Popular Mac Developer Slams Apple for 'Sad State of Macintosh Hardware'

[AppleTLDR]

What do I want them to do? How about just putting current parts into their Macintosh computers? No one is asking for a complete overhaul. Many would be happy for Apple to take the 5,1 Mac Pro enclosure and update the internals with current technology It wouldn't take Apple years to do that.

If Apple wishes to release some grandiose Mac Pro...fine. Update the current offering and offer the grandiose product when it's ready.
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Then explain why they announced the 6,1 Mac Pro during the DEVELOPERS conference. We'll be here...waiting.

Again I didn’t say never, I said and I quote, almost never. They sometimes announce new hardware but it is guaranteed they they announce new software every single year, without fail. So if you expect new hardware then it often leads to disappointment. The Mac will get its updates, most people on this thread probably won’t buy them right away anyway as they’ll actually be happy still with the stuff they’ve got. Then we can all go back to doing I dunno....speculating on the next....thing

 

[dumastudetto]

I understand they won't...now you know why people are frustrated with Apple. The 6,1 was a failure from the beginning. There was a huge amount of discussion to that effect when it was released. The Apple apologists told us the 6,1 was the wave of the future. Apple told us the 6,1 was the Mac Pro for the next 10 years. Little did we know they meant the current technology is what they meant.

There's no excuse for the Macintosh product line to be so far behind. I'm amazed people are defending them.
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Then find some other avenue. It's not as if no one would attend something other than WWDC.

They do. We often get spring events, September, and sometimes another hardware event later in the year. Apple also sometimes refreshes Macs via press release. When new Macs are ready, you'll be able to buy them.

 

[AppleTLDR]

I understand they won't...now you know why people are frustrated with Apple. The 6,1 was a failure from the beginning. There was a huge amount of discussion to that effect when it was released. The Apple apologists told us the 6,1 was the wave of the future. Apple told us the 6,1 was the Mac Pro for the next 10 years. Little did we know they meant the current technology is what they meant.

There's no excuse for the Macintosh product line to be so far behind. I'm amazed people are defending them.
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Then find some other avenue. It's not as if no one would attend something other than WWDC.

They do other keynotes and often update products with a simple press release. It doesn’t make sense to update everything all in one go as the message gets diluted. Also Apple does a back to school promo in the summer so it might be a press release goes live anytime now. Maybe they want to clear out old stock first. Who knows.

 

[Lesser Evets]

When I buy Apple products, I pay with CONFEDERATE NOTES.

The cash is as up-to-date as their product, so it should suffice.

 

[pl1984]

Again I didn’t say never, I said and I quote, almost never. They sometimes announce new hardware but it is guaranteed they they announce new software every single year, without fail. So if you expect new hardware then it often leads to disappointment. The Mac will get its updates, most people on this thread probably won’t buy them right away anyway as they’ll actually be happy still with the stuff they’ve got. Then we can all go back to doing I dunno....speculating on the next....thing

I would agree except the product line has stagnated for so long. Surely Apply could spare a few minutes to provide some guidance on the new Mac Pro during such an event. It's not as if the people who attend a developers conference wouldn't be interested in a new professional grade computer.

The silence from Apple regarding the Mac Pro is stunning. They know people are begging for a new Mac Pro. Surely they could provide something other than "It's a 2019 offering". Surely they could offer some interim offering which would indicate a commitment to the product line. As it stand now all we have is "We're going to release a new Mac Pro...sometime. Please trust us. Please stick with us. We're really committed to the platform but we're doing absolutely NOTHING to show as much".

Even if they do eventually release a new Mac Pro I don't know why anyone would rely on the Macintosh for their livelihood. What's to say Apple won't abandon the new Mac Pro just as they have the "Mac Pro for the next 10 years" 6,1 Mac Pro?

Apple needs to SHOW dedication to platform. They could easily do so by upgrading the ENTIRE product line to current technology. The fact they're unwilling to do so speaks volumes to their LACK of commitment.
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They do other keynotes and often update products with a simple press release. It doesn’t make sense to update everything all in one go as the message gets diluted. Also Apple does a back to school promo in the summer so it might be a press release goes live anytime now. Maybe they want to clear out old stock first. Who knows.

Everything? How about something? The only Mac on the buyer's guide which is not a "Don't Buy" is the iMac Pro...a model released within the past six months (I don't count the Mac Pro "caution" rating as the Mac Pro is the worst of them all as far as not having been updated). Everything else is obsolete.

 

[Abazigal]

You really need to stop defending Apple. There is absolutely zero reason why the Macintosh line as languished for so long.
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As is evidenced by the stagnant Macintosh line...Apple doesn't care about the Macintosh. You care more about the Macintosh than Apple does.

So stating facts is blindly defending Apple now?

Seriously, look at yourselves.

