Apple Says All-New Modular Mac Pro With Apple-Branded High-End Pro Display Coming After 2017

[PinkyMacGodess]

Why re-invent the wheel? Just crank up the old cheese cutter Mac Pro chassis factory. Enlist Gigabyte or other 3rd party Taiwan motherboard company to make a motherboard per Apple's specification. Put in a single or pair of Kabylake Xeon CPU's, DDR4, buyer's choice of top-of-the-line & standard PCIe (either: consumer class or workstation class) replaceable nVidia or AMD GPU, 2x Thunderbolt 3 ports. Use NVMe SSD's for storage, with options for a 4,6,8 Tb. etc. spinning hard drive.
Shouldn't take until 2018 to ship one out the U.S. based Mac Pro factory door.
I'd also bet that Dell or HP would be glad to custom produce a similar-specced interim MacPro, until such time as Apple's new modular design is ready for sale. Should be ready in about a month or two. The peculiar Mac-specific motherboard firmware being the only minor obstacle in the way.

But!!!

The whole reason for the trash can was to give the idea of user upgrades the big middle finger.

Why?

Apple could have designed, even in that space, a machine that could be upgraded, expanded, had its life extended. But, they didn't. They went all custom, all 'small', all 'closed'. I remember seeing the mockups of what *could have been*. Small 'cheese grater' chassis, creative designs that all had expandability, upgradability, in them. PCIe slots, tons of USB and ESATA ports... Instead they gave us a trash can with no slots, and very limited upgrade potential.

Don't get me wrong, I was ready to plunk down cash to upgrade, but when the first reports came out about the thing being a closed box (tube) I was crestfallen. To pour that much cash into a closed box, and have to spend even more to make it usable is a lot to ask for someone that doesn't have near six figures to spend on something closed like that.

It was a slap in the face of the many who came to revere the old Mac Pro. I couldn't see it lasting, and apparently it died on the vine two years ago, and Apple is just finally admitting it.

But admitting it is different than OWNING it. Modularity sounds interesting, but given what they did to the Mac Pro already, I wouldn't hold out hope for the pendulum to have swung back to the openness of the old Mac Pro.

Apple seems to not trust their customers, and the world. Making box after box a closed and locked box sounds like a mental disease. Paranoia? Megalomania? Egotism? There is a cognitive disassociation somewhere...

I am going to need to replace my ageing Mac Pro at some point. The Bluetooth keeps dropping, and I'm just waiting for the other NIC to die. It's full of 1 terabyte drives. The thought of having to buy an array box to move to the trash can (if I could afford it) is out of the question, and an iMac would mean the same machinations. I guess I'll have to look on ebay for a faster cheese grater and hope it's not ragged out and on its last legs too. Or I go back, with my head hung low, to Windows... I got burned on my IIcx, I got burned recently on a MacBook Pro. I just don't want to get burned again...

 

[vailr]

Of course, Apple could also simply release a macOS .iso version to the general public that installs and works natively on a Dell, HP or Lenovo 2017 workstation-class machine. Which is already possible via the Hackintosh process, but not quite as user-friendly as it is with genuine Apple hardware. Contrary to some other comments here, the Hackintosh process is much improved from what it was previously. Intel Kabylake CPU's are somewhat trickier to deal with, since Apple doesn't yet offer any Macs with that CPU.
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...cpus-200-series-motherboards-in-macos.211743/

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

I hope it's not this long https://9to5mac.com/2017/04/06/modular-mac-pro-rumor/

 

[honeycombz]

define "Modular"

 

[totalburn05]

You'd think the prices for their refurb Mac Pro units would get adjusted to reflect a proper discount % off of the newly announced prices for brand new units, but wrong. A new unit customized to match a refurb Mac Pro unit with the same specs is actually more expensive through Apple's Certified Refurbished program. Strange way to keep your product margins up

 

[CWallace]

You'd think the prices for their refurb Mac Pro units would get adjusted to reflect a proper discount % off of the newly announced prices for brand new units, but wrong.

Standard Refurbished model discounts are 15% and the current 6-core / D500 refurbs are 15% off the new price. The custom configs tend to have higher percentage discounts, but yes, right now they're looking at around 10% less so perhaps they'll be adjusted.

 

[Obocop]

I'm kind of siding with (I think) Marco Arment here at about 16:30 in.
http://atp.fm/episodes/216

Thanks for linking this! Very intelligent and thought-provoking podcast by people who know their stuff and are passionate about both Apple and it's neglected Pro offerings. I hope someone from Apple listened to it too.

