Can't innovate any more, my ass?

[aedigitaltv]

Maybe we will see more info after the AMD event on the 13th. More rumors in this article pointing to new AMD GPU meant for the Mac Pro. http://wccftech.com/amd-rx-490-4k-spotted-benchmarks/

"So we have been hearing a few details on the Radeon 490 from Chinese sources. A few weeks, we spotted some interesting details of a product that is called Radeon Pro 490. This card is specially built for use in the next generation of Apple Mac Pro computers.The launch of this card is expected in May 2017 and the leaker mentions that the card would feature Vega architecture."

 

[Bubba Satori]

The same type comments I have seen with iPad, and even funnier with iPhone.

iPad was supposed to be bigger iPhone, completely and utterly useless. iPhone was supposed to be overpriced, and completely not beneficial, for anyone.

Its when people open their minds about things when they are becoming actually useful.

When will that happen with the iPad?

 

[ITguy2016]

I wouldn't expect Apple to swallow the cost. Not Apple. There is also a payoff in terms of revenue from Applecare against damage to the brand from failing hardware. I think any wins here have to be traded off against the cost of repair programs, which generate no revenue for Apple and there have been many recently.

Companies don't offer extended warranties because they lose money on them. To the contrary many businesses hard sell them because they're so profitable.

 

[weckart]

Companies don't offer extended warranties because they lose money on them. To the contrary many businesses hard sell them because they're so profitable.

I am talking about the repair programs Apple was forced into because of hardware issues - nVidiagate, AMDgate etc. Those are hardly profitable since Applecare isn't a prerequisite and Apple foots the bill.

 

[ITguy2016]

I am talking about the repair programs Apple was forced into because of hardware issues - nVidiagate, AMDgate etc. Those are hardly profitable since Applecare isn't a prerequisite and Apple foots the bill.

That depends. Even with those programs in place Apple may not have spent as much in repair (their cost is considerably less than what it wold cost the owner) as they made cutting corners. Think Ford Pinto.

 

[weckart]

That depends. Even with those programs in place Apple may not have spent as much in repair (their cost is considerably less than what it wold cost the owner) as they made cutting corners. Think Ford Pinto.

Sadly, I think this is true. I was thinking the same as I pressed post. So His Royal Jobness was wrong in one respect: Apple is content to enter a race to the bottom when it comes to manufacturing.

 

[goMac]

"So we have been hearing a few details on the Radeon 490 from Chinese sources. A few weeks, we spotted some interesting details of a product that is called Radeon Pro 490. This card is specially built for use in the next generation of Apple Mac Pro computers.The launch of this card is expected in May 2017 and the leaker mentions that the card would feature Vega architecture."

Yep. Told everyone. Vega is the holdup.

If you take Nvidia out of the running (and they ARE out of the running) the only possible fit AMD has for the Mac Pro is Vega. No Vega launch = No new Mac Pro.

AMD missing their October launch means the Mac Pro gets delayed out past October.

Apple is relatively dependent on a few of the their vendors, like AMD and Intel. If AMD or Intel miss windows, Apple can't launch products. Whether or not it is wise to have a single GPU vendor is a totally valid question. But Nvidia isn't happening.

Apple could launch a Polaris based Mac Pro but you probably wouldn't like it very much.

 

[ITguy2016]

Sadly, I think this is true. I was thinking the same as I pressed post. So His Royal Jobness was wrong in one respect: Apple is content to enter a race to the bottom when it comes to manufacturing.

I agree. It seems their systems have become less reliable as they've focused on reducing the size.

 

[Bubba Satori]

Apple could launch a Polaris based Mac Pro but you probably wouldn't like it very much.

Why would that stop them?

 

[Chicane-UK]

Apple could launch a Polaris based Mac Pro but you probably wouldn't like it very much.

They should have at least speed bumped / incrementally update the Mac Pro in the interrim so that people were not left questioning whether the trashcan was going to get consigned to the trashcan!