You are all here ranting and raving like madmen, absolutely refusing to accept or even entertain alternate opinions that don’t jive with your own, while lashing out at anyone who dares to say anything to the constructive.

If you wonder why nobody else here takes you all seriously or wants to even give you the time of day, this is why.

 

[pl1984]

So stating facts is blindly defending Apple now?

Seriously, look at yourselves.

You are all here ranting and raving like madmen, absolutely refusing to accept or even entertain alternate opinions that don’t jive with your own, while lashing out at anyone who dares to say anything to the constructive.

If you wonder why nobody else here takes you all seriously or wants to even give you the time of day, this is why.

It's not an opinion that Apple has little interest in the Macintosh line. If they did we wouldn't have such a pathetic offering of Macintosh products.

 

[elkhound]

They have announced a new Mac Pro and quite some time ago and have been pretty open to say it will be a 2019 product. In the mean time their are some options available to tide you over.

You just proved the whole point of this article, and this person's frustration with the situation. Apple's new slogan... "We make computers that will tide you over!"

 

[0388631]

A couple of weeks ago I was actually wondering whether the time is right to open source MacOS. Apple doesn't seem to care enough about it anymore, and with some of the weird bugs of late it might be beneficial to let more developers in there.

Interesting you saying that. I was doing some digging the other night and found out that Apple briefly considered the idea (to a small extent) back in the late 90s when they were beginning to see issues with PowerPC coming up in the future (which did happen) and one of their lead engineers compiled a special version to work with a Pentium processor and showed off how to do it with random store bought computers. I very much doubt Apple would ever consider open-sourcing let alone licensing it. OEMs like HP or Dell could offer $1,500 per license and they still wouldn't budge.

 

[Mimiron]

I've got no idea what's happening at Apple, but it must be a mess. First, they are not able to provide out-of-warranty repairs for their iMac Pros and this year, WWDC has only been about software, no iPads (i'm not counting the 2018 iCrap-Pad as an update, internals are extremely outdated), no MacBook refresh, nothing... must be hard to publish a timeline with information about upcoming products.

 

[Mainsail]

Part of the issue is the state of the industry. People aren’t buying home computers at the rate they previously did. It’s now possible to live entirely with your mobile devices. In some ways the Mac (and PC) are relics in the consumer world. The situation will look more dire in 10 years. Only dinosaurs like me will probably be buying another Mac.

You are just right. There is very little that you can not do with an entry level $300 iPad plus BT keyboard that you could do with a typical household computer from 10 years ago. More and more people are comfortable using cloud storage for documents and photos, so people just don’t need to refresh their personal computers that often. Our family has a base 2012 Mac Mini that is still serviceable.

That said, I have kids in HS and college, and they like to use MacBooks. The MBA is perfect for them, but it is hard to justify purchasing a new one because they have not received a recent update. No way am I going to buy the New MacBook or MacBook Pro with their faulty keyboards. I don’t want these things failing while the kids are away at school. I just wish Apple would put some effort into updating their popular workhorse laptop.

 

[AppleTLDR]

I would agree except the product line has stagnated for so long. Surely Apply could spare a few minutes to provide some guidance on the new Mac Pro during such an event. It's not as if the people who attend a developers conference wouldn't be interested in a new professional grade computer.

The silence from Apple regarding the Mac Pro is stunning. They know people are begging for a new Mac Pro. Surely they could provide something other than "It's a 2019 offering". Surely they could offer some interim offering which would indicate a commitment to the product line. As it stand now all we have is "We're going to release a new Mac Pro...sometime. Please trust us. Please stick with us. We're really committed to the platform but we're doing absolutely NOTHING to show as much".

Even if they do eventually release a new Mac Pro I don't know why anyone would rely on the Macintosh for their livelihood. What's to say Apple won't abandon the new Mac Pro just as they have the "Mac Pro for the next 10 years" 6,1 Mac Pro?

Apple needs to SHOW dedication to platform. They could easily do so by upgrading the ENTIRE product line to current technology. The fact they're unwilling to do so speaks volumes to their LACK of commitment.
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Everything? How about something? The only Mac on the buyer's guide which is not a "Don't Buy" is the iMac Pro...a model released within the past six months (I don't count the Mac Pro "caution" rating as the Mac Pro is the worst of them all as far as not having been updated). Everything else is obsolete.

I agree that it would of course have interest to that audience. It might have appeased a few folks if they acknowledged the Mac Pro at WWDC although they may not have the design locked down and have little else to say or show right now.

I disagree that they aren’t committed to the Mac as they spent a quarter of the keynote at WWDC talking about Mojave. Are they updating the Mac as often as many folks would like? No. But it’s obvious that they’re still investing in the Mac. They’re writing tools to port iOS Apps to the Mac and they rewrote the Mac App Store for Mojave. Software requires great hardware. We want new hardware soon, I get it. I do think it’s untrue that Apple isn’t committed though.

