Apple to Release Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR on December 10

[RedTheReader]

If there are people saying that, please show me where.

What a great argument Stephen. "If I heard it, it's real. If you heard it, it's not (unless you can show recordings of the people who said it)"

 

[henrikhelmers]

I just don't understand why so many people hate the 8,1 mini. I do not use it as a "professional", but it has been a rock for everything I need. Paired with a decent eGPU is does a lot of things people don't give it credit for. I know it comes with non replaceable CPU and storage, but so does every laptop Apple sales now days. Cooling, not a problem if you get creative. I just don't get it...

I don't think anyone hates the Mac Mini, it is just not the computer they would like Apple to make. I know I would like a regular Mac, and I think others would too.

 

[chfilm]

Did anyone outside “the Americas” receive this email? I didn’t..

 

[PickUrPoison]

This doesn't negate the existence of the many, many people saying the first of the two lines.

I can’t think of any working pro who wouldn’t be able to cover the delta between $6k and what you think the base Mac Pro should cost. You’re talking about maybe $50-60 a month over a five year life cycle. That’s a fraction of one billable hour for most.

 

[fendersrule]

College students don’t need a Mac Pro. Hell even many pros don’t need a Mac Pro nowadays; many happily moved to iMac over the last 5-7 years as they became capable of the kinds of computing that used to require a Mac Pro previously.

It seems to me your romanticizing the physical embodiment of the Mac Pro, where MBP, iMacs and the Mac mini have taken over that space. What’s left for Mac Pro is the high end, and no college student needs one.

And somehow, none check the boxes as much as it used to.

 

[Janichsan]

… with the machine aimed at Apple's pro user base.

Well, what's left of it…

 

[RedTheReader]

I can’t think of any working pro who wouldn’t be able to cover the delta between $6k and what you think a Mac Pro should cost. You’re talking about maybe $50-60 a month over a five year life cycle. That’s a fraction of one billable hour for most.

Perhaps I'm mistaken about this, but I don't think it would actually end up costing $6K, you know? Even without going high on the specs (which the people I'm describing wouldn't need to), I think hitting $10K-$12K would be much easier than we think. Of course, I could be wrong and we won't know for certain until a few days. I'd love to be pleasant surprised by the upgrade costs like I was with the 16" MacBook Pro (which is the type of machine I personally need).

 

[PickUrPoison]

I don't think anyone hates the Mac Mini, it is just not the computer they would like Apple to make. I know I would like a regular Mac, and I think others would too.

What’s a regular Mac? 80% of Mac customers buy laptops, and iMac is another 10-15 points of the remaining 20. Those are the machines that 90-95% of Mac customers are using to do their work.

 

[Abazigal]

Come to think about it...is this the first product that Apple made that is not for them? Is this the first time that they listened to what people wanted and not "tell" us what we want?

This is something... this is something to ponder...Apple has changed?!?

Apple wants to retain the 1% who creates content for the other 99% in the Apple ecosystem. This Mac Pro and the recently-released 16” MBP is likely an olive branch to stop them from defecting.

Otherwise, it bears reminding that there remains a difference between true professional users who do need the sheer power that a Mac Pro offers (and who appreciates the $6000 XDR display for the value it brings, rather than crack endless jokes about the $1k stand), and a Mac enthusiast who just wants a modular Mac to play around with because they simply don’t want to pay the Apple premium for spec upgrades.

The later is not the target market for this Mac Pro (even though they are the ones making the most noise here), because capability wise, their needs are likely already met by existing Macs; they just don’t want to pay the current asking prices for them.

The new Mac Pro and its display have an audience. It’s just that most of them (or maybe even none of them) frequent Macrumours.

 

[3587]

This base model is overkill for web development, but I love the idea of all internal storage and future upgradability. Call me sick, but take my money! If PCs ran macOS, I’d opt for one of them, but they don’t, so I’m stuck.

 

[Kpjoslee]

What’s a regular Mac? 80% of Mac customers buy laptops, and iMac is another 10-15 points of the remaining 20. Those are the machines that 90-95% of Mac customers are using to do their work.

