Apple's 'pro' machines have always been heavily aimed at creative industries.
no they don't. [want to upgrade old machines]
they want to buy a machine that's suitable for their needs and is reliable.. that's basically it. they choose their configuration at time of purchase and would rather not bother with computer parts/purchases until their next machine.
the people mostly concerned with upgrading the individual components are tinker types and those who will be buying the used computers off the pros in an effort to not pay new prices while having new specs.
This is spot on. I've worked in creative studios for two decades now, and don't think I've ever met an editor or designer who even had the faintest idea what graphics card is in their machine.
The only creatives I've ever known to take
any interest in that stuff were 3D animators.
If there isn't enough power available to get through a job, a new machine is bought. I have never,
ever seen people faffing about with GPU or processor upgrades to old machines that weren't up to the task.
This is the domain of the tinkerer, gamer or prosumer. If you are an invoicing professional, you really should be making enough to buy a top spec machine and replace it regularly.
why do you think this?
imo, it's the pro or most certainly the 'creative pros' who apple generally targets that are very likely to be concerned with aesthetics.. i mean, their jobs likely have design and aesthetics as a major concern. so they're just as likely to prefer their tools/purchases to have these elements as well.
we want function AND form. not either-or.. functional with lack of form is a fail. pure form with lack of function is a fail(re: topic of tools)... it's the seamless marriage of both that creatives are after.
Agree with this as well. My studio doesn't run any Apple software, I chose the hardware because it requires little technical knowledge to manage IT-wise vs windows which I find confusing, and because the machines look good and go with the aesthetic we hope to offer clients through our work.
RAID storage is never inside the machine, because if a drive or the computer goes down they take down both. External thunderbolt raids are fantastic.
If the machines weren't up to the job, I'd be over to Dell or HP in a second, but for us the huge bulk of time on a job is spent making creative decisions, and render time is either timed around a coffee/lunch break or done overnight if it's a particularly massive task.
These considerations are built into the time line of the quote, and if we were getting turnarounds that were so tight that a lack of the latest hardware was the limiting factor I would say more than likely the client's expectations are the problem.
Of course Apple has languished on the latest-tech front, they've now admitted fault and are getting on with it. I'll be investing in these new iMacs if they look any good, and assess the Mac Pro replacement when it arrives.
In the meantime I'll be using current machines, making clients happy and sending invoices on their merry way..
