'Constant Negativity' From Pro Users Led Apple to Develop Modular Mac Pro, Which May Not Ship Until 2019

[dr34mc4st3r]

Reminds me of the book "how the mighty fall" by Jim Collins - Apple is surely in hubris born out of success. Though with these new developments it's not too late for Apple to turn sentiments around. Apple, don't forget your starting point in this business!!

Sad that it took a touchbar MBP for Apple to wake up though.

 

[dsut4392]

The ports are just a convenient excuse. The price is the bigger deal, particularly since it doesn't come with any of the legacy adapters. The original MacBook Air shipped with display adapters, and the iPhone 7 shipped with the headphone jack adapter. We don't hear many complaints about the audio jack on the iPhone 7. Apple should include a dock in the box for next year's version and lower the price a bit.

Nope. While I wasn't pleased about the price increase, I have plenty of money and could have lived with that. What I couldn't live with was the lack of a simple USB-A port (and to a lesser extent, the removal of the SD slot), let alone the complaining that would have come from the family about it. We all use USB-A flash drives for bringing home files from work/school or exchanging photos etc with friends. None of our friends/schools/workplaces have USB-C slots. Even if it were included in the box, having to use a dongle or a dock is significantly less convenient, and defeats the purpose of having a thin, attractive laptop, because you always have to have that cr*p either plugged in or lying around on the bench.

I have an iPhone 7, and the reason there are few complaints about the headphone adapter is because most people only use a single set of headphones, so it's no hassle to just leave the adapter connected to them. On the other hand, if you use multiple sets of headphones (I use the apple ones for the gym or walking to work, but have an active noise cancelling set for travel), or if you swap your headpones between the lightning port on your phone and the 3.5mm jack on another device, the adapter is a nuisance.

 

[Quu]

I'm feeling pretty vindicated after ragging on the Mac Pro and the latest MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. I honestly would not buy a Touch Bar MacBook Pro, the tactile function keys are too useful for quickly changing brightness and volume. Apple needs to stop making their products worse and focus on the fundamentals of computing.

 

[clangers23]

Time for this again?

 

[iZac]

1: take perfect cheese grater design

2: add new motherboard and GPU

3: sell

It's not that hard, Apple!

 

[McScooby]

I'm certainly not a pro by any stretch but do occasionally dabble in Logic, but for the MBP, the ball was dropped by increasing max price by over 2k. I've no issue I think with the touchbar, but the muppets dropped 1 important 'feature' & that is the MBP model without dedicated graphics 'cause if history is anything to go by, I'd rather not take the risk on an expensive paperweight, that & u can no longer upgrade anything, not cool not cool!

 

[Nicky G]

So three years after they released the Mac Pro, they realized they needed a more "modular pro machine" that wasn't as "thermally constrained?" They JUST realized this, and JUST green-lit the replacement machine project?! I hope that Apple is on an accelerated development model for this one, because if it takes until 2019, a lot more people are going to have switched to Windows. This is ridiculous. The new MBP for the true pro was ridiculous, the iMac at least until now has been ridiculous for more intense power users, and the Mac Pro has been scathed since day 1 of its release for all the reasons Apple is now acknowledging, but it's going to take maybe 2 more years to fix this? Can this be? How could this entire area of their portfolio have been totally ignored for so long? Apple is so project-by-project in their focus, it's maddening. GROW UP APPLE! AAPL will be even better off for it! Let individual groups emerge that at least have SOME semblance of responsibility for a product line, and not just the next major product release. And there is NO REASON why they couldn't have actually updated the current Mac Pro more over the past few years. Chips and chipsets have existed! There were legitimate upgrade options within 12 months of the machine's original release over 3 years ago. *sigh*
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I'm certainly not a pro by any stretch but do occasionally dabble in Logic, but for the MBP, the ball was dropped by increasing max price by over 2k. I've no issue I think with the touchbar, but the muppets dropped 1 important 'feature' & that is the MBP model without dedicated graphics 'cause if history is anything to go by, I'd rather not take the risk on an expensive paperweight, that & u can no longer upgrade anything, not cool not cool!

The 15" still has dedicated gfx, and the 13" Pro hasn't for a while.

 

[jeff7117]

1: take perfect cheese grater design

2: add new motherboard and GPU

3: sell

It's not that hard, Apple!

This would sell like hotcakes and there's not one realistic reason they shouldn't do it.

That said, no way in hell it happens. This Apple is different and they have to add a touch bar keyboard and make it thinner before they roll it out. Re-inventing the wheel takes time.

They don't have the desperation of a company that needs the revenue from the Mac Pro. It's a niche product and it shows.