Mythical displayless xMac that Apple is no longer interested in making.

 

[deckard666]

Flagship product for luxury brand costs a lot shocker - snooze....

 

[Lalatoon]

While I do feel you're being a tad harsh, a part of me can't help but agree.

For the people saying that it's always been like this, that the Mac Pro was NEVER meant to be a computer for the people who now complain they can no longer afford one, you're wrong. And it's even easier to see through the Pro Display XDR. Is it a wonderful piece of technology that's going to save a lot of people who genuinely need and can make use of it from having to buy a $15K+ reference monitor? Sure, of course it will. But stop and notice one thing: Apple never made reference monitors before, EVER. Reference monitors have existed for a long time, but Apple always chose to make "prosumer" monitors (as we're apparently calling them now) instead.

They really did leave behind the large audience of pros who were looking forward to this machine in exchange for an even tinier audience of "true" high end pros. "It's not for you" is the new slogan I'm hearing touted around everywhere, even though it always WAS for us in the past. But go ahead, keep pretending that nothing's changed and that the people who feel this way can just buy an iMac Pro instead, even though it's not upgradable and STILL more expensive than a decently speced trashcan Mac Pro from 2013 (that's right, the machine everyone felt was trash was leagues better in value, somehow).

Nowadays Apple in most cases is selling luxury products. From $249 wireless earphone, $1399 watch to a $999 monitor stand!!!. Apple is not the tech company we all knew, it has evolved into a different brand.

The argument "It's not for you" is actually correct because like luxury product, its not for everybody

 

[Kwitter ones]

Who cares when there is no Cuda support?

It's insane Apple does not has a NVIDIA option or drivers. A lot of professional software out there needs this.... Monopoly again. And blind for customers wishes....again....

 

[3587]

Memory BTO or third party? Who sells the memory for the base model? Pulling the trigger Tuesday.

 

[Kwitter ones]

Indeed. And we’ve hated every minute of it.

Not true, windows has come a good way. It's just I like to have options which OS I can use, so no NVIDIA makes it not a choice.

 

[davidec]

This is absolutely on point. From comments here and on other forums it's pretty clear that the "prosumer" crowd that is so upset about the cost of this, is also the crowd that, despite insisting they need a Mac with no built in display, largely expects to buy the Apple display that is "paired" to go with the Mac Pro at the time of release (in this case the Pro Display).

To me this just highlights the "I want to have one but I have no actual use for one that an iMac or Mac mini wouldn't be sufficient" aspect of it.

In a 2019 world I believe maybe 10% of Mac Pro customers will also buy the Apple Pro Display. If the market for the Mac Pro is "niche" (which it is, but I don't think it's as niche as people make out out to be) the market for the Pro Display is a tiny sliver of that niche.

Software engineers do not need the Pro Display. Audio engineers do not need the Pro display. Heck a lot of graphic artists likely don't need the Pro Display.

If a flying spaghetti monster gave me $5K (or, $6K with the stand?) to spend on a display and that's all I can spend it on, the Pro Display wouldn't even enter my mind. Give me multiple, high PPI 4k displays over one giant one any day.

Yes the monitor of course. I have zero interest in that. I’ve already purchased a LG 49’ Ultrawide. A dream for music production screen real estate.

 

[Abazigal]

True. But Apple used to support me. And I used to have conversations with Steve Jobs himself via email while I was using a Mac Pro for school that I actually could afford while going through through the tech field. He personally saw fit that I received a copy of iLife shortly after I bought a Mac Pro that was a few months before it was included free of charge.

Opening up that package that he made sure I got was absolutely unbelievable.

Steve wanted the Mac Pro to be an expensive computer, but he didn’t price out the college undergrad or grad that could afford one with minimal options with a summer job in order to graduate and/or make sense of one as production work on the side.

The Mac Pro as Steve envisioned is dead. And long dead.

This is not only a rip off. This is a slit through the neck. This, for many, is the final straw and is the middle finger.

Apple left me.