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Maybe we will see more info after the AMD event on the 13th. More rumors in this article pointing to new AMD GPU meant for the Mac Pro.

Search back through MacRumors - you'll see that exact same statement "Maybe we'll see more after the AMD event. More rumors pointing to new GPU meant for the Mac Pro." repeated over and over. Sometimes it says nVidia. Sometimes it says Intel. But we've had two and a half years of rumors.

I'm apparently one of the few people who actually likes Apple's design innovations. I loved the Mac Pro design. I like the TouchBar MacBook Pro. But the neglect of a "Pro" product for three years is ridiculous.

 

[itdk92]

What I am excited about is that moment when Apple will make their own CPU and GPU platform for the Mac.

They are showing that with their custom ARM silicon on iPads and iPhones + in-house software, they can make magic happen.

Scale that up, and we have a PowerMac era all over again, but this time with the power of the App Store, and the dramatic increase in Apple's power and popularity to back it up, maybe together a smart way to port applications or recompile them.

Apples new unified File System point heavily towards this future.

 

[ssgbryan]

What I am excited about is that moment when Apple will make their own CPU and GPU platform for the Mac.

They are showing that with their custom ARM silicon on iPads and iPhones + in-house software, they can make magic happen.

Scale that up, and we have a PowerMac era all over again, but this time with the power of the App Store, and the dramatic increase in Apple's power and popularity to back it up, maybe together a smart way to port applications or recompile them.

Apples new unified File System point heavily towards this future.

And that will be the end of apple.

Software houses aren't going to jump architectures twice in less than 20 years - especially when the replacement CPUs are (much) less powerful.

 

[zen]

Apple's top of the range is now the MacBook Pro.

And that's basically the only Mac they really make - when was the last time you saw an iMac, Mini, or Mac Pro in an Apple retail store?
[doublepost=1481181573][/doublepost]

Thats my situation, and yes I am sad.

Been trying to determine a 5,1 or a used trashcan. Honestly I'm 1/2 leaning towards jumping to a real pro machine like Windows... I haven't used Windows since XP!

You should definitely jump to Windows - Windows 10 is light years away from Windows XP, and the PC hardware you can get (or build) is astonishing. Sure, OS X is still better than Windows, but the benefit of new PC hardware far outweighs any niggles you may have.

 

[itdk92]

And that will be the end of apple.

Software houses aren't going to jump architectures twice in less than 20 years - especially when the replacement CPUs are (much) less powerful.

About performance, let's wait and see.

Again, this is pure speculation, but iPad Pro allegedly rivals processing/graphical performance of Macbook Air/Pro already.

So not so bad afterall. Imagine a couple of years more, imagine having more space than a crammed iPad

About porting the software, well that's where Apple needs the clever solution.

I am not technically expert in programming on a developer level, so this is not necessarily tech speculation, but rather tech trend speculation.

Btw, just as a fun note, Microsoft just announced they are porting all their major apps to ARM.

 

[BornAgainMac]

All would be forgiven if the base iPad could do everything that MacPro could do including hooking up up storage and devices, 4k/5k monitor support, ports, full Mac OS, mouse, keyboard, compatible with all your software, etc. No heat, no fans, faster GPUs, VR and at least the battery that we have today. That would be innovative.

 

[weckart]

Again, this is pure speculation, but iPad Pro allegedly rivals processing/graphical performance of Macbook Air/Pro already.

Would like to see some evidence of this. My feeling is that it is far, far behind. You only have to see how much Windows struggles on Atom processors at the moment to doubt this. iOS is a much lighter OS than macOS.

 

[v0lume4]

Anyways, the next best OS from a start up might be right around the corner just like in the movie "her" !i hope so.

Bit of a strange movie, but very interesting narrative told. The human condition.