See you in 2019.

 

[Nicky G]

1: take perfect cheese grater design

2: add new motherboard and GPU

3: sell

It's not that hard, Apple!

NFS, right?! There were rumors for a while they were going to come out with a desktop Mac Pro that could be pivoted and was already basically rackable in like 2-3U. DO THAT APPLE! It is REALLY NOT ROCKET SCIENCE! It can be a really freaking slick space gray rectangle, that is actually made to be racked if desired, and has at least 3-4 PCI slots, current dang Intel chips and chipsets, AND CALL IT A DAY!

 

[Analog Kid]

Well, we aren't using the Mac Cube 17,1 - Are we?

So did you choose not to include the part of my post that says exactly that so that your comment sounds novel, or do you just lack the attention span to read the whole thing?

 

[Nicky G]

I'm feeling pretty vindicated after ragging on the Mac Pro and the latest MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. I honestly would not buy a Touch Bar MacBook Pro, the tactile function keys are too useful for quickly changing brightness and volume. Apple needs to stop making their products worse and focus on the fundamentals of computing.

My biggest complaint with the Touch Bar is that the darn thing turns off, even when connected to battery! WTF?! And why can't I control these behaviors in Energy Saver??? It's so annoying to often have to poke something before it wakes up, and then I can use it. In general I like it, but this is maddening!!!

 

[McScooby]

So three years after they released the Mac Pro, they realized they needed a more "modular pro machine" that wasn't as "thermally constrained?" They JUST realized this, and JUST green-lit the replacement machine project?! I hope that Apple is on an accelerated development model for this one, because if it takes until 2019, a lot more people are going to have switched to Windows. This is ridiculous. The new MBP for the true pro was ridiculous, the iMac at least until now has been ridiculous for more intense power users, and the Mac Pro has been scathed since day 1 of its release for all the reasons Apple is now acknowledging, but it's going to take maybe 2 more years to fix this? Can this be? How could this entire area of their portfolio have been totally ignored for so long? Apple is so project-by-project in their focus, it's maddening. GROW UP APPLE! AAPL will be even better off for it! Let individual groups emerge that at least have SOME semblance of responsibility for a product line, and not just the next major product release. And there is NO REASON why they couldn't have actually updated the current Mac Pro more over the past few years. Chips and chipsets have existed! There were legitimate upgrade options within 12 months of the machine's original release over 3 years ago. *sigh*
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The 15" still has dedicated gfx, and the 13" Pro hasn't for a while.

Yeah, but I'd be in the market for a 15", the last gen had one without dedicated gfx, a much safer bet than failing gfx after a while which seems to be a common thread.

 

[MrMaxwell]

When you realise Apple are now a phone company these 'issues' are easier to understand. Everyone is focused on the cash cow known as iPhone so I'm surprised they actually have realised things aren't quite right with Mac. They need teams with passion looking after their desktops not iPhone product managers.

 

[Count Blah]

So did you choose not to include the part of my post that says exactly that so that your comment sounds novel, or do you just lack the attention span to read the whole thing?

A little bit of both, but mostly the latter.

But since your initial statement was obviously incorrect, I didn't think I needed to go any further.

 

[trifid]

I miss this guy...

How easily you could flip a lever and have instant access.

 

[mi7chy]

Why did it take Apple *3* years to figure out that something was wrong with their top of the line computer?

Perhaps it's designed on purpose for obsolescence to maximize profit. Instead of being able to buy the latest and greatest off-the-shelf technology, GPU for example, at competitive prices you're forced to buy proprietary outdated technology at inflated prices.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Dear God no. Dells are absolute **** and don't belong in the same sentence as Apple. They need to go out in the trash where they belong.

Says someone who obviously knows nothing about the quality and reliability of Dell Precision Workstations...unless you are still regurgitating 10 year old myths about Dell, MOST name-brand equipment (Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc.) is all very reliable nowadays. Unless, of course, you choose bottom-of-the-line crap in which case you deserve what you get.

Dell XPS, Dell Latitude and Optiplex and Dell Precision are all great quality. The latter models are backed by standard 3 year warranties...your precious Apple won't even stand behind their hardware with that.

 

[true god]

The touchbar MBP would've been a great success if the touchbar had shortcuts to order watchbands and dongles.

 

[Johnny907]

Great they are listening!

But am I the only one who finds it hard to believe that a company that big, with that much money and all their resources is going to take that long?

