I am sure had a hand in all products up to the last few years, the average consumer cares nothing for gpu support. And Apple has been catering to the average consumer more so than niche's even under SJ
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Oculus Rift Won't Support Mac Until Apple Releases a 'Good Computer'
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I am sure had a hand in all products up to the last few years, the average consumer cares nothing for gpu support. And Apple has been catering to the average consumer more so than niche's even under SJ
Well it's not unexpected given that Apple has used underpowered graphics hardware on its lineup for years but my son built a totally solid gaming PC for way less than the cost of my Skylake 5k iMac. Sure, we're talking different form factors and all in one vs standalone PC but there's no real reason other than margin enhancement for my $2300 iMac to come with a low to mid range mobile GPU.
For perspective: The premium priced BTO iMac GPU option is a Radeon R9 M395X. The "M" in the part number indicates it's still a GPU intended for laptop (mobile) use. And it's not even the highest end laptop GPU.
It's nice that Apple focuses on noise and power consumption. But that always means a compromise, and Apple doesn't offer a non-compromise option.
There are a number of vendors working on Thunderbolt- and USB3-connected "GPU in a Box" options for laptops and small footprint workstations. There may be some hope there for people who really need high end 3D on a Mac, but they'll have to pay a premium for it. A discrete GPU box with Mac drivers is unlikely to be much cheaper than buying a low end gaming PC with the same GPU in it.
It's nice that Apple focuses on noise and power consumption. But that always means a compromise, and Apple doesn't offer a non-compromise option.
There are a number of vendors working on Thunderbolt- and USB3-connected "GPU in a Box" options for laptops and small footprint workstations. There may be some hope there for people who really need high end 3D on a Mac, but they'll have to pay a premium for it. A discrete GPU box with Mac drivers is unlikely to be much cheaper than buying a low end gaming PC with the same GPU in it.
With my Gear VR, I also love just looking at pictures and video that are immersive. And Netflix on a monster size screen is pretty great too. I'm hoping we soon get to 4K/8K screens on a phone so there's less of a screen door effect. It doesn't bother me - but it's there.
I think Jobs would be more pissed that somebody didn't see the VR angle when redesigning their flagship powerhouse computer into a finalcut pro dongle.
You do realize they have John Carmack working for them. Just sayin' . . .
Just saw this... pretty cool application of blending Samsung's Gear VR with an actual rollercoaster...
http://www.engadget.com/2016/03/03/samsung-six-flags-vr-roller-coasters/
http://www.engadget.com/2016/03/03/samsung-six-flags-vr-roller-coasters/
Uhh, this is only true for an extremely narrow definition of "PC".
Have you actually been to a Best Buy or similar store any time in the past five years? The average PC consists of either
- a laptop (pretty much as tightly sealed as a Mac, though sometimes with a changeable battery) OR
- an AiO PC (ie iMac clone)
Many of the specialty form factors (things like NUC or PC-stick) are again non-upgradeable.
Even most towers are mini-towers with very limited upgradability.
To fantasize that your average PC consists of a tower you can rip apart to install a dual-slot maximum-length 400W graphics card + fan is to be living in 1999.
Nope. The GPUs don't meat the minimum requirements. Drivers won't make them into different GPUs
Yeah I know isn't it kind of funny its got a mobile GPU? I thought the same thing more or less. That said though good luck cooling a real GPU inside an iMac. Again not defending Apple but I stopped using Windows PCs for gaming because I got tired of the GPU rat race to play PC games and just bought a PS4. You can buy a PS4 for what a good graphics card cost.
But they would be thicker! Oh the horror!
Yeah, its right up there with 3D TV, Curved screens, smart TVs etc etc etc
They will all go the way of the VCR
Nope. VR requires rendering a scene from two vantage points each frame, which nearly doubles the amount of work. It also requires a very high framerate* with no stutter or judder, otherwise users literally get sick inside of an hour. VR is intrinsically more resource intensive. You can't get away with 20-30fps the way you can in a typical game, and it has nothing to do with John Carmack's graphics chops.
Apple chose slim, quiet, thin machines that can't push the kind of cooling needed for today's high end GPUs. This is on Apple, not Oculus.
* People need 60-90fps to be comfortable with VR. The amount depends on the individual, but below that rate people start to vomit. Literally. Females are also less tolerant of the lower end before becoming nauseous, which means some challenging PR for companies that don't push toward the high end. All of this makes it unsurprising that Oculus would decide against releasing something on the low end while trying to sell the world on its flavor VR.
Makes me sad to hear this, but as someone who works in TV postproduction, I have to agree. While a few wealthy companies have gone with the "trash can" plus all the myriad external adapters it requires to connect to a shared editing environment, most of the rest of us are clinging to our old Mac Pro towers for life and buying up the refurbishes when available.
Some of the production companies I know took a hit when FCPX indicated to us that Apple was no longer concerned with playing in the big leagues and was strictly a consumer rather than professional supplier. While most post-production is Avid-based, there were quite a few that were FCP7 that had to switch to Avid or Premiere. Just look at the state of the Mac Pro- it hasn't been updated in over two years and is grossly overpriced and under-specced.
Hollywood LOVES its macs! We all have Macbooks/iPads/iPhones (I even have an Apple Watch) and we want to continue using them professionally but they're making it increasingly difficult to stick with them as our old Mac Pro towers get too old to operate current software. Right now, we're hanging on, but if they don't refocus on the professional market, TV editors and colorists and mixers are going to have to start switching to PC machines. The fastest-growing segment in future-looking production is 360 video intended for headset use. Apple just looks behind the times on this one.
Some of the production companies I know took a hit when FCPX indicated to us that Apple was no longer concerned with playing in the big leagues and was strictly a consumer rather than professional supplier. While most post-production is Avid-based, there were quite a few that were FCP7 that had to switch to Avid or Premiere. Just look at the state of the Mac Pro- it hasn't been updated in over two years and is grossly overpriced and under-specced.
Hollywood LOVES its macs! We all have Macbooks/iPads/iPhones (I even have an Apple Watch) and we want to continue using them professionally but they're making it increasingly difficult to stick with them as our old Mac Pro towers get too old to operate current software. Right now, we're hanging on, but if they don't refocus on the professional market, TV editors and colorists and mixers are going to have to start switching to PC machines. The fastest-growing segment in future-looking production is 360 video intended for headset use. Apple just looks behind the times on this one.
lol
Good!
Then maybe they could move some ports to the side of the machine so you can actually see what the hell you're doing when plugging stuff in.
Yes, it doesn't have the graphical horsepower for VR, you need to accept that.
Why? Why should Apple tear up their very successful business model for what's going to be a very niche product supporting a tiny market of very vocal whiners? Gamers have been complaining about how awful Apple, Macs, and Mac users are since 1984. They never **** even when Apple does do something that they previously asked for. They're an awful market segment to serve.
Exactly how many more Macs do you expect Apple to sell by following your suggestions?
VR will arrive on Mac when it's ready; when the use cases, the physiological effects, the UI, have all been sorted out. Until then if you want to be an earlier adopter, go with the inferior product --- just like if you wanted to be a DAP early adopter (eg Diamond Rio), or a smartphone early adopter (eg Treo), or a tablet early adopter (eg Tablet PC).
Really? How many of the PCs on service are still average-Joe-upgradable? 2%? 5%? Definitely lower than 10%.
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