I think a lot of the perceived demand for a “pro Mac” is really a desire for a “hobbyist Mac,” a Mac for people who like tinkering with computers.

You used to be able to conflate ”pro” and “hobbyist,” back when the most powerful computers were barely good enough for any real work. So back then in your time, a Mac Pro made sense given the other alternatives available (or not available).

But a few years ago, something amazing quietly happened: Standard configurations of off-the-shelf computers became more than adequate for 99.9% of computer work, even for heavy users. You no longer need a Mac Pro today to do what needed to do back in your college days, when an iMac or MBP suffices.

A mid-tier modular Mac simply makes little sense today.

 

[Kpjoslee]

A college student that renders films

No, they don't need one. if students need that kind of capability, Colleges will give students access for it.

 

[PickUrPoison]

Perhaps I'm mistaken about this, but I don't think it would actually end up costing $6K, you know? Even without going high on the specs (which the people I'm describing wouldn't need to), I think hitting $10K-$12K would be much easier than we think. Of course, I could be wrong and we won't know for certain until a few days. I'd love to be pleasant surprised by the upgrade costs like I was with the 16" MacBook Pro (which is the type of machine I personally need).

You’re not mistaken. But the base price is the starting price. If you think the $6k Mac Pro should be selling for $3k, that means the $16k machine should be $13k. It’s still a $50/month difference... $265 vs. $215.

In a corporate/enterprise environment, workers who run those boxes cost $7k/month minimum, fully burdened (i.e. after payroll, taxes, benefits and overhead are taken into account), and many are $10k+. For those who need these boxes, the cost isn’t high; it’s actually very reasonable. (The numbers for a one-person shop aren’t a whole lot different in many cases.)

 

[Marzel]

I know it’s apples and oranges to a degree (since in the Mac Pro you pay for the expandable chassis) but getting only 256GB SSD for $6000 when the base 16” gives you 512GB at $2400 is a bit crazy.

 

[Vjosullivan]

Consider this. The OLD MacPro's are STILL in use at almost every major production company here in LA. We're talking machines from 2009! And the 2013 Mac Pro is also STILL widely used.

The fact that you're having to scavenge six and ten year old machines to do your work says everything about Apple's commitment to the professional market.

The new machine, in itself, does not mark the return of Apple to professional hardware. That only comes if we see incremental improvements next year, the year after, and so on.

The "trash can" was once lauded by Apple as the future of professional hardware. Look how that turned out.

 

[Sweetheart777]

Before everyone claims they can build the same system for less, I challenge someone to build a 28-core, quad-GPU with Infinity Fabric plus Afterburner system with the same or more ports. If you can really do that, start a Kickstarter and let my fellow video professionals buy it. Honestly, I’d love to see a Mac Pro with a 64-core AMD ThreadRipper.

 

[JoeG4]

College students don’t need a Mac Pro. Hell even many pros don’t need a Mac Pro nowadays; many happily moved to iMac over the last 5-7 years as they became capable of the kinds of computing that used to require a Mac Pro previously.

It seems to me your romanticizing the physical embodiment of the Mac Pro, where MBP, iMacs and the Mac mini have taken over that space. What’s left for Mac Pro is the high end, and no college student needs one.

I'm not expecting to change your mind in my writing this, but hear me out. The towers offer something the laptops and iMacs don't do as gracefully: stay cool and quiet. Even a day of casual web browsing is enough to make an iMac uncomfortably hot to the touch, and that leads to stuff like the GPU failing after just 3-4 years.

Plus because they can have larger fans, they usually don't end up sounding like a hairdryer. The 15" rmbp I use for work is adequately powerful, but when I run it through its paces it sounds like a miniature hair dryer! I experienced similar things when I was using an iMac for that purpose.

Since my desktop at home is more for my own amusement, I ended up moving back to a DIY desktop after over a decade of Mac towers. I also heavily pondered the iMac, but in addition to my complaint above, you're now stuck with a 27" 5k screen with a fat bezel. It's a really nice screen - in fact one of my favorite screens! But I'd almost rather have a 49" LG 32:9 monitor. Even at the lower DPI. Although I wish it were a higher DPI!