 

[0388631]

Don't blame Intel

Indeed. Moving from copper to cobalt and utilizing EUVL should change things up in 2-3 years at 7nm.

 

[Spizike9]

I know I'm late to this thread, we're 25 pages deep and what I say may very well been echoed. I would love to buy a new Mac but but there isn't any. I know other members have said in various threads, your patience will be rewarded. I'm not sure. I'm fairly close to buying a windows based machine simply because I'm getting more bang for my buck. I can spend spend almost 3k for a MBP or 1/2 that (or even 2,000) for a windows based machine with superior components.

The GPU is pretty much gone on my ’11 iMac. It only works for a few minutes here and there when I turn it on. Every computer that I’ve ever owned has been a Mac (3) but I may end up looking at a windows this go around. I’m just getting frustrated at the way Apple is handling Mac and you really have no idea when you can expect a new one. At least with iPhone we know we’re getting a new one every year.

 

[pl1984]

I agree that it would of course have interest to that audience. It might have appeased a few folks if they acknowledged the Mac Pro at WWDC although they may not have the design locked down and have little else to say or show right now.

I disagree that they aren’t committed to the Mac as they spent a quarter of the keynote at WWDC talking about Mojave. Are they updating the Mac as often as many folks would like? No. But it’s obvious that they’re still investing in the Mac. They’re writing tools to port iOS Apps to the Mac and they rewrote the Mac App Store for Mojave. Software requires great hardware. We want new hardware soon, I get it. I do think it’s untrue that Apple isn’t committed though.

Then SHOW us. Few are concerned that Apple isn't on the bleeding edge. The concern is because a lot of their product line is several generations old. There is no reason for the Mini and, especially, the Mac Pro to be so far behind the current technology. Apple could easily update both to tide us over until their grandiose new product offerings. The fact it took them until 2017 to even recognize the failure that is the 6,1 Mac Pro speaks volumes to the lack of commitment to the Macintosh line.
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The GPU is pretty much gone on my ’11 iMac. It only works for a few minutes here and there when I turn it on. Every computer that I’ve ever owned has been a Mac (3) but I may end up looking at a windows this go around. I’m just getting frustrated at the way Apple is handling Mac and you really have no idea when you can expect a new one. At least with iPhone we know we’re getting a new one every year.

The same used to be said of the Macintosh. One could count on an update when new technology was available. Unfortunately that's not the case today.

 

[Flight Plan]

This article is the dumbest bunch of crap I’ve ever read...

No it's not. It speaks truth. Truth to what most of us are experiencing and feeling.

Please don't try to invalidate what we're going through with just your one tiny little factoid. All by itself, the Mac Pro announcement for 2019 does not signify a sea change, and it certainly does not magically fix the problems that have brought people nearly to the point of marching with torches and pitchforks. Or leaving Mac.

 

[AppleTLDR]

You just proved the whole point of this article, and this person's frustration with the situation. Apple's new slogan... "We make computers that will tide you over!"

I understand your point and with reference to the Mac Pro and beyond it coming out right now, you really do have options to ‘tide you over’. if that particular model, the Mac Pro is what you want then you have The iMac Pro. It is the most powerful Mac ever built and it is also the most recently updated Mac. Pretty decent as a tide me over option? It’s very expensive sure. But it would certainly get the job done.

As for the rest of the line up, they are all excellent and capable machines. Unless you require workstation level performance (which I’d suggest the iMac pro), then you’ll find a Mac in the lineup that will meet your needs. Apple doesn’t update on fixed cycles or at precise 12 month intervals. They don’t have patterns for product updates. It’s hard to predict what they’re going to do and their are models to meet the demands of most folks right now.

 

[Flight Plan]

As for the rest of the line up, they are all excellent and capable machines. Unless you require workstation level performance (which I’d suggest the iMac pro), then you’ll find a Mac in the lineup that will meet your needs. Apple doesn’t update on fixed cycles or at precise 12 month intervals. They don’t have patterns for product updates. It’s hard to predict what they’re going to do and their are models to meet the demands of most folks right now.

We know they don't update on regular or precise 12 month intervals! It's been yearS, plural! Again, pulling one small fact out or magnifying a false premise to do what...distract people from the main complaint? Why?

 

[Abazigal]

Then SHOW us. Few are concerned that Apple isn't on the bleeding edge. The concern is because a lot of their product line is several generations old. There is no reason for the Mini and, especially, the Mac Pro to be so far behind the current technology. Apple could easily update both to tide us over until their grandiose new product offerings. The fact it took them until 2017 to even recognize the failure that is the 6,1 Mac Pro speaks volumes to the lack of commitment to the Macintosh line.

