
Never has there been a better argument for opening up the macOS (OS X) platform as official Mac products are no longer offering what the consumer requires.

Maybe they'll put back in a SuperDrive and floppy to appease you as well. I also hope they add VGA and DVI connectors because I have a few 4:3 Dell displays I'd like to still use.

USB-C is the best port ever created and Thunderbolt 3 is lightening fast. If I need to buy a few $19 dongles to get me through the next year until more USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 peripherals come out, than so be it. Bring on USB-C.

Apple is damned if they do and damned if they don't. People clamor for innovation and then get mad when anything changes. Can't have it both ways.