Apple Surveying iMac Pro Buyers About Key Features

[zorinlynx]

It's not difficult.

Just bring back the cheese grater.

It was one of the most well-designed workstations on the market. It was upgradeable and had amazing thermal performance.

Just bring it back. It doesn't even have to be quite as big; they could ditch the optical drive bays as not many people use those anymore. This is not something Apple has to think so hard about; the cheese grater was already nearly perfect and they just shouldn't have discontinued it. The "trash can" could have been an entirely new product instead of a replacement.

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

Yeah, just ask Homer next time he'll know what to do.

Apple seems clueless.

So, if they DON'T ask questions, Apple doesn't care what Users REALLY Want; and if they DO as questions, Apple is Clueless.

Got it!

 

[Matt Leaf]

get rid of the chin already

 

[Freida]

History would say, it's not. Countless Mac Pros (cheese-grater and trash-can alike) went years with zero upgrades before being sold or traded in or otherwise disposed of. The real pros (i.e., the people who buy the most quantity of Mac Pros) probably couldn't care less if it's upgradeable; they're going to order what they need and use it. There is a small, vocal MINORITY of Pro Users who own ONE Mac Pro, and want to keep it upgraded as necessary but in the great scheme of things, you need to understand how small a group you are...

unlikely. Mac Pro user base is small, that is correct but desire for upgradeability is not small group.

 

[robbyx]

The time to worry was seven years ago, when the guy who knew what customers really needed died.

Apple has just been guessing ever since.

Well, they’re obviously good at the guessing game or they wouldn’t be the most valuable company on Earth. Longtime Apple fans, myself included, need to get real. We can complain and make pithy comments on forums, but the old days are never coming back.

 

[MacsRuleOthersDrool]

The time to worry was seven years ago, when the guy who knew what customers really needed died.

Apple has just been guessing ever since.

Yeah, let's just forget that that's the same guy that brought us the Flower Power and Blue Dalmation iMacs, the G4 Cube (which was interesting; but chock-full of engineering issues), got rid of the ENTIRE Server line (and crippled the ServerOS), and let's not forget iTunes "Ping" (I think it was called, right?)...

 

[639051]

So, if they DON'T ask questions, Apple doesn't care what Users REALLY Want; and if they DO as questions, Apple is Clueless.

Got it!

I think the irritation people feel is from the overall “we know what you want better than you” attitude when it is clearly incorrect at this point. Apple could pull that off at one point but it seems to have lost that edge.

They should have been asking awhile ago. It’s great they’re asking now, but how much have they lost from the Mac department because of their inflexible nature? I guess the big question is do they even care because Mac products are very obviously not what drives them anymore.

 

[robbyx]

unlikely. Mac Pro user base is small, that is correct but desire for upgradeability is not small group.

I think you’re wrong there. Most people don’t upgrade their hardware, certainly not internal upgrades like a new SSD or, gasp, processor. That’s a tiny percentage of the overall market.

Look, if people really wanted upgradable devices, they wouldn’t buy Apple. But they do. Again and again. So it’s pretty obvious most people don’t care.

 

[Naaaaak]

Dell and Acer will pay you $100 to write "needs to be more thin".

 

[639051]

I think you’re wrong there. Most people don’t upgrade their hardware, certainly not internal upgrades like a new SSD or, gasp, processor. That’s a tiny percentage of the overall market.

Look, if people really wanted upgradable devices, they wouldn’t buy Apple. But they do. Again and again. So it’s pretty obvious most people don’t care.

The vast majority don’t buy Apple products. Back when it was more feesable to upgrade products I did lots of them, as did many other service companies in my area. It’s hard to upgrade ram when it’s soldered in.

Edit: perfect case here is the user who ran out of space on her SSD on her HP laptop. No issue, order a new SSD and either clone it or reimage and restore data. Need to do that on a MacBook? Good joke! Time to buy a new one.

 

[Peperino]

What do we like
The speed.

What we do NOT like
1- The design. Same old design than a 10 year old iMac. Cannot adjust vertically.
2- Way overpriced.
3- Any PRo machine should be upgradable. Cannot upgrade internal HD or video cards.

 

[carrrrrlos]

Please keep all ports that are currently used for workflow. The future may just be one USB-C port, but we’re not there, and more adapters are more trash.