 

[itdk92]

Would like to see some evidence of this. My feeling is that it is far, far behind. You only have to see how much Windows struggles on Atom processors at the moment to doubt this. iOS is a much lighter OS than macOS.

What I provide is not "evidence" as such, and is controversial material.

Nevertheless, it is a strong hint that iPad pro 12,9" CPU/GPU processing power is not much far behind that of a m3 powered laptop, and might be even faster in some cases (e.g. iMovie able to easily handle 3 x 4K video streams on iPad 12,9")

Also, since then, the iPhone 7 Plus came out, which outperforms iPad pro 12,9". Rumor has it, the A10X is behind the corner, and even faster than the A10 of iPhone 7.

Now just think about this, and scale it up to a whole-laptop or whole-desktop level, where you get much bigger space, possibility for higher TDPs, and performance to play with. Again, the main catch to solve is only the software port.


Then again, this is NOT cold evidence, but stuff which - in my humble opinion - strongly points towards an in-house manufacturing future for the Mac platform, and give me somehow hope all's not lost.

 

[redheeler]

I can't wait to see a soldered SSD in a desktop Mac, justified with a slight increase in performance achievable without soldering it in. That kind of move takes courage.

(I'm talking about the next iMac, of course. The Mac Pro will be renamed to Throwback Mac, and will not receive any further updates or price drops.)

 

[v0lume4]

I can't wait to see a soldered SSD in a desktop Mac, justified with a slight increase in performance achievable without soldering it in. That kind of move takes courage.

(I'm talking about the next iMac, of course. The Mac Pro will be renamed to Throwback Mac, and will not receive any further updates or price drops.)

Throwback Mac! Hahaha

 

[ssgbryan]

About performance, let's wait and see.

Again, this is pure speculation, but iPad Pro allegedly rivals processing/graphical performance of Macbook Air/Pro already.

So not so bad afterall. Imagine a couple of years more, imagine having more space than a crammed iPad

About porting the software, well that's where Apple needs the clever solution.

I am not technically expert in programming on a developer level, so this is not necessarily tech speculation, but rather tech trend speculation.

Btw, just as a fun note, Microsoft just announced they are porting all their major apps to ARM.

My entire art workflow is built around cores - ram - HD space - I don't see any of my applications running on an iPad in the next couple of decades.

 

[itdk92]

My entire art workflow is built around cores - ram - HD space - I don't see any of my applications running on an iPad in the next couple of decades.

But that's not what I am saying.

I am saying that my assumption is Apple's CPU and GPU technology will make it to the mac, because they have proven that they can make very powerful mobile CPU/GPU (as such more powerful than the rest of the indutry by a good margin)

 

[slughead]

Yep. Told everyone. Vega is the holdup.

You also said New Mac Pro in November and that the nMP would have swappable video cards. You also found that guy here on the forum who pretended to be an insider at Apple and said he was the real deal (he later admitted to making it all up).

Radeon 480 would have around 60% more TFLOPS than the D700. Why not use that? Oh yeah, because Vega. What happens if it's not vega? Oh they're waiting for the Radeon 590, then 690, then who knows?

Anyways I guess May of 2017 is the new November 2016, which was the new October 2016, which was the new.. well I don't care to go back that far. It's been over 3 years. There's a decent chance the 2013 nMP was the last Mac Pro.

If it is true, there is some speculation the 490 will be about on par with the GTX1080 according to those mystery benchmarks. At least that level of speed it will only be about 1 year old may 2017, unlike the two year old speed of the D700 when it was released in the nMP in 2013.... of course who knows what NVidia will have out in 5/2017 though, or at least shortly thereafter.

 

[ssgbryan]

But that's not what I am saying.

I am saying that my assumption is Apple's CPU and GPU technology will make it to the mac, because they have proven that they can make very powerful mobile CPU/GPU (as such more powerful than the rest of the indutry by a good margin)

And I don't see software houses jumping 2 architectures in less than 20 years.