it makes perfect sense to replace with a suped up iMac BUT what will the big companies do - pixar, the video editing companies that work on movies having server farms? They can't have rooms full of iMacs?
It makes no sense at all.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple 'Questioning' the Future of its Mac Pro Line?
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It makes no sense at all.
How can it be a flagship if it never appears anywhere in the commercials, in the newspapers or on the popular blogs?
Apple's flagship is the iPhone, and in terms of computers the Macbook Pro.
That would be very sad. I use 3 Mac Pros with ACD 30's at work and one at home and those are the best Macs I have ever had (I also use iMacs and Minis). They can't be compared in real-life workflow to any non-pro machine, and I need full-size graphics card, a lot of internal storage and multiple CPUs for renders.
If that horror scenario happens, I'll be forced to buy a Hackintosh. What's next? Apple will abandon the whole pro market and just produce iPads?
That way they will lose a thousands of creative pros that were Apple advocates for years. If we are forced to switch to other platforms that can't be good long term. Apple will become a new Microsoft...
If that horror scenario happens, I'll be forced to buy a Hackintosh. What's next? Apple will abandon the whole pro market and just produce iPads?
That way they will lose a thousands of creative pros that were Apple advocates for years. If we are forced to switch to other platforms that can't be good long term. Apple will become a new Microsoft...
I don't know why everyone thinks thunderbolt solves all the expansion problems, it is only 10Gb/s which for an external connector yes is fast but PCI Express 2 is 64Gb/s and PCI Express 3 which is coming out is 128Gb/s.
You can't run a high end GPU over thunderbolt, it would be terrible. Not unless they released a 100Gb/s version really soon.
You can't run a high end GPU over thunderbolt, it would be terrible. Not unless they released a 100Gb/s version really soon.
Yes that's business, but when you sell a machine directly aimed at the professional market, then that business becomes a bit more what do our customers want? If your going to sell professional grade software, music and video (I've even seen BBC safari documentaries where they were using MacBook Pro's with FC in the middle of Africa!) then your customers expect you to sell professional grade hardware to support it.
Look at the backlash on what they did to Final Cut from professionals? It will be the same if they ditch the Pro line. I think it would be a bit of a public relations disaster to the professional market if they drop the Pro line and go consumer only.
What part of "not profitable" don't you understand? For 99% of users out there, the current MBP line is completely sufficient. Overkill, actually. And the iMacs have been replacing the Pro towers in most environments, save a few super niche industries (such as yours). You're asking Apple to manufacture a hugely expensive (material cost) machine that about 1% of users need. Doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense from a business perspective. And that says nothing about the fact that portability is their fundamental business model.
If you can connect a second processor through TB, you have that as well. Just need TB to get faster.
It seems to me that Apple has always been about empowering the user. Not the pro user, but the consumer user. While pros might look at Final Cut X and think it's terrible, I'm willing to bet that a lot of non-pro users think it's great. I think it's possible that Apple thinks they might be stretching themselves too thin, and want to focus more on empowering non-pro users.
The one thing that isn't true about this is that you still need to either be creative or have an eye to make the better work. I've seen enough 'prosumers' that call themselves that and they are the furthest thing from it. I literally cringe at some of the graphic/editorial work coming out of corporate and the government sector...it's absolutely terrible and these individuals consider themselves pros.
Just because you know how to use the tools doesn't make you good at what you do. In the end, the talented ones will benefit the most from easier tool sets...especially graphic designers who will have access to easier animation and editing toolsets. You can go from graphic designer to animator/editor a hell of a lot easier in the last few years then you will ever be able to go from being a editor to a graphics person. That path usually doesn't happen.
There's a big difference. You can train a blind, retarded monkey to replace the hard drive, power supply and RAM in a Mac Pro. That's not the case with the iMac. A "not that expensive" repair on an iMac is still a hell of a lot more than the same repair on a Mac Pro.
I think these rumours aren't really based. I feel like the Mac Pro has a halo effect. Every Mac Pro pretty promisses the sale of one of the pro software from apple: Apperture, Final Cut or Logic. Most of those Mac Pro sale mean a studio filled with Apple stuff too. You know, maybe a MacPro for intense work, a couple of iMacs for the rest of the staff, maybe a mac mini as a serveur for asset management.
Also, the fact that they make these Mac Pro puts them in a situation where some of the top pros use their software, forcing them to use the hardware as well. If they drop the Mac Pro, that means lots of people in the Audio/Video business will drop Apple as well. That then means that those software formats will loose their standing as a standard. That means everyone in that industry sees those format devaluate.
Let's say you work in video editing. Final Cut is not used anymore, so you stop being able to share your stuff with other pros. You don't have a reason to have a Mac. Same thing for lots of students. A lot of schools have some class that involves final cut, aperture or logic because they are easy to learn industry standards. If the pros stop using them, there's no reason for schools to teach them hence tons of students aren't forced to buy Macs. Even if most of those people would never have bought a Mac Pro, they had bought into the Apple ecosystem.
Even if it doesn't make them a lot of money, they have to keep the Mac Pro. It keeps them at the top of the game with the creative professionals and that trickles down the chain.
Also, the fact that they make these Mac Pro puts them in a situation where some of the top pros use their software, forcing them to use the hardware as well. If they drop the Mac Pro, that means lots of people in the Audio/Video business will drop Apple as well. That then means that those software formats will loose their standing as a standard. That means everyone in that industry sees those format devaluate.