 

[Bryan Bowler]

If you buy the 128GB machine and the memory fails how many billable hours of work do you lose while the Apple Store fixes your machine?

This is an excellent point. I know of two colleagues that had problems with their iMac Pro and Apple has not been prepared to deal with it. It took 22 days for one guy to get his issue resolved and the other person took 34 days before they had a working machine again.

As an iMac Pro owner myself, this is extremely concerning to me and it makes me doubt my purchase. Fortunately, I have not had any failures yet with my iMac Pro. The only problem I have had (and continue to have) is my iMac Pro does not recognize the stock keyboard/mouse/trackpad about half the time when waking up from sleep and it is a real pain to have to reconnect everything via the lightning cable just to get things going again. This may not sound like a big deal, but it costs me about 20 minutes over the course of a standard 10-11 hour workday.

 

[Peperino]

Can’t win huh. Ask the customers what they want or their favourite features of the iMac Pro and Apple are clueless with what direction to go.

Take a different direction and get criticised and Apple are accused of being arrogant and don’t listen to customers.

Look, Apple ****ed up badly on the Pro market. They admitted it. They’re looking to rectify it. Why does everybody have to be some damn negative about every bit of news. If Pros (pretty much everybody here, evidently), are so invested in Apple products and its ecosystem, can’t you be happy they’re genuinely looking to resolve your criticisms?

Apple rectifying??
After messing it up big time with the Mac Pro look what they did with the iMAC PRO and the Macbook PRO.
DO you really think they are trying to rectify it??

Both the Macbooks Pro 2016-2018 are big failures. The iMac Pro same outdated 10 year old design, overpriced an non upgradable.

Apple is obviously NOT looking to resolve any criticism whatsoever. They only are looking to make more money by making their entire computer line up NON upgradable.
What a joke that took a company that was leader in innovation 10 years to realize this.

 

[kgelner]

Macs can be great machines but ergonomics are just bad.
did you ever try adjusting the hight of your IMac pro?

For about $75 you can get an iMac Pro VESA adaptor and make it whatever height you want via an arm - There are also companies that make stands that adjust the height of the system.

or try to put a USB drive in quick with out getting up?

I do that all the time, you just reach around the back - the USB ports are all on the right side close to the edge.

what about in 2 years time you might need to clean your fans ? does it have dust filters? you go to the apple store bring your computer there to clean?

Why would I not when they'd do it for free?

because if you open it you lose your warranty. if you open the bonet of your car to do regular maintenance , check the oil and coolant . many will up your screen wash liquid does your warranty become non valid as well?

Yes I agree the situation is different than for cars, but on the other hand it allowed for Apple to make a better sealed/compact/lighter system where it's more fiddly to open so only technical competent people should try, unlike cars where any idiot can open up a hood and probably (probably!!) not break anything. I don't feel the need to open it up so who cares? Eventually the warranty will expire and I may open it up for some kind of upgrade. You can so I don't really see the issue since if I want to, I can. I think there's room in the world for lots of pro users who do not want to be pro COMPUTER users, if you know what I mean. They just want a solid powerful system to work on and not mess with it.

if you want a second screen next to your Imac pro does it not Bother you that the second screen is not the same ?
Most pro users use 2 or more screens.

Well I have my other screen vertical so it'd be different anyway. Many pro users have different screens anyway, since one screen for example might be specially calibrated while the main one is more for tools and things where calibration and luminance settings are not as important.

 

[robbyx]

The vast majority don’t buy Apple products. Back when it was more feesable to upgrade products I did lots of them, as did many other service companies in my area. It’s hard to upgrade ram when it’s soldered in.

Edit: perfect case here is the user who ran out of space on her SSD on her HP laptop. No issue, order a new SSD and either clone it or reimage and restore data. Need to do that on a MacBook? Good joke! Time to buy a new one.

I’m talking about Apple customers, not all computer buyers.

 

[639051]

I’m talking about Apple customers, not all computer buyers.

Even MacBook owners back when they were upgradable did indeed upgrade them. I have two clients still with 2012 models that I’ve installed RAM and SSDs into. People did upgrade them, those who didn’t I’d venture to bet had no clue that you could.

 

[ActionableMango]

Make the Mac Pro Grate Again

Sorry about the cheesy title.

