Apple's Newest Mac Pro Turns Five Years Old Today

[Lone Deranger]

All this Apple talk about 'Modular' worries me a lot. What modularity does Apple need to invent that the PC industry doesn't already offer in the workstation market. Modularity is there in components. You know, the ability to very easily adding a few sticks of extra Ram, extra storage in the way of large capacity 7200RPM drives, 2 or high end nVidia GPUs.
I fear Apple's interpretation of this 'modularity' will serve Apple first and the customers a very distant second.

 

[Piggie]

Why oh why does Apple always feel the need to over engineer, over complicate every one of their products?

For the Mac pro, literally all the pretty much have to do is make a PC, spec the mboard inside to be some nice Apple specific thing, do a few tweaks and job done.

Why is doing something that simple, so hard for apple ?

 

[Wiesenlooser]

Is that US factory still running? Must be really depressing in there...

 

[ETN3]

All this Apple talk about 'Modular' worries me a lot. What modularity does Apple need to invent that the PC industry doesn't already offer in the workstation market. Modularity is there in components. You know, the ability to very easily adding a few sticks of extra Ram, extra storage in the way of large capacity 7200RPM drives, 2 or high end nVidia GPUs.
I fear Apple's interpretation of this 'modularity' will serve Apple first and the customers a very distant second.

People are reading to much into the modular thing. Apples own definition of modular is a headless mac and the Mac Pro is already modular today...

 

[MacBH928]

I am not in the PRO market but if I was why would i buy a 5-4 year old product for this insane price?
Going the PC route you get to choose the hardware that you can upgrade later on, is cheaper and more powerful.

I see 0 reason to buy this. If you have like a YouTube channel or do some light web developing maybe you can go with the iMac Pro route but like some big shot 3D modeling company or some big advertiser I am sure this is not ideal.

 

[Niko Todd]

Muff
noun
noun: muff; plural noun: muffs

• a mistake or failure, especially a failure to catch or receive a ball cleanly in sport.
• a clumsy or incompetent person, especially in relation to a sport or manual skill.

Origin:
early 19th century: of unknown origin.

 

[and 1989 others]

Why they ever moved away from the modular design is beyond me. It was truly a poor decision. And to have it without updating the design for 5 years is unforgivable.

 

[BruceEBonus]

(Dust) bin there, done that!

 

[Quu]

Remember when Phil came out on stage and said "Can't innovate anymore my ass!". Oh Phil you were so funny.

 

[cosmichobo]

I am not in the PRO market but if I was why would i buy a 5-4 year old product for this insane price?
Going the PC route you get to choose the hardware that you can upgrade later on, is cheaper and more powerful.

I see 0 reason to buy this. If you have like a YouTube channel or do some light web developing maybe you can go with the iMac Pro route but like some big shot 3D modeling company or some big advertiser I am sure this is not ideal.

Why would you buy any Apple product? They all have insane prices compared to non-Apple products?

If that's your argument, you're in the wrong place.

Well, except Apple really does seem to have lost the plot with their pricing over the past couple years in particular, with Tim even stating that they build products based on what the product costs rather than aiming for a price point... which has, I think very sadly, resulted in things like the incredibly expensive iPhone and also MacBook/Pro machines... which equally thus should cast a huge shadow over this Mac Pro project, given it's being made in the ol' US of A instead of China where the labour costs are much lower...

Where was I...

 

[dredlew]

The TrashCan actually still works great if you throw enough RAM in it. I got one last year on eBay for $1900, still too expensive IMO. Fine if they need to come up with a new system (however, I don't think it takes that long) but for Christ's sake, just drop the price already on the current ones. This is highway robbery.

 

[Lone Deranger]

People are reading to much into the modular thing. Apples own definition of modular is a headless mac and the Mac Pro is already modular today...

Let’s hope it’ll be just that. And not some new over-cooked attempt at innovation.

Love your Avatar by the way. Out Run, still the best racing game ever made.

 

[-BigMac-]

I am so damn pumped for this. Been saving mah pennies

 

[gwaizai]

But Cook's Apple doesn't want to maKe a module Mac. That's why all the glue.
They want us to buy new products every year, using software sabotage and skinny batteries
to slow down our current stuff to make sure we do.

 

[Marekul]

All this Apple talk about 'Modular' worries me a lot. What modularity does Apple need to invent that the PC industry doesn't already offer in the workstation market. Modularity is there in components. You know, the ability to very easily adding a few sticks of extra Ram, extra storage in the way of large capacity 7200RPM drives, 2 or high end nVidia GPUs.
I fear Apple's interpretation of this 'modularity' will serve Apple first and the customers a very distant second.

Exactly, every standard PC is modular, there is no need to invent anything. But Apple can't have too much of that cause it would seriously mess with their ridiculous outdate and overpriced products and release cycles.

 

[recoil80]

Quote: it is still an important product in our lineup.

 

[jonplackett]

Interested to see how they will make the new one profitable (as in apple-profitable rather than the usual PC-profitable) without being able to totally shaft you for extra ram and storage like they do on every other Mac - even the new mini that basically has removable components (except it voids your warranty)

 

[Abazigal]

All this Apple talk about 'Modular' worries me a lot. What modularity does Apple need to invent that the PC industry doesn't already offer in the workstation market. Modularity is there in components. You know, the ability to very easily adding a few sticks of extra Ram, extra storage in the way of large capacity 7200RPM drives, 2 or high end nVidia GPUs.
I fear Apple's interpretation of this 'modularity' will serve Apple first and the customers a very distant second.

