Is Apple ending Mac Pro product line?

[mBox]

...I would love to see a 'show of hands' as to how many other Mac Pro users are sitting in my position of not wanting to jump on the '09 Mac Pro wagon...

still waiting and dont mind really. as long as they get it right this time around (e.g. display cards, etc..).
sadly our only problematic MacPro is an 09 model. Its housing an FX4800 and a few extra backplane hardware for RAID. seems to hang at shut-down both OS and After Effects. Got into the habit of leaving this one on at all times.

 

[Macinposh]

Just my 2p....

I am sitting with an '06 Mac Pro and have been watching the rumourmill churn over updated Mac Pros for the past few months.

My Mac Pro still does the job, but the reponse times and render times are starting to get a little on the long side with certain projects i am working on/

Practially in the same boat with my ´06,with small differencies..
Not planning to upgrade...yet...


FCS and Photoshop are as slow as they were in 2006,practically no improvements with CS5 and FCP7. So,whats the hurry. Maybe throw in a
SSD, and up the memory from 10Gb to 16. And run the computer for couple of more years untill the programmers get their heads from their arses.

And when that time comes around,I will take a long hard look on the situation of the Macpros and final cut, and if they are in as ****** shape as they are today,I might migrate back to the PC side.Shudder..

 

[zedsdead]

Practially in the same boat with my ´06,with small differencies..
Not planning to upgrade...yet...


FCS and Photoshop are as slow as they were in 2006,practically no improvements with CS5 and FCP7. So,whats the hurry. Maybe throw in a
SSD, and up the memory from 10Gb to 16. And run the computer for couple of more years untill the programmers get their heads from their arses.

And when that time comes around,I will take a long hard look on the situation of the Macpros and final cut, and if they are in as ****** shape as they are today,I might migrate back to the PC side.Shudder..

If you are using Final Cut Pro, render times will not improve much until Final Cut Pro is multi-core aware. When rendering, I have a brand new quad core iMac, and it barely uses 2 cores (and that's if I am lucky). The program needs a complete re-write.

 

[mBox]

If you are using Final Cut Pro, render times will not improve much until Final Cut Pro is multi-core aware. When rendering, I have a brand new quad core iMac, and it barely uses 2 cores (and that's if I am lucky). The program needs a complete re-write.

until everyone else (Avid) starts using multi-core, were all stuck with this
its a fact competition is always good

 

[Macinposh]

If you are using Final Cut Pro, render times will not improve much until Final Cut Pro is multi-core aware.

That is what I said with the "developers needing to remove their heads from their arses" thing...
FCP and adobe,both.

So,as long as the quad 06 performs as well or better than the 09 octos for me,well,there aint no hurry...

 

[anim8or]

If you are using Final Cut Pro, render times will not improve much until Final Cut Pro is multi-core aware. When rendering, I have a brand new quad core iMac, and it barely uses 2 cores (and that's if I am lucky). The program needs a complete re-write.

Unfortunately its After Effects that i use... so my 32 bit EFI 06 Mac Pro is not quite cutting it for me anymore... would love to upgrade now but will not waste money when i 'know' a refresh is coming soon.....

 

[Kissaragi]

They could at least have poped some upgrades in 6 months ago, 4870 as standard, 6gb of ram, 1tb hard drive, etc.

 

[calderone]

New Mac Pro on Tuesday or Wednesday. I say "or" because today is a holiday. I am not sure if Memorial Day is like other holidays for Apple.

 

[mBox]

New Mac Pro on Tuesday or Wednesday. I say "or" because today is a holiday. I am not sure if Memorial Day is like other holidays for Apple.

sadly its a holiday for Apple for awhile thanks to their 2millionth iPad sold
kidding aside, hope they got their toy mentality out of their system and get back to Pro Systems

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

Apple could easily offer the existing hardware with additional 6-core CPU options. Dell already does so with its Precision workstation line. If Dell can do it, why can't Apple? Look at the 8-core Mac Pro. Apple doesn't even offer the 3.3 GHz option that was available over a year ago from Intel.

What is the Mac Pro development team doing at Apple? Are they picking their noses or have they been moved into iPad development? Something doesn't smell right. No timely Mac Pro updates... Final Cut Pro is being re-designed to fit Apple's mainstream customers... No case re-design in years while the MacBook Pro and iMac have seen redesigns... And how long did it take Apple to put the Core i7 into the iMac? Funny, too, that Apple refuses to release Mac Pro sales figures.

The writing is on the wall. Those of us with 2009 Mac Pros may very well have the last Mac Pro. Apple is just waiting to clear inventory before it announces the end of the Mac Pro line. It's just not a lucrative product compared to iPad, iPhone, iPod, and iMac - where all the money is. That's my two cents.

