No, Apple was clear that there is a dual strategy, both iMac Pro and Mac Pro. iMac Pro was never just a stopgap.
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iMac Pro Works With Apple's New Pro Display XDR, But Limited to 5K Resolution
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This was not the case for the W-Series Xeon CPUs the iMac Pro uses until very recently (like within the last 30-60 days and even then are under supply constraints).
The iMac and MacBook Pro that have adopted Titan Ridge use Core-series CPUs.
No idea what any of that has to do with iMac Pro. The fact that other Macs are capable of supporting the XDR is immaterial to iMac Pro.
Intel just announced the CPUs Apple needs in October, saying they would ship some time last month (Nov). Whether they’re shipping yet in any quantity is unknown (to me). I haven’t seen them in any manufacturer’s shipping lineup yet.
Assuming Intel can provide the new CPUs in the quantities Apple needs—they couldn’t two years ago when the iMac Pro debuted, you’ll recall—Apple will release an updated iMac Pro which will support the XDR.
They need to be able to supply Apple the W-22xx CPUs. As I mentioned, they were supposed to ship last month. If Intel kept to their announced schedule (not a given with Intel) Apple will be able to refresh iMac Pro.
The only other option is to release a new iMac Pro with the 2017 CPUs, which as I posted already doesn’t really make any sense, since it would be an insignificant update.
It was discussed in the Mac Pro mea culpa meeting with bloggers/press in April 2017. They talked about how there’s a lot of pro users (30% occasionally, 15% frequently) who use pro apps while Mac Pro is a single digit market share. So they saw space for another Pro model besides Mac Pro. Here’s a chunk of that convo, the entire article is worth a read. (Note this was a couple months before they previewed iMac Pro at WWDC and announced its December ship date.)
Phil Schiller: And the fact that pro software can touch 30 percent of the polled Mac customer base is significant and important in the fact that it’s related to the 15 percent that use it frequently, and the [single digit] percent that use Mac Pros, we do think there’s a connection here and an importance to all of that.
Obviously, as you know, we just did a very major update to the MacBook Pro line. That’s going very well. Customers absolutely love it, we’ve had a lot of customers buying them. Big numbers, as I said, 20 percent growth year over year. We’re very proud of those products; we know there’s feedback on things that can be done better on them. There’s things that we want to do better on them. We know they matter to our pro customers, and we have every intention to advance that Mac Book Pro line in the years ahead and make it better and better for our core customers, but we think we’re off to a good start there.
Next up: we have plans on iMac, to move that line ahead, and do great things on iMac. It’s core to our Mac business and our customers, including making configurations of iMac specifically with the pro customer in mind and acknowledging that our most popular desktop with pros is an iMac. We want to do things with the iMac in the future to help address those pro needs, and make it… not only continue, but more of a capable machine for pro customers.
Craig Federighi: That is a pretty incredible evolution that we’ve seen over the last decade. The original iMac, you never would’ve thought as remotely touching pro uses. And now you look at today’s 5k iMac, top configs, it’s incredibly powerful, and a huge fraction of what would’ve traditionally required the Mac Pros of old and are being well addressed by iMac — whether its audio editing, video editing, graphics, arts and so forth. But there’s still even further we can take iMac as a high performance, pro system, and we think that form factor can address even more of the pro market.
https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/06/t...-john-ternus-on-the-state-of-apples-pro-macs/
Indeed there is. Just installed it. It's an improvement but... still not great. (Adjusting the volume on the TouchBar with the slider still handles this fine. Might make my wife's life easter on her Air though.)
Thanks for the tip.
And yeah, I wish I had picked up a couple of the 4Ks. Refurbs were cheap at various points. I keep a couple stations at my house for either myself to use the computer for something other than work or for kids and guests. USB-C and Thunderbolt monitors are really nice for that with the power and I/O.
I just bought a UltraFine 5K a couple of days ago. I'm considering returning it. Although it's the same panel as the iMac, something is definitely different. The glare isn't good, at the viewing angles are so bad that it washes out on the corners looking at it STRAIGHT ON.
Look at the bottom corners in the attached photo. No Mac does this, and neither did my Dell 4K monitor.
I, for one, really hope Apple makes a new 1st party 5K display.
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And a redesign of the sh*tty lack of display/screen adjustment capabilities! Not to mention the brain dead inclusion of the plastic gear which broke after one year, leaving my screen permanently facing the floor! I have had it propped on a stack of books for over 3 years now. Infuriating to say the least.
So? There's always new technology. You can buy the most Pro model today, but it will not support 802.11ax, 802.11ay, true USB 4, USB Gen 2x2, Bluetooth 5.1, DisplayPort 2.0, DDR5, PCIe 4.0, 5.0 or 6.0...
While @PickUrPoison linked to the right article, I think he missed out the more relevant quote by Craig.
https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/06/t...-john-ternus-on-the-state-of-apples-pro-macs/
So it’s clear that even then, the iMac Pro had already been in Apple’s product pipeline for a while, and wasn’t just a hastily-cobbled-together response to growing backlash to the pro Mac community. But the Mac Pro necessitated a total redesign and that likely entailed more time and resources than the iMac Pro.