The QE2 was said to be the largest, fastest ship of her day. At full speed, it took miles to come to a full stop, as she carried that much momentum. I think Tim Cook's Apple is the same in this regard. They were all set for the industry to fall in love with their "courageous" moves, and follow suit in regards to parallel GPU architecture. This didn't happen, but given how much they had invested in this being the direction of things to come that they were slow to notice it wasn't so, and slower still to come to a complete stop and correct course.

Perhaps Apple has gotten too used to playing the role of path setter, and assumed things would always be so just because they are who they are and not because of what they do. It must have been one heck of a slap to the face when their strongest, loudest proponents (the Pro segment) vocally turned against them. Oh well, better late than never yes?

 

[phrehdd]

Strange article. The negativity by Mac users was about this silly proprietary little tube. This notion of developing a modular Mac Pro is moronic. The original Mac Pro was modular/upgrade capable and able to be customized. So its not about developing a new Mac Pro its about RETURNING to what worked. Apple should go take a look at the upper HP Z workstation line up that does extremely well and beats out the present Mac Pro on the tests that count. Let's also add it is everything in terms of options that the Mac Pro could have been before the less than "tubular" tube experience.

Apple just needs to remind itself that one day its iPhone sales are not going to be that healthy and the entire castle of Apple will turn to Apple sauce. Better to get all your various products positioned to help maintain profit and stability.

 

[0388631]

Not surprising from what we see in the MBP forum.

Oh, yes. But do you not agree that it's ridiculous to follow the enlightened path of producing a product thinner than before while trying to get as much power out of the device within a certain thermal and power usage envelope, when you could go a little thicker or keep the same chassis and make an even better product? It'd reduce overall R&D costs, too. Apple doesn't have to pass on the savings and would make even more net profit per unit.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Great they are listening!

But am I the only one who finds it hard to believe that a company that big, with that much money and all their resources is going to take that long?

I'm not expecting anything next month, but end of year or early 2017 would be acceptable.

But late 2018 or even after that....seems silly.

Then again, these are rumours so who knows right 🙂

Ha! If they start designing NOW, then by the time they have a product, it will be for TODAY's technology and in 2019 will already be 1-2 years behind the curve.

Just do a Mac Pro 2012 Redux with todays technology -- in Gold, Rose Gold, Jet Black and RED options, of course. Instant sellers.

 

[0388631]

Strange article. The negativity by Mac users was about this silly proprietary little tube. This notion of developing a modular Mac Pro is moronic. The original Mac Pro was modular/upgrade capable and able to be customized. So its not about developing a new Mac Pro its about RETURNING to what worked. Apple should go take a look at the upper HP Z workstation line up that does extremely well and beats out the present Mac Pro on the tests that count. Let's also add it is everything in terms of options that the Mac Pro could have been before the less than "tubular" tube experience.

Apple just needs to remind itself that one day its iPhone sales are not going to be that healthy and the entire castle of Apple will turn to Apple sauce. Better to get all your various products positioned to help maintain profit and stability.

That's what they're doing, but they're not going to use the old Mac Pro chassis and won't copy HP. They'll come up with their own style, it takes time. They should use the HP Z800 as their benchmark. I think the top config on that is around $28,000 USD with all the goodies. If Apple were to even offer a system capable like that, it'd be even more expensive. However, I doubt Apple will offer dual 22 core Xeons.

 

[Sasparilla]

Why would it take 2 more years to develop a desktop?

It's pretty easy actually. Apple designs their own motherboards and sometimes chips. Try designing something like that and producing it and getting the bugs out and....pretty soon 2 years seems really short. You really want them to take their time and get it as right as possible - Apple Gen 1 systems are often avoided by users because of this challenge.

 

[Abazigal]

Well, what's different is that Steve isn't at the helm. FWIW, Steve was 100% right about Flash such that even the people who wrote Flash agreed with him.

Steve also said you skate to where the puck is going, not where it currently is. With this current Mac Pro hogwash, the execs hadn't even started skating yet. It does make me sad why it took them four years to wake up and realize they're destroying Steve's legacy.
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Two years to get it right, or two years to get it wrong?

Skating to where (you think) the puck will be simply means you make a conscious decision to predict what you think the future of computing will entail, and proceed to use your resources to influence the status around you to best turn that vision into reality. Sometimes, you are right, and sometimes you are wrong.

In this case, Apple was predicting a future where the iPad represents the future of mobile computing for the masses and the Mac reduced to a niche role for more heavy tasks. I still believe in this vision, and I don't think Apple is wrong, but it seems that future they envisioned is further off than they may have previously anticipated, and the Mac is simply not ready to be deprecated yet.

So in this case, Apple skated to the spot too early, and the puck simply hasn't reached them yet, and they left their base completely unattended.

A momentary setback. Nothing more.