 

[slughead]

The writing is on the wall. Those of us with 2009 Mac Pros may very well have the last Mac Pro. Apple is just waiting to clear inventory before it announces the end of the Mac Pro line. It's just not a lucrative product compared to iPad, iPhone, iPod, and iMac - where all the money is. That's my two cents.

Oh don't be so melodramatic. They've taken their time updating in the past, and now it makes even more sense to delay because their inventory is probably not diminishing as fast as they'd like due to the recession (and the fact that it was overpriced to begin with ...).

It takes a lot of money to 1) engineer a new product 2) make sure its pricepoint isn't too bad 3) re-engineer if necessary 4) re-tool the manufacturing plants 5) market the changes.

If the Mac Pro isn't raking in the dough, they wont bother releasing a new one for a long time--that does not, however, mean the line is finished.

The Mac Pro, even if outdated and overpriced, still leaves Apple's "foot in the door" for big markets. It's kind of like when supermarkets stock the crappy stinky cheese because the few people who buy those also buy a ton of other stuff.

I, for instance, have been an Apple customer for 20 years. I no longer buy computers I can't significantly upgrade. If Apple cuts me out, I WILL switch to Windows or keep my Mac Pro until it decomposes. On the other hand, the last Mac I bought (2006 Mac Pro) was so awesome I haven't bought another one since.

 

[Max(IT)]

It was necessary.

Hopefully Android will migrate to desktop OS next. I'd love to have another UNIX-based-developer-friendly-yet-also-consumer-friendly to compete with Apple's desktop OSes.

It could happen! Android is just Linux underneath and Android has gone from phone -> tablet -> tv ... laptop/desktop while hopefully be next.

This whole 1.5 year between update debacle has almost got me considering going back to Linux. I just hate the dearth of consumer software for it.

How can someone trust a company like Google for his personal business is beyond my understanding ...

 

[nanofrog]

It takes a lot of money to 1) engineer a new product 2) make sure its pricepoint isn't too bad 3) re-engineer if necessary 4) re-tool the manufacturing plants 5) market the changes.

True for a completely new product. But in this case, it's really just a firmware change to allow for the newer CPU's (new microcode).

It's possible Apple could surprise us with a new case design, or even additional features on the board, but I don't think it that likely. At best, maybe the case exterior, as that would be re-used with future systems (internal's reworked as needed of course). Cost being the reason, as Intel is well aware of this scenario, and intended the new CPU's to be a drop-in after a microcode update to lower system manufacturing costs (no new boards or retooling that's not voluntary, which allows costs to be drawn out over 2yrs rather than each).

If the Mac Pro isn't raking in the dough, they wont bother releasing a new one for a long time--that does not, however, mean the line is finished.

If it stops earning anything, they're likely to dump it (i.e. any work or continued production at all results in a loss). Any other company would if it wasn't chalked up to an annomoly (i.e. market disappears/changes permanently where the existing product no longer fulfills a market).

Hopefully, it won't come to that, as there's a fair few independents and larger entities that have a significant investment in OS X (forced to switch in an unplanned manner could cause some to go under due to the lack of funds to purchase both new systems and software, particularly the software, as it can easily exceed the cost of the system/s).

How can someone trust a company like Google for his personal business is beyond my understanding ...

Perhaps cost was the basis.

That said, if budgets are limited (little to no software budget; undercapitalization comes to mind), and UNIX is known/desired, then Linux (or possibly Open Solaris) would have been a better choice IMO.

 

[InfoSecmgr]

Just because your workloads & workflows are not CPU- or I/O-limited doesn't mean everyone's is. I know mine certainly are.

You hate wasting time, don't you? Allow me to assist you. My time is far less valuable than yours, this is evident because I am using a core 2 duo MacBook, so I don't mind helping you out for a few minutes. I fully understand that Apple is holding you back by not releasing Mac Pro's with the latest CPU's and GPU's. Here is my expert advice. What I would do is sue Apple. That's right. Sue them! Those SOB's have held you back long enough! It is time for you to take drastic action and reclaim what is yours. What I suggest is that you tally up all your lost productivity in hours with your current Mac Pro versus whatever a 2010 update would (or should have), then demand Apple pay you for that time. I sincerely hope this has helped you. I apologize for not typing this in shorthand, it must have taken at least 1.5 minutes to read. What is your paypal account e-mail address? I'll forward you the cash for the wasted time.

 

[calderone]

You know, come to think of it they have held me back as well!