Ultimately, both are designed to be niche machines targeting niche communities, for the people who are either unable or unwilling to migrate to iMacs.
Right, it’s not the same exact thing, but we’re not talking about a desktop tower, we’re talking about the iMac Pro, which has no PCIe expansion. TB3 expansion is still expansion.
lol not really, the iMac came out in 2017. Thats an old computer this is basically a 2020 display, you honestly can hardly expect it to be capable of displaying at 6k much less even working. Would be nice, im sure they will revise the iMac Pro. 16" MacBook Pro came out a month ago of course its compatible, also anyone spending this kind of cash on this display will be fine with updating and buying the new Mac Pro as well.
I believe it when I see it.
I'm pretty sure the sales of iMac Pro will plunge now that the Mac Pro is out. Anyone prepared to shell out $5000+ for a computer isn't going to go for second best.
Then, even if Apple updates the iMac Pro, why would you buy a computer that expensive that can't be easily upgraded stay with you for many years to come?
I would like to see iMac screen accept input from other devices, not sure why they don't do this.
The other thing is I would like to be able to have an iMac/Pro running and I can use a laptop wirelessly to use it, basically streaming the display. This is already possible on Playstation and Steam Link
The other thing is I would like to be able to have an iMac/Pro running and I can use a laptop wirelessly to use it, basically streaming the display. This is already possible on Playstation and Steam Link
"Fortunately, video editor Thomas Grove Carter has since demonstrated that the iMac Pro can in fact drive the Pro Display XDR, but only at a 5K resolution. This is likely because the iMac Pro uses Intel's older "Alpine Ridge" Thunderbolt 3 controller without enough bandwidth to drive a 6K display. "
well.. that's probably enough. If it was capable of more, there wouldn't be anything to upgrade to.
well.. that's probably enough. If it was capable of more, there wouldn't be anything to upgrade to.
Just FYI, every monitor on Earth since the beginning of time is limited by the hardware driving it. The tech specs for the iMac Pro clearly state "5120‑by‑2880 resolution" so how do you expect it to drive a 6k monitor.
Huge egg on your face.
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Wouldn't a more sensible request entail asking Apple to update the iMP's TB3 controller? I mean, it's not like Apple would need to wait on Intel to do that. It's not like Apple would have to wait on Intel to do anything amirite?
And you know this how? Are you a hardware engineer?
I doubt Apple will be losing asleep over the iMac Pro being cannibalised by the Mac Pro.
Not everyone is going to care about modularity or upgradability. Assuming the iMac Pro gets updated next year, you are still getting a powerful Mac that lies somewhere in between a souped-up iMac and the Mac Pro in terms of pricing.
Then 3-5 years down the road, trade it in and the total cost of ownership is likely still lower than if you had gone with a Mac Pro and upgraded it yourself (because of the lower upfront cost).
The downside is that you can’t use your own monitor or that sexy XDR display, but if you are okay with the bundled 5k display, I guess, why not?
Apple Pro Display is going to cost over $6000 and no doubt it's the most horrible value product you can buy and absolutely ridiculous that it lack support 120hz and an obsolete product if you shoot 120fps video. Tim Cook = more expensive+less innovation have never been stronger at Apple.
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The school that I go to has 27 inch iMacs all over the place so when ever I go in there I used to use TDM from my MBP. It was super nice to be able to work on a larger screen for school. however this summer they updated all of them from late 2013 models to 2019s sadly so I can't do it anymore. it was a super niche feature but it was one that was super useful for those who knew about it. I got people coming up to me all the time asking how I was using my laptop with the iMac.
According to Apple, iMac even before iMac Pro was the most popular desktop platform with pros. Not Mac Pro; iMac. And with the introduction of iMac Pro, all-in-ones became even more popular with pros.
Pros were already making that choice before Apple released the cylinder. Many simply didn’t need—and less so now than ever—the power of Mac Proto do their work. An 8-core i9-9900K with 64 or 128GB of RAM meets their needs fine. If they need more cores or RAM, iMac Pro is the logical place for them to go, not a 20-50k Mac Pro.
If customers want the XDR, the Mac Pro makes sense, but many are satisfied with the excellent 27” display in iMac Pro. Those who have been buying Mac Pro for the last 6 years will continue to buy Mac Pro, as will some who were only using iMac Pro as a substitute for the Mac Pro they really wanted.
But iMac Pro has its own constituency. There will always be users that find the regular iMac insufficient. At a price range of $5-15k, I expect iMac Pro will do just fine, outselling Mac Pro on a units sold basis. Sure, the Mac Pro will steal some of its demand, but that’s ok with Apple.
If you’re always waiting for technology that’s years away to arrive before buying anything, you’ll be forever waiting. That’s fine if you’re a tinkerer or hobbyist, and can afford to sit around and wait.
But pros have work to do today, that’s due tomorrow. There’s no waiting around for today’s version of a perfect machine—which won’t be in the market for a year or two or never.
And if that perfect machine with features a, b, c, and d finally does become available in some future year, guess what? Features e, f, g, h and I are “just around the corner” and now you’re delaying you’re purchase again. Waiting, waiting... always waiting for the unattainable nerd nirvana: the Ultimate Computer 🤓
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