@all the macpro bashers :
"Let's discuss the taste of oysters with those who tried them" as Mark Twain said.
I am happy that your imac fells great and quick for your tasks. This does not mean, however, that your imac will feel great for other tasks of other people.
If you only knew Windows and then learned about Macs via your i-stuff then it's not all the systems out there.
There is a difference between iMac and Mac Pro, one of them is upscaled laptop and another is a downscaled server. They come from different worlds and at different prices, no point arguing and trying to price-match them at same number of threads.
Most people don't need them. Most people are fine with laptops (in the west) but even more are happy with just smartphones (India, China).
i-stuff is for sheep, pro stuff is for shepherds.
kill the pro stuff - and who will feed the sheep?
sorry if it sound shauvinistic, it's just an analogy.
You need one great whip for each 1000 of ship.
Numbers don't make sense there, it's all about different purpose.
No point comparing profits and saying where Apple should focus.
If Apple went for profits they might as well have moved on to realty or something (oil, gas, pharma, energy). Do you really want to focus Apple on profits, and not on great products that change the world? That would be the end of Apple if they did.
Now let's see my personal angle:
I am a Microsoft IT Professional, and need a lab to practice and model things in enterprise environment. Things like DirectAccess, BranchCache, RD Gateways, NAP, AD Federation Services, RMS, Transitive Trusts etc.
I could have used a bunch of servers at work but they're all busy with production stuff. It is simply not economical to create a fully physical test environment just for my certification tests and modelling.
Consider I want to model three domains, with application servers, clients, as well as domain controllers in each. Two different virtual companies, each with it's own LAN, Intranet and DMZ. Things like NLB mean 2 or more VMs for same purpose (ex Citrix Web Access Interface). Think of how many cores, memory and disk bandwidth I would need and whether your iMac will suit.
I have been a Mac user since 1994 (System 7.5) and Apple ][ hacker since 1988.
I had a PowerMac G4 Cube that lasted since 2001 until 2010 (it still runs in my ex's pad and she uses Skype video sometimes). It was a great expandable professional machine that lasted much longer than you'd expect. I also had an iPhone 3G but you know - after 18 months when it was stolen I did not miss it much. i-stuff just does not excite me much. I never had an iPad, and I don't like iOS because there are other systems with a better UI (webOS). iOS makes you watch it's "yellow pages" of Apps every bloody time you want to do anything. Even WP7 is better in this regard. Apple is so focused with selling apps to you that it's simply distractive for people who think different...
But back to Pro stuff - from the Apple angle of view.
It's problematic, indeed. People buy professional-grade stuff and keep it for years. Think 6-10 years. I am after top line newest macpro and I won't buy another probably until 2020. It's a problem for Apple. My gain, their loss.
So they may indeed decide to feed me imacs every two years, but I won't have them. I will simply wave Apple goodbye. Since I am not an iOS developer I could do this. I do not have anything Apple now, except Airport express and my spouses iPhone 4. If I bought a macpro, then I would buy and iPad instead of my hp Touchpad, and probably replace hp pre3 with a new iPhone 5 (or will it be called "the new iPhone"?). Then get into iCloud and become and AppStore regular. If not, then I won't. It's a halo effect for me, anyway I look at it.
I still think you can own your cloud, back at home. It can have enough storage, and be integrated (with Microsoft's solutions).
@all the folks like me:
If Apple gives up on macpro, and you are not tied into MacOS X (I am not), take a look at hp z820 workstation (comes April 2012). It is a much stronger machine
http://www.hp.com/united-states/campaigns/workstations/z820_features.html heck even their Z1 will beat the crap out of iMacs.
512G RAM in quads - you got it
newest Xeons and upgrades - you're covered
If not Apple MacPro, I will simply buy hp Z-series and have my virtual havoc there. No MacOS X is a pity but I will survive, MS operating systems got much better now. But for Apple to have me as their ecosystem user would be more lucrative then a one-off payment to hp. Wait a minute - this may mean I will save some money - that can't be bad
@Apple - if you drop MacPro, then certify MacOS X to run on hp Z-line. To still give shepherds their tools.