Let's say you work in video editing. Final Cut is not used anymore, so you stop being able to share your stuff with other pros. You don't have a reason to have a Mac. Same thing for lots of students. A lot of schools have some class that involves final cut, aperture or logic because they are easy to learn industry standards. If the pros stop using them, there's no reason for schools to teach them hence tons of students aren't forced to buy Macs. Even if most of those people would never have bought a Mac Pro, they had bought into the Apple ecosystem.
Even if it doesn't make them a lot of money, they have to keep the Mac Pro. It keeps them at the top of the game with the creative professionals and that trickles down the chain.
So all of those studios doing music production, sound design, film editing and compositing, 3D graphics, photographic manipulation and editing, graphic design, etc., etc. are supposed to do what exactly?
Switch to PCs?
Switch to PCs?
I could see them abandoning the form factor.
Perhaps just offering a single rackmounted server/Pro model with options.
Somethings going to need to drive the wall-sized display, voice-activated, AI, total computing & environmental control system they're slowly progressing toward...
Perhaps just offering a single rackmounted server/Pro model with options.
Somethings going to need to drive the wall-sized display, voice-activated, AI, total computing & environmental control system they're slowly progressing toward...
I'm a creative professional that does everything from Audio Production and Sound Design to 3D Rendering and Video Editing with apple computers. I need ports, power, bays, expandability, cores, and tons of ram.
I've been with Apple for over 20 years.
I would leave Apple over this. I have always laughed about people talking about leaving Apple over an iphone update or missing feature they weren't happy about. But this is such a big blow, it would be a total deal breaker for me, and I LOVE osx. I'm actually getting depressed now. But I need a new Mac Pro machine in 2012 to handle our new needs for processing and rendering TV Commercials, 3D VFX composites, etc. This would be the end for me. How depressing.
I've been with Apple for over 20 years.
I would leave Apple over this. I have always laughed about people talking about leaving Apple over an iphone update or missing feature they weren't happy about. But this is such a big blow, it would be a total deal breaker for me, and I LOVE osx. I'm actually getting depressed now. But I need a new Mac Pro machine in 2012 to handle our new needs for processing and rendering TV Commercials, 3D VFX composites, etc. This would be the end for me. How depressing.
No - thats plain wrong. Just read Macworlds last review. Basically both displays are the same.
It's the Innovator's Dilemma all over again (one of Steve Jobs favorite books). SGI went bankrupt trying to cater to the professional video and graphics folks. Apple won't make the same mistake.
The best one might hope for, if this business is no longer seen as having a future or being profitable enough, is Apple spinning off a Power-Computing-like subsidiary, or just licensing Mac OS out to some high-end specialty system vendor.
why would anyone use MacPro for gaming? just buy a $1500 Windows desktop then you can run any game at ultra setting.
I use a MBP 15 for work and everything else (Adobe Design Premium) and my PC for gaming. MBP 15/17 are plenty fast for everything unless you do 3D or video editing which I think are the only reasons to get Mac Pro. Gaming? Give me a break, it's not worth it, why pay far more to get far less experiences?
I use a MBP 15 for work and everything else (Adobe Design Premium) and my PC for gaming. MBP 15/17 are plenty fast for everything unless you do 3D or video editing which I think are the only reasons to get Mac Pro. Gaming? Give me a break, it's not worth it, why pay far more to get far less experiences?
iMac Pro + Mac Mini Pro
If they do this I see Apple introducing essentially an iMac Pro and or a Mac Mini Pro.
I could easily see Apple introducing a 30"+ iMac that has 6 memory slots, two processors, and dual thunderbolt ports. With thunderbolt it could fill most of the needs of a Mac Pro.
8+ core chips are on their way. It won't be long before you could get an 8-core mini, or a 16-core (dual 8) iMac Pro.
Thunderbolt is a game changer for these applications.
If they do this I see Apple introducing essentially an iMac Pro and or a Mac Mini Pro.
I could easily see Apple introducing a 30"+ iMac that has 6 memory slots, two processors, and dual thunderbolt ports. With thunderbolt it could fill most of the needs of a Mac Pro.
8+ core chips are on their way. It won't be long before you could get an 8-core mini, or a 16-core (dual 8) iMac Pro.
Thunderbolt is a game changer for these applications.
Exactly.
When all that is left is talent that is the deciding factor, then the market for that talent will decide its worth and value. Cut out all the technical barriers and you have talent that is able to express itself on a larger scale.
This is pretty exciting.
Anyone catering to this reality will realize expansive gains and serious material advantages. It's smart strategy. Not to mention that over the long term, it might very well be the only sustainable one.
I don't agree with your views on Apple ditching the Pro line just yet, but I do share this sentiment. I feel for people who need powerful software and hardware but want to use OS X. Apple are not a good company for professionals, there is far better treatment to be had from hardware and software vendors in the non-Apple world.
Yeah it's what drives traffic best. Tech blogs are no better than corporate media / mainstream media for the most part. They conjure up stories around one little fact or statement from a source, often they will omit other facts to get the result they want.
If Intel hadn't switched from workstation/server systems coming before consumer with the move to Sandy Bridge the iMacs wouldn't have been better. The overlap between mid-range and high-end sockets only happens on the top and bottom processor models. Every 2012 Mac Pro should outperform any iMac available at that time.
I'm a 12-core whore from the last revision (mid-'10) *I feel this will last me 5-7 years and by that time, Apple's iMac line should be able to do anything I need.