I am not the customer a Mac Pro is aimed at. I was merely making an (IMHO, correct) observation, which I continue to stand-behind.
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Apple's Newest Mac Pro Turns Five Years Old Today
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Going out on a limb here...macOS.
Some would, but a lot more would not. But Apple let's those few people scratch that itch by building Hackintoshes.
That's obvious, but hardly the excuse he gave for requiring something that is "engineered" (whatever that means to him, as he hasn't said).
FWIW, I'm running Mojave quite nicely on my 8th Gen 6-Core i7 in a Dell tower, with a NVMe 1TB SSD, a 8TB fusion drive I made from a 8TB WD RED and a 256GB SSD, and a $200 RX580 8GB video card, all with AirDrop, Continuity and Handoff compatibility plus USB 3.1. I probably spent easily less than $1500 and still have lots of room to add more goodies.
I figure if Apple ain't going to make it, I will.
Anyone who needed a powerful pro computer has left mac long ago. Other options are orders of magnitude more powerful and modular, and the operating system edge that Mac had is long since gone.
That was a very interesting read. iPads as input devices are obviously going to be a BIG part of the system. Given Apple has hired artists to "deeply" understand their workflow, and is literally optimizing the new pro for those artists strongly suggests how Apple defines its Pro users. Apple may be thinking about a radically flexible, new modular hardware solution that accommodates the wildly diverse needs of the Pro market. I certainly hope so. Nothing I read in that article suggests this though. Yes they could do both, but I do not think Tim thinks like that. More likely he thinks about leveraging Pros to sell iPads. Given the iPad becomes a pure input device (note to self: short Wacom now), likely it will not intro until next OS release. So think "Pros who wear Yeezys" not so much "Pros facing lab budgeting constraints". Very Tim really.
I wonder if they’re waiting for AMD’s 7nm architecture? Either way, they’ve left it so long that only the most groundbreaking update will keep people from being irate about the lack of updates.
It's getting pushed because they keep saying it's due "next year". We've been hearing about this fabled Mac Pro since 2017 as due to make an appearance in 2018, then in 2018 it's unsurprisingly due in 2019.
Frankly, if they actually gave a damn, this thing would already be out. It's not like Apple doesn't have the money for proper R&D, they just chose to not prioritize pros.
Most would, actually. Frequently updated and upgradeable Macs is the dream. I don’t know why this concept is lost on people. The grater design was fine and could still be going today. The trash can was not. The reason people go to Hackintoshes in the first place is because Apple isn’t providing an alternative. Eventually they switch to PCs because Hackintoshes aren’t worth the hassle.
For three grand you could build a bad arse 16 core Threadripper machine with loads ram and a good GPU.
Sort of. It's a niche computer that serves a very small minority. There are more important things to focus on. Plus, it doesn't stop anyone from buying their products.
And if Apple "engineers" it and slaps an apple on it, the price goes up to $9000. Right there is the price of something "engineered" by Apple.
It’s the minority because they’ve all but abandoned the Pro market and even if Apple releases something new, the Pros now have trust issues about switching back. Apple has put themselves in this position.
If it is a very small minority, it's only because no one wants to buy 5 year old tech at the same price it sold for 5 years ago! The only choice is to buy something else Apple decided to make (either a mini or an iMac). It's sort of a self-made problem for Apple.
FWIW, I'm running Mojave quite nicely on my 8th Gen 6-Core i7 in a Dell tower, with a NVMe 1TB SSD, a 8TB fusion drive I made from a 8TB WD RED and a 256GB SSD, and a $200 RX580 8GB video card, all with AirDrop, Continuity and Handoff compatibility plus USB 3.1. I probably spent easily less than $1500 and still have lots of room to add more goodies.
I figure if Apple ain't going to make it, I will.
I considered this route as well. However, further integration of the T2 chip into new Apple hardware and the MacOS makes me wonder if days of hackintosh are numbered...
P.S. I love my cheese grater MP!
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Apple should have used the 2013 as a mid range Mac Mini for customers who wanted a little bit more, while keeping the tower around for Pros. The Mac Mini could have been at the entry level for users just wanted a cheap Mac with little compromise.
I suspect what happened here was greed and being illogical.
I suspect what happened here was greed and being illogical.
They work for shareholders and are a victim of their own success. They are not in a easy position because of the importance of earnings and growth that occurred because of iOS and before we blame this all on Tim we must realize it was Steve who wanted focus on iOS at all costs even pulling other teams from other projects.
With that said I do agree they should have some kind of focus on their pro app lineup even if it doesn't make pure revenue sense as it serves more of a halo product and is very good for their image. They should make some kind of commitment to their pro users who were their from the start.
More difficult to upgrade due to the all-in-one form factor and the need to remove and re-apply adhesive for the display screen - this also makes the iMac Pro more difficult to clean and keep well ventilated. If the Mac Pro came in a rack mountable blade form or as a tower these problems would go away.