 

[Polymorphic]

Well, they’re obviously good at the guessing game or they wouldn’t be the most valuable company on Earth. Longtime Apple fans, myself included, need to get real. We can complain and make pithy comments on forums, but the old days are never coming back.

They are the most valuable company on earth because of iOS devices. Pointing to a trillion dollar valuation as some kind of proof that the Mac has been managed well is disingenuous. I wonder how much better Apple would be doing if they hadn't mismanaged the Mac.

Put another way, if they had managed the iPhone the way they've managed the Mac (years without hardware updates, declining software quality, etc.), do you really think Apple would be a trillion dollar company?
[doublepost=1536623080][/doublepost]

This is an excellent point. I know of two colleagues that had problems with their iMac Pro and Apple has not been prepared to deal with it. It took 22 days for one guy to get his issue resolved and the other person took 34 days before they had a working machine again.

As an iMac Pro owner myself, this is extremely concerning to me and it makes me doubt my purchase. Fortunately, I have not had any failures yet with my iMac Pro. The only problem I have had (and continue to have) is my iMac Pro does not recognize the stock keyboard/mouse/trackpad about half the time when waking up from sleep and it is a real pain to have to reconnect everything via the lightning cable just to get things going again. This may not sound like a big deal, but it costs me about 20 minutes over the course of a standard 10-11 hour workday.

Stories like this are one of the reasons I don't own an iMac Pro. Apple apologists can insist all day long that "pro" doesn't necessarily need to mean "upgradeable." But "pro" should absolutely mean "fixable by with the manufacturer, with rapid turnaround." Otherwise, stop pretending to cater to the professional market. We need billable hours, and the iMac Pro being down 34 days isn't going to fly.

 

[DanBig]

They've welcomed feedback for nearly two decades.

View attachment 780567

Did you note the uptick starting at the end 2011 and now how it’s jumped this year! Keep in mind people are more likely to post negative thoughts that positive. So what does it tell us? Apple has angered quite a few people. So while they maybe running high now, they have likely lost their deep base. That’s not good! Basically the long time advanced users & pros are not happy and are looking for other options.

 

[Williesleg]

So sad, they're out of ideas.
Timmy Cook really has to go.

 

[Freida]

I think you’re wrong there. Most people don’t upgrade their hardware, certainly not internal upgrades like a new SSD or, gasp, processor. That’s a tiny percentage of the overall market.

Look, if people really wanted upgradable devices, they wouldn’t buy Apple. But they do. Again and again. So it’s pretty obvious most people don’t care.

Ram, HDD, GPU - those are user replaceable, very easy to do and with Mac Pro (cheesegrater) the usual upgrades.

 

[639051]

Did you note the uptick starting at the end 2011 and now how it’s jumped this year! Keep in mind people are more likely to post negative thoughts that positive. So what does it tell us? Apple has angered quite a few people. So while they maybe running high now, they have likely lost their deep base. That’s not good! Basically the long time advanced users & pros are not happy and are looking for other options.

I’m pretty sure way back is just showing the number of updates to the page/times it was archived due to a configuration change.

 

[i make movies]

Really Apple? You actually put "T2 Chip" as a a selectable option of reason why they bought an iMac Pro.

Literally not a single person on planet earth bought an iMac Pro for the T2 chip. Not one.

Man, the echo chamber is getting too loud at Apple HQ.

 

[pl1984]

History would say, it's not. Countless Mac Pros (cheese-grater and trash-can alike) went years with zero upgrades before being sold or traded in or otherwise disposed of. The real pros (i.e., the people who buy the most quantity of Mac Pros) probably couldn't care less if it's upgradeable; they're going to order what they need and use it. There is a small, vocal MINORITY of Pro Users who own ONE Mac Pro, and want to keep it upgraded as necessary but in the great scheme of things, you need to understand how small a group you are...

I wonder why Apple botherd wasting their time sending out surveys when they could have just come to you for all of the answers.
[doublepost=1536624750][/doublepost]

I think you’re wrong there. Most people don’t upgrade their hardware, certainly not internal upgrades like a new SSD or, gasp, processor. That’s a tiny percentage of the overall market.

Look, if people really wanted upgradable devices, they wouldn’t buy Apple. But they do. Again and again. So it’s pretty obvious most people don’t care.

Internal or external, what's the difference? Both are upgrades.