Oh well. it is what it is!

If I were actually using my home desktop for work I'd probably take a deep breath and just buy the $6000 base model.

Before everyone claims they can build the same system for less, I challenge someone to build a 28-core, quad-GPU with Infinity Fabric plus Afterburner system with the same or more ports. If you can really do that, start a Kickstarter and let my fellow video professionals buy it. Honestly, I’d love to see a Mac Pro with a 64-core AMD ThreadRipper.

Apple already uses AMD for their GPUs, I'd love to see them try the same with their CPUs! Right now they're offering a HECK OF A LOT of bang for the buck. Can you imagine a 3990x in the iMac? OH MAN!

The new machine, in itself, does not mark the return of Apple to professional hardware. That only comes if we see incremental improvements next year, the year after, and so on.

The "trash can" was once lauded by Apple as the future of professional hardware. Look how that turned out.

On a less serious note, I wouldn't be surprised if Apple made a Mac Pro Edition - featuring a leather exterior skin designed by Hermes. The trash can was pretty sweet! It even started at a much more modest $2999, if I remember correctly. It just became trash because they NEVER UPDATED IT. They never pondered trying different options, or experimenting with imac-class CPUs or something.

I'm kinda betting they do the same here. Then in 3 years their fashion CEO will throw his hands up in the air and proclaim "I don't understand you people! I made what you wanted and you still didn't buy it!"

It's like the Cadillac CTS-V wagon all over again.

This base model is overkill for web development, but I love the idea of all internal storage and future upgradability. Call me sick, but take my money! If PCs ran macOS, I’d opt for one of them, but they don’t, so I’m stuck.

I'm pretty sure there's a group of Mac Fans that get off on telling people who aren't video editors "yeah that's because it's not for you! you're not the target audience!"

I hope if you do buy one, that you enjoy the hell out of it, and possibly post a picture in the setups thread! I salute ya!

Yes the monitor of course. I have zero interest in that. I’ve already purchased a LG 49’ Ultrawide. A dream for music production screen real estate.

I want one. I really do! -looks at his LG 34" longingly-

Nowadays Apple in most cases is selling luxury products. From $249 wireless earphone, $1399 watch to a $999 monitor stand!!!. Apple is not the tech company we all knew, it has evolved into a different brand.

The argument "It's not for you" is actually correct because like luxury product, its not for everybody

I want to see them do their take on a mechanical keyboard. I'm guessing it would be a bargain at just $999. Crazy thing is that reddit.com/r/mechanicalkeyboards regularly talks about keyboard builds that cost $500+

Speaking of luxury products, I like this RAM:

 

[0134168]

Wow! There's some jealousy and envy in this thread! Haha!
I've been waiting for this machine for nearly 10 years! Already set aside the money for it. Very excited!

For those complaining about the cost, sorry, it's not for you. It's not. This machine was specifically catered to a specific segment of the entertainment industry: Editors, mixers and yes graphic designers. Sure you can use a Macbook Pro, but when deadlines are tight, you need something faster.

I've been editing professionally for 20 years now and I've worked at facilities with literally over 100 Mac Pro editing stations. For us editors it's MacPro's 2013 and or MacPro 5,1. For assistant editors its all iMacs. Hollywood will pay for something they know will scale and last for years without issue. That being said...

Consider this. The OLD MacPro's are STILL in use at almost every major production company here in LA. We're talking machines from 2009! And the 2013 Mac Pro is also STILL widely used. That being said $6000 grand for a machine that will more than likely last you over a decade, I'd say is a pretty good deal. That breaks down to....
about $50 bucks a month for 10 years! So, I'm all in. I'll upgrade the guts as my needs change.

Same as me . But I would like to say something that can sounds… odd.

This machine is not expensive.

My Mac Pro 5.1 has been working 24/365 during 10 years. Thanks to it´s upgradeability. And I hope this one will be the same.

Expensive is those absurds laptops, all soldered.

Not expesinve at all.