The key reason for that is that the iMac Pro was always intended to be the spiritual successor to the Mac Pro.

What likely happened is that Apple was well aware of the design flaws in the 2013 MP, and so embarked on designing a souped-up iMac that would be capable of handling the workflows people typically used a MP for. Apple never had any intention of updating the Mac Pro or the Mac mini (because frankly, the Mac mini really has no place in this world where the iPhone has replaced the Mac as the gateway device into the Apple ecosystem, and the Mac Pro is generally a very low-volume product which won't earn Apple enough money to make back their investment on redesigning, manufacturing and supporting it).

That leaves the iPad / iPad Pro as the general-purpose computer for the masses, the MacBook Pro as the professional laptop, and the iMac / iMac pro as the professional desktop for more demanding tasks.

I believe Apple is listening. They just see a different solution to all this than the rest of the people here.

 

[AppleTLDR]

No it's not. It speaks truth. Truth to what most of us are experiencing and feeling.

Please don't try to invalidate what we're going through with just your one tiny little factoid. All by itself, the Mac Pro announcement for 2019 does not signify a sea change, and it certainly does not magically fix the problems that have brought people nearly to the point of marching with torches and pitchforks. Or leaving Mac.

I acknowledge your point. As a professional video editor I run my business on my Mac. I’ve used Mac’s since 1998. I genuinely don’t have any issues with my now two year old Mac and I’m using it to make money and make my living. I edit video in up to 8K resolution , huge files and with 16GB of ram. Of course each persons workflow is different and for me a Mac Pro would be beyond my needs, even a top spec iMac let alone the iMac Pro would be beyond my need and I’m a generation behind. Yet I still have a great experience and make my living. Sure it would be nice to see more frequent updates but I don’t think Apple is giving up on the Mac. I also feel that the majority of users don’t ever get even close to maximising the potential of their Mac. Creative professionals are one of a small set of user groups that need more. I live in that category and I’m happy with what I have.

 

[Abazigal]

We know they don't update on regular or precise 12 month intervals! It's been yearS, plural! Again, pulling one small fact out or magnifying a false premise to do what...distract people from the main complaint? Why?

And I think that's to be expected, moving forward. PCs are maturing, technology just doesn't improve rapidly enough to justify an annual refresh, people simply don't upgrade their computers all that often, and I expect Apple to eventually move to a 2-3 year update cycle for their Macs in keeping with this current reality.

 

[Naraxus]

The thing that frustrates me the most isn't so much the lack of updated Macs is that there's no word from Apple other than platitudes that have zero meaning at this point. Either come out and say that you don't give a **** about the Mac anymore or give us something concrete like "We are updating the Mac, Mac Mini etc.".

 

[pl1984]

The key reason for that is that the iMac Pro was always intended to be the spiritual successor to the Mac Pro.

What likely happened is that Apple was well aware of the design flaws in the 2013 MP, and so embarked on designing a souped-up iMac that would be capable of handling the workflows people typically used a MP for. Apple never had any intention of updating the Mac Pro or the Mac mini (because frankly, the Mac mini really has no place in this world where the iPhone has replaced the Mac as the gateway device into the Apple ecosystem, and the Mac Pro is generally a very low-volume product which won't earn Apple enough money to make back their investment on redesigning, manufacturing and supporting it).

That leaves the iPad / iPad Pro as the general-purpose computer for the masses, the MacBook Pro as the professional laptop, and the iMac / iMac pro as the professional desktop for more demanding tasks.

I believe Apple is listening. They just see a different solution to all this than the rest of the people here.

Which only serves to reinforce their lack of commitment to the platform.
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The thing that frustrates me the most isn't so much the lack of updated Macs is that there's no word from Apple other than platitudes that have zero meaning at this point. Either come out and say that you don't give a **** about the Mac anymore or give us something concrete like "We are updating the Mac, Mac Mini etc.".

Why wait for them to say they don't give a ****. Assume as much and move to a different platform.
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And I think that's to be expected, moving forward. PCs are maturing, technology just doesn't improve rapidly enough to justify an annual refresh, people simply don't upgrade their computers all that often, and I expect Apple to eventually move to a 2-3 year update cycle for their Macs in keeping with this current reality.

We're not talking about an annual refresh. We're talking about a lack of refresh over five years (in the case of the Mac Pro). There is absolutely no reason for Apple to have not updated the Mac Pro sometime within the past five years.

 

[Sadman88]

Maybe bring back Scott Forstall? He might shake things up.

 

[pika2000]

Cook seems to forget that most iPhone users are also Mac users. Without the Mac there’s less incentive to buy an iPhone.

Statistically that would be highly improbable. Simply looking at Mac market share in comparison to Windows market share, it is more likely that most of users of iDevices are Windows user