 

[Obocop]

Yes, I think this strange announcement confirms that Tim Cook - and Apple - have zero real interest in pro machines, and that anyone at Apple who did, is long gone. Now they're letting Phil Spiller cobble something together to keep the complaining "pros" happy. How else can you explain Apple going so completely against their usual secretive approach to new products? They're doing this because it's a niche product for a minority of noisy "opinion makers", who they want to quieten down. But in the broader sense, they don't have their hearts in products like this at all. It's certainly no coincidence that Tim Cook wasn't there.

It certainly seems like through the way he's run Apple, and through comments like 'Why would you need a computer, when you have an iPad etc etc', that Tim Cook doesn't care about serious Macs, or anything more than the number of sales. Steve was many things, but i believe he really valued the arts - with his time at Pixar, or his adoration of music (especially the Beatles). He seemed to place more value on things that had heart, soul, passion and merit, even if it wasn't the biggest revenue raiser, knowing full well that there were greater, longer term things at stake such as company image and loyalty. Tim just doesn't get it from what I can tell. Having seen a little bit of what Craig is like, I think he'd make a far better CEO.

 

[brdeveloper]

Perhaps the return of easily upgradeable Macs? That would be a real "feature" instead of those gimmicks like touch bar and USB-C/TBolt mixed ports.

 

[Cineplex]

And this is a post where someone doesn't understand how the iPhone correlates to 70% of Apple's net revenue. "Running out of gas" is an extremely ignorant comment not having a full understanding of Apple's core area of sales. I would highly suggest you revisit A Apple's previous quarterly reports indicate where the iPhone currently stands and where the iPad is currently heading. Two different things.

Dude, why don't you step outside your Apple worshiping session for a second and look around. Tired old designs, lacking iPad sales, and irritated customers. The Apple is beginning to rot. All the fanboys and diversity talks in the world won't stop it. ignoring the problem is not a long term solution. Customers need to demand more of Apple.

 

[44267547]

Dude, why don't you step outside your Apple worshiping session for a second and look around. Tired old designs, lacking iPad sales, and irritated customers. The Apple is beginning to rot. All the fanboys and diversity talks in the world won't stop it. ignoring the problem is not a long term solution. Customers need to demand more of Apple.

This goes beyond somebody who (Specifically you) is disappointed with Apple. You're somebody that has a personal vendetta against Apple and I asked you months ago why are you so bitter against Apple? And you replied with a response how you used to work for them years ago and how you ultimately left on negative terms. So your volatile hate and negative demeanor towards Apple means nothing to me that you propagate, when I believe there is something more going on here with your attitude towards Apple, other than their product line. I personally think the Apple you knew is clearly never coming back and it is literally degrading you.

So if my Apple worshiping consists of purchasing watch bands and outdated iPads, then so be it. Because I'm content with what they make for a product, which I will continue to support the cause. My appreciation of Apple is different from yours and there is nothing wrong with that. Period.

 

[Cineplex]

This goes beyond somebody who (Specifically you) is disappointed with Apple. You're somebody that has a personal vendetta against Apple and I asked you months ago why are you so bitter against Apple? And you replied with a response how you used to work for them years ago and how you ultimately left on negative terms. So your volatile hate and negative demeanor towards Apple means nothing to me that you propagate, when I believe there is something more going on here with your attitude towards Apple, other than their product line. I personally think the Apple you knew is clearly never coming back and it is literally degrading you.

So if my Apple worshiping consists of purchasing watch bands and outdated iPads, then so be it. Because I'm content with what they make for a product, which I will continue to support the cause. My appreciation of Apple is different from yours and there is nothing wrong with that. Period.

Your right. I have a deep hate for Tim Cooks Apple. It goes against everything Apple was about. Apple is not supposed to be a luxury brand, Steve Jobs made that clear. The Apple brand isn't a platform for diversity or LGBTQ rights. Apple products are supposed to be tools for the mind, the best tools for the mind. They just aren't anymore and Tim is slowly destroying everything the got Apple to where it is today. Sure revenue is up right now, but that is because it's a status symbol product. Doesn't matter if it's good to those buyers. Once that goes away...it's over. You may like their products, but they simply do not live up to their potential. Even Apple admitted that with its MacPro stuff this week. It's hard to look at the products objectively when you love the brand....believe me I know.

