Yes, they did it save money and maximize profits. Everything about this machine costs less.
I gotta believe there's a lot easier ways to make a computer cheaper than using virtually all non-standard parts to stuff inside a tube.
And it's not like whatever additional cost of a full-sized (full-featured) Mac Pro is being eaten by Apple. I think most people (certainly pros) can figure out if something is bigger/heavier it will cost more to ship, but they'll be the ones paying the shipping costs.
Warehouse costs, you do make a good point though. (Even so, not like Apple doesn't figure that into the product price).
We could have fit 4 or 5 times the number of machines in the same space or optionally used a much smaller space for the same number of render nodes. And none of the machines you're looking at above needed to have PCI type expansion slots nor internal storage.
Sure, in some specialized uses I'm sure it saves space. But in many other uses, you can't just cram 4 or 5 times the number of USERS into the same space just because they're using iTubes rather than the old MacPro-sized hardware.
Well first we can clearly see that it's a MUCH less complicated process and also yes, less materials means less expense.
You may be right, but I don't clearly see any such thing at face value. Standard arrangement of off the shelf hardware is much less complicated than an all-custom design with non-standard hardware, even for Apple. I'm not saying it's not a good design, just I'd have to see actual facts presented from those in the know that it's actually cheaper than a more standard build process that everyone (including Apple) have been using for years.
In the process they may even have created a new sub-segment and if that grows much may indeed find the justification to continue manufacturing Xeon based systems of some kind or another.
True, this is the one huge benefit I see; it may not please the traditional pro crowd fully, but I can see where lots of people who want more than an iMac or Mini, but don't need all the expansion features of the previous MacPro will be all over this. In that sense, I agree it's a smart move.
Just as always, I wish Apple could 'chew gum and walk at the same time'. That is, I wish they just put this out as the much sought after xMac (minus the workstation hardware) and *at the same time* just updated the MacPro in its current form.