Apple already kinda gave us a sneak peak earlier this year. To them, modularity is not about the ability to upgrade the internals but rather, being able to connect different peripherals and accessories together to get even more out of them.

https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/05/apples-2019-imac-pro-will-be-shaped-by-workflows/

What shape that modularity takes is another matter entirely, of course. I know some people have been pining for the days of internal expansion card configurations with standardized hardware — and maybe that is the way that this will go. But on Tuesday I also got a tour of the editing suites where Mac hardware and software is pushed to the limits, including extensive use of eGPU support, and a different vision emerges.

First, we visit the room where they record new instruments for Logic and Garage Band and then on to an edit bay used by the Pro Workflow Team to put Final Cut Pro through its paces.

Throughout, the idea of modularity was omnipresent. An iMac Pro with two iPad Pros hooked up to it allows for direct control, shortcuts and live access to the Logic manual, all while you’re mixing a song on the main device: an eGPU with a MacBook Pro running a live edit of an 8K stream with color grading and effects applied.

External GPUs plugged into MacBook Pros, in my opinion, is going to be an enormous shift in the way that people think about portables. I got a live demo of a graphics stress test running on a MacBook Pro natively, then on one and then two external GPUs. The switching is nearly seamless, depending on the age of the app, and some modern rendering software can use all three in concert. It’s one of those things that works exactly the way you think it would, and it leans heavily on Thunderbolt 3.

Whether that informs the shape of individual machines in Apple’s future lineup I don’t know, but it’s certainly the way Apple is looking at the pro ecosystem. It’s not just MacBook Pro, iMac Pro, Mac Pro — it’s the enabling force of eGPUs, it’s iPad Pros as input devices, purpose-built extensions and portable workstations. And it’s even iPhone, as Logic and Final Cut Pro are both completely compatible with GarageBand and iMovie. You can start a project and continue it on iOS while traveling, then put it right back into your pro machine when you’re back and continue riffing. It’s Apple leaning into its advantages of having control of this stuff to the bolts.

So Apple’s idea of modularity is being able to improve the performance of a MBP by connecting it to a eGPU, or connecting an iPad Pro to a Mac to use it as a secondary control device.

That sort of thing.

 

[viizi]

I love that even if Apple release something awesome and not as overpriced as usual, the pro market has already left the building and Apple will just lose even more market share. It's cool for me as an ex-fan and also employee of Apple blinded by keynotes that the same company has helped me take off those fanboy glasses and see the real world of performance and value for money that building your own PC and running Windows that supports all the best drivers for pro work can offer. Thanks Apple!

 

[Hezzaa]

Remember when Phil came out on stage and said "Can't innovate anymore my ass!". Oh Phil you were so funny.

Literally thought about it 5 seconds before reading this comment. I think Phil needs to go. People often call for Apple executives to be fired here, but I think havin the courage to say this and then watching it all come down crashing and burning is beyond what happend with Forstall and Maps.

 

[pmau]

and it’ll cost an absolute bomb.

That.

If you look at the iMac Pro pricing, which does not give you that much of headroom at all, I'm sure the new Mac Pro pricing will be outrageous.

The next thing to consider is the missing display, which will not make it cheaper for the consumer, because Apple will certainly not price the Mac Pro entry level without display lower than the iMac Pro.

They need to sell the iMac still. It has a very high margin.

My guess is that the "base" configuration that no-one really wants will be $7000, because if you "need" a Pro device, this is what you have to pay.

So, Yes I would be interested. But No, I will certainly not buy one considering Apples idea of pricing.

 

[G4DPII]

The fact that it's 12 months since Phil at all the pies and admitted they buggered up and we haven't even heard a mouse fart bit of information regarding the new Display, let alone something to actually use with it is rather disconcerting.

I am beginning to wonder if the computer development side know their backside from their elbow at this moment in time.

 

[Trusteft]

Whatever they do with it, however customizable it is going to be or not, please, oh please Apple have more colors for it and not all of them shades of black and grey/silver.
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That.

If you look at the iMac Pro pricing, which does not give you that much of headroom at all, I'm sure the new Mac Pro pricing will be outrageous.

The next thing to consider is the missing display, which will not make it cheaper for the consumer, because Apple will certainly not price the Mac Pro entry level without display lower than the iMac Pro.

They need to sell the iMac still. It has a very high margin.

My guess is that the "base" configuration that no-one really wants will be $7000, because if you "need" a Pro device, this is what you have to pay.

So, Yes I would be interested. But No, I will certainly not buy one considering Apples idea of pricing.

IIRC the iMac Pro was supposed to be a stop gap measure. I never expected it to have new revisions, at least no more than 1-2 till the new Mac Pro was released.

 

[ROGmaster]

So Apple’s idea of modularity is being able to improve the performance of a MBP by connecting it to a eGPU, or connecting an iPad Pro to a Mac to use it as a secondary control device.

That sort of thing.

Then that sounds really bad, nobody want's to connect egpu's to workstations.
1 it's way more expensive than it needs to be 2 it's limited in terms of available solutions on the market.
Simply installing a new more powerful GPU is a way way better and cheaper solution.

 

[scottinlexky]

i said goodbye to buying anything apple two weeks ago when I built my PC/Hackintosh. I think I spent about $2400 on
everything, i9 9900, 32gb RAM, 2tb NVME, SSD boot drives, Vega 64, AIO cooler and a slick case. Easily upgradeable. Runs windows and Mojave just fine. Stays at 34c during all tasks. I couldn't justify spending nearly 7K on an iMac Pro to get close to the same performance editing 4K videos, and photos. I would love to see another cheese grater design. I loved mine, but i think apple is done with the pro market as long as Timmy is around. He needs to go.