 

[Abazigal]

Your right. I have a deep hate for Tim Cooks Apple. It goes against everything Apple was about. Apple is not supposed to be a luxury brand, Steve Jobs made that clear. The Apple brand isn't a platform for diversity or LGBTQ rights. Apple products are supposed to be tools for the mind, the best tools for the mind. They just aren't anymore and Tim is slowly destroying everything the got Apple to where it is today. Sure revenue is up right now, but that is because it's a status symbol product. Doesn't matter if it's good to those buyers. Once that goes away...it's over. You may like their products, but they simply do not live up to their potential. Even Apple admitted that with its MacPro stuff this week. It's hard to look at the products objectively when you love the brand....believe me I know.

Times change and Apple has change in keeping with the times. It sounds like you need to as well. It's just not feasible to expect Apple to be the same company today as it was 10 or 20 years ago.

 

[maflynn]

Times change and Apple has change in keeping with the times. It sounds like you need to as well. It's just not feasible to expect Apple to be the same company today as it was 10 or 20 years ago.

No its not, and its becoming increasingly clear that Apple under Cook's leadership has no direction, focus or plan for the future.

Even now with the spec update on a the Mac Pro and cutting the price, but then in nearly the same breath stating that the Mac Pro is at EOL and something else will replace it is baffling. I guess they had no choice, but most businesses don't tell you that product A. is going to be replaced by product B. next year because people will stop buying product A.

 

[Abazigal]

No its not, and its becoming increasingly clear that Apple under Cook's leadership has no direction, focus or plan for the future.

Even now with the spec update on a the Mac Pro and cutting the price, but then in nearly the same breath stating that the Mac Pro is at EOL and something else will replace it is baffling. I guess they had no choice, but most businesses don't tell you that product A. is going to be replaced by product B. next year because people will stop buying product A.

The Mac Pro has always been a low-volume product, but sales likely came nowhere near covering the R&D costs alone, much less the costs of running the production facility. I don't think anything is really buying Mac Pros these days, nor is Apple losing sleep over the possibility of their customer base not buying any more Mac Pros in anticipation of a future update.

I think the current problem is that Apple is extremely taxed, and the act of simply keeping all its hardware, software and services uniformly updated annually is already a full-time job, leaving Apple with very little resources left for additional endeavours. So in order to break into new markets, something had to give, and Apple chose to give up on the products which they felt simply had no place in the new world order Apple sought to usher in.

From what I gather, Apple is currently experimenting with wearables, AR and self-driving cars, and these are just the few we have caught wind of. Do they count for nothing?

 

[niploteksi]

Great news and I will certainly be keeping my eyes out for when something happen. Sadly it feels really distant...

I would be in the market for both laptops and desktops if they finally straightened out their lineup. I can't wait with new purchases so I will keep buying Windows machines, but these news are still great. Recent decisions by Apple make me somewhat reluctant to trust in their commitment or for the Mac. If things change I will gladly go back.

 

[Cineplex]

The Mac Pro has always been a low-volume product, but sales likely came nowhere near covering the R&D costs alone, much less the costs of running the production facility. I don't think anything is really buying Mac Pros these days, nor is Apple losing sleep over the possibility of their customer base not buying any more Mac Pros in anticipation of a future update.

I think the current problem is that Apple is extremely taxed, and the act of simply keeping all its hardware, software and services uniformly updated annually is already a full-time job, leaving Apple with very little resources left for additional endeavours. So in order to break into new markets, something had to give, and Apple chose to give up on the products which they felt simply had no place in the new world order Apple sought to usher in.

From what I gather, Apple is currently experimenting with wearables, AR and self-driving cars, and these are just the few we have caught wind of. Do they count for nothing?

AHHHHHHHH HA HA HAAA HA HA HAAAAAA HA HA HA! That is the most ridiculous nonsense I've ever heard. One of the largest companies in the world does not have the resources to keep their core products up to date. My god man! Do you actually believe that statement???? And what additional endeavors do you mean??? New watch bands? Emojis? TouchBars? Come on! Please rethink that statement. It's a very Apple apologetic statement. Apple did much much more with less 20 years ago. They haven't done squat in years. The software is buggy, hardware and design is unoriginal, and everything is about politics from the CEO. Apple is a joke and is wasting its talent and resources. They haven't even begun to run out of resources. They have more $$$ than the government. They essentially have unlimited resources. Nobody should buy that line of thinking for a second!
[doublepost=1491659847][/doublepost]

No its not, and its becoming increasingly clear that Apple under Cook's leadership has no direction, focus or plan for the future.