"It's my productivity and I need it now!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX0fIi3H-es

 

[HSJR]

I don't believe apple will abandon its MP after it gains great reputation in movie editing, CS, and beyond. If we haven't see a new MP in a week time then we may have to wait at least for two months; if we assume that apple will focus to meet the demand for its iPad and its upcoming iphone 4G. Maybe that means another +100 days of waiting.

 

[Ravich]

This waiting game is really not much fun. I'm starting to look at the possibility of buying an iMac and then eventually using as an external monitor and slave to a mac pro in the future, but even the iMacs are supposedly nearing the end of their cycle....

With USB3 around the corner, it's just... ugh. Why does WWDC have to be so late this year?

 

[ValSalva]

This waiting game is really not much fun. I'm starting to look at the possibility of buying an iMac and then eventually using as an external monitor and slave to a mac pro in the future, but even the iMacs are supposedly nearing the end of their cycle....

With USB3 around the corner, it's just... ugh. Why does WWDC have to be so late this year?

I believe WWDC was June 6th last year. I agree with you about the waiting game. If not WWDC then when? I will be seriously disappointed if there is no new Mac Pro in the next week. I'm sure I won't be alone.

 

[the editor]

don't know if you guys saw this one, its from last week

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/923492/

 

[xgman]

Apple could easily offer the existing hardware with additional 6-core CPU options. Dell already does so with its Precision workstation line. If Dell can do it, why can't Apple? Look at the 8-core Mac Pro. Apple doesn't even offer the 3.3 GHz option that was available over a year ago from Intel.

What is the Mac Pro development team doing at Apple? Are they picking their noses or have they been moved into iPad development? Something doesn't smell right. No timely Mac Pro updates... Final Cut Pro is being re-designed to fit Apple's mainstream customers... No case re-design in years while the MacBook Pro and iMac have seen redesigns... And how long did it take Apple to put the Core i7 into the iMac? Funny, too, that Apple refuses to release Mac Pro sales figures.

The writing is on the wall. Those of us with 2009 Mac Pros may very well have the last Mac Pro. Apple is just waiting to clear inventory before it announces the end of the Mac Pro line. It's just not a lucrative product compared to iPad, iPhone, iPod, and iMac - where all the money is. That's my two cents.

I'll make that 4 cents.

Also, I guess some pro users are taking matters into their own hands:

"Spurred by the lack of a high-end IT track at this year’s WWDC some IT professionals are planning a separate conference that would provide resources similar to what Apple might have included.

“The MacEnterprise steering committee has been talking about doing this for way too long, but the recent lack of significant IT tracks at WWDC has spurred us into action,” said the group."

 

[Freyqq]

Why does it need to be the latest tech to be a pro machine? in many other areas the pro level models are never the very latest - Pro usually indicates build and reliability rather than latest (as yet not fully field tested) technology.

Pro users usually need something that does the job day-in and day-out without worrying about issues. The Mac Pro does that pretty well.

Besides the current Mac Pro does indeed kick serious behind (Xenon's etc) - maybe its the prosumers who are moaning more as they are the ones who seem to think you have to have the latest to be considered a 'pro'.

Heck my Power Mac G4 still does all my photoshop work without issue; (ok I'd like it to be a little quicker, but I don't need it to be), and she is 10 years old now.

just my five pence worth

I would have no problem with apple taking a year and a half to upgrade a product if they reduced the price accordingly over time. Today, the mac pro costs just as much as it did when it first went on the market. At the time, it was a powerhouse. Even then, people were complaining it was too expensive. Now, it's just below average compared to the new hardware out today. There is simply no justification to actually buy one at this point unfortunately.

 

[Apple Corps]

There is justification - if you run your business on Macs & related apps and you need a new machine - you buy it.

Do you think people are going to lose $50,000 assignments because they "refuse" to buy the current MP on the basis of the "value"?

Get real - I just bought one and will use it until something CLEARLY better comes out - then decide if the upgrade is worth it or not.

IMO there are too many people on this topic who do not run businesses on Macs - those of us that do have a very different perspective on what "pro" means.

 

[parakiet]

I believe WWDC was June 6th last year. I agree with you about the waiting game. If not WWDC then when? I will be seriously disappointed if there is no new Mac Pro in the next week. I'm sure I won't be alone.

don't get your hopes up

apple updates when you least expect it

 

[xgman]

IMO there are too many people on this topic who do not run businesses on Macs - those of us that do have a very different perspective on what "pro" means.

No disrespect meant, but you really don't have any idea what people do or do not do in this topic.

 

[Apple Corps]

Go back to the post I was replying to - "...There is simply no justification to actually buy..."

That is not a very logical position to take as I outlined in my response. One, as a professional, does not give up on significant assignments due to a lack of a $4,000 or whatever computer.

There are justifications for buying now. PROFESSIONALS have a different perspective as others have posted.