Even now with the spec update on a the Mac Pro and cutting the price, but then in nearly the same breath stating that the Mac Pro is at EOL and something else will replace it is baffling. I guess they had no choice, but most businesses don't tell you that product A. is going to be replaced by product B. next year because people will stop buying product A.

That is a sign of bigger problems to come. They clearly have a problem if they are going back to retain pro customers.

 

[Abazigal]

AHHHHHHHH HA HA HAAA HA HA HAAAAAA HA HA HA! That is the most ridiculous nonsense I've ever heard. One of the largest companies in the world does not have the resources to keep their core products up to date. My god man! Do you actually believe that statement???? And what additional endeavors do you mean??? New watch bands? Emojis? TouchBars? Come on! Please rethink that statement. It's a very Apple apologetic statement. Apple did much much more with less 20 years ago. They haven't done squat in years. The software is buggy, hardware and design is unoriginal, and everything is about politics from the CEO. Apple is a joke and is wasting its talent and resources. They haven't even begun to run out of resources. They have more $$$ than the government. They essentially have unlimited resources. Nobody should buy that line of thinking for a second!

The Apple of today is doing a lot more than the Apple of yesteryear.

Even as we speak, Apple has to maintain iOS (which is itself still reeling from the aftermath of a massive redesign in 2013), macOS, tvOS and watchOS. Then there are services, from Maps to Siri to iCloud to Apple Pay to iTunes to the app store. Throw in the expectation of annual hardware refreshes and tell me you don't see why that in itself is already a full-time job.

Likewise, simply throwing money at a problem won't make it go away. If that were the case, Microsoft's efforts at promoting Windows Mobile wouldn't have failed. The problem is that Apple can't get enough qualified talent to run the programmes they want. That's the bottleneck.

That is a sign of bigger problems to come. They clearly have a problem if they are going back to retain pro customers.

The only problem I see here is that Apple wants to focus on the future (mobile, wearables, AR), which is at odds with being obligated to maintain legacy Mac hardware that has no place in its long-term roadmap. The Mac Pro is a very limited product with niche market appeal, and the money to be made from such a product simply isn't worth the resources that would be sunk into updating it. Simply put, it makes more sense to position the iMac as the pro Mac of choice while letting the iPad take over the mantle of mobile computing for the masses.

Something like this.

The only reason I can think of for Apple coming forth to declare its support for the Mac is to retain iOS app developers, which is crucial to the iPhone and iPad's continued dominance in their respective fields. Apple clearly fears the possibility of such a scenario enough to capitulate and give its pro market what they think they want, as opposed to what Apple thinks they do want.

Perhaps Apple did jump the gun a little too prematurely here.

 

[Cineplex]

The Apple of today is doing a lot more than the Apple of yesteryear.

Even as we speak, Apple has to maintain iOS (which is itself still reeling from the aftermath of a massive redesign in 2013), macOS, tvOS and watchOS. Then there are services, from Maps to Siri to iCloud to Apple Pay to iTunes to the app store. Throw in the expectation of annual hardware refreshes and tell me you don't see why that in itself is already a full-time job.

Likewise, simply throwing money at a problem won't make it go away. If that were the case, Microsoft's efforts at promoting Windows Mobile wouldn't have failed. The problem is that Apple can't get enough qualified talent to run the programmes they want. That's the bottleneck.


The only problem I see here is that Apple wants to focus on the future (mobile, wearables, AR), which is at odds with being obligated to maintain legacy Mac hardware that has no place in its long-term roadmap. The Mac Pro is a very limited product with niche market appeal, and the money to be made from such a product simply isn't worth the resources that would be sunk into updating it. Simply put, it makes more sense to position the iMac as the pro Mac of choice while letting the iPad take over the mantle of mobile computing for the masses.

Something like this.

The only reason I can think of for Apple coming forth to declare its support for the Mac is to retain iOS app developers, which is crucial to the iPhone and iPad's continued dominance in their respective fields. Apple clearly fears the possibility of such a scenario enough to capitulate and give its pro market what they think they want, as opposed to what Apple thinks they do want.

Perhaps Apple did jump the gun a little too prematurely here.

The desktop isn't going away anytime soon. Calling it a legacy product is just the dumbest thing you can do. The rubbish iPad sales are proof. That's why Apple is back on the Mac now. iPad sales have proven it is not the future. It is not a desktop replacement. You can tell that by the desperate attempt to make a cheaper iPad. It's a flop as a desktop replacement. Too bad the pros have gone elsewhere after they've left us in the dark. This new MacPro is not going to sell well. No one is investing in Apple gear just to be thrown to the curb again.

 

[CWallace]

Even now with the spec update on a the Mac Pro and cutting the price, but then in nearly the same breath stating that the Mac Pro is at EOL and something else will replace it is baffling. I guess they had no choice, but most businesses don't tell you that product A. is going to be replaced by product B. next year because people will stop buying product A.

Nobody was buying the (Late 2013) Mac Pro anyway. And maybe Apple was thinking of just killing it and letting the iMac anchor the top-end, but there are enough fans of the model still within the Company to convince senior management to invest in a new model even if it likely isn't going to do well (and may not even break even over it's lifetime).

 

[I7guy]

The desktop isn't going away anytime soon.

The concept of an all powerful desktop isn't going away, just different form factors, I agree.

Calling it a legacy product is just the dumbest thing you can do. The rubbish iPad sales are proof.

Can't ever get enough cpu power, but there are those who think the cloud and spreading the power around is the way to go. Ipad sales have nothing to do with this and they still sell heads and shoulders above the competition and can be used as a full-computer replacement, if your needs are such.

That's why Apple is back on the Mac now. iPad sales have proven it is not the future. It is not a desktop replacement. You can tell that by the desperate attempt to make a cheaper iPad. It's a flop as a desktop replacement. Too bad the pros have gone elsewhere after they've left us in the dark. This new MacPro is not going to sell well. No one is investing in Apple gear just to be thrown to the curb again.

Ipad sales are not the future, neither are mac sales. The future is iphone sales. The reason for a less expensive ipad is to move downmarket and attract a new generation of apple customers. Brilliant move by Cook. And you can't know how the sales of this new apple gear is and how many might decide to buy it.

But that is one thing about windows, I can build a computer to my specifications. Jobs had a problem with the mac line starting July 22, 2009. That was the day windows 7 was released and was the enabler of the pc being the equal of the mac. You keep posting the "apple is going downhill", but customers are buying and the street don't seem to think so.

I expect Cook is going to be around for some time given where the company is today; until he decides to retire. And it is a GOOD thing for powerful, influential companies, where it makes sense to do so, to forward philanthropy and social causes. Airpods, watches, watch bands and emojis are just a side business.

 

[vailr]

Q: Can anyone explain what it would take to enable a current generation HP or Dell workstation to be able to "natively" install and run macOS? In other words: not as a Hackintosh; but exactly what modifications in firmware and/or hardware would be required, if Apple wanted some current 3rd party Windows workstation producer to (only on a temporary basis) custom make a MacPro for Apple. For release within a shorter time period than what was discussed at Apple's recent get-together with Phil Schiller, et al.
The HP Z840 Workstation looks to be almost ideal for that purpose, except for it's current lack of TB3 ports.

 

[PascalC]

Think the more exciting news is Schiller saying it'll be modular and upgradeable:

The Mac is not dead.

GREAT !

 

[CWallace]

Q: Can anyone explain what it would take to enable a current generation HP or Dell workstation to be able to "natively" install and run macOS?

A license from Apple as well as native driver support within macOS for the hardware.

 

[vailr]

A license from Apple as well as native driver support within macOS for the hardware.

No; what I meant was: what modifications to a standard Windows workstation would be required in order to have HP or Dell subcontract to produce a "genuine" MacPro, that would be able to boot and install from an unaltered macOS Sierra bootable USB thumb drive.
Of course, macOS would need some updated device drivers to cope with current model Intel CPU's & chipsets.
Apple EFI firmware is somewhat different from a Windows machine's UEFI firmware, for example. Don't know if there are any minor hardware differences that would also need to be addressed or not. The ability to clean install the macOS operating system on a blank hard drive, via the internet, in case of hard drive failure, is another difference between a genuine Mac and a Hackintosh machine.
There may also be some special video card firmware requirement. Where regular video cards would not be usable, at least not without having the firmware custom flashed to a Mac-friendly video card firmware.