Tech YouTubers Share First Impressions of New Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR

[Darth Tulhu]

I simply want the Mac Pro simply because form factor/design is what I want in a my ideal Mac. I love my iMac, but obviously the form factor is a huge limitation. If Apple would take the iMac guts along with a desktop class GPU and put it in the Mac Pro enclosure with its cooling system, modular internals and then offer the 27" display as a standalone display, I am sold.

I agree on all fronts.

But I'm telling you, when Steve Jobs comes back, it'll happen. For sure.

I can't wait!!

 

[neomorpheus]

It’s not about repairs. I don’t think Apple will ever release such a product because it would go against their own design-led philosophy, not so much because they would lose money.

Havent you noticed that their design philosophy is to make sure to extract as much money from the user and giving the absolut minimum? Havent you heard the many, many people complaining about the "rape by dongle" that they must endure with apple?

Therein lies the difference between us. You all look at the industry, then see what Apple is (and isn’t) doing relative to everyone else, and conclude that Apple is wrong because what they are doing.

when everyone says blue and you say red, there is the possibility that you are wrong.

And the cue the suspension in disbelief when it turns out that Apple was right all along.

Plenty of their decisions are still wrong (headphone jacks), but since you have no option, you simply bend over and accept it.

I choose to see things a little differently, in that I prefer to first start with Apple, then look outwards.

Your prerogative, but a little advice, never, ever allow a corporation have that much control over your decisions.

And I feel that from Apple’s perspective, it doesn’t make sense for Apple to offer such a product because following the grand theory of Apple, a headless Mac likely won’t push all the other product categories forward.

I beg to differ, considering that besides the laptops, every corporation that order desktops, hate the idea of all in ones.

There is nothing it can’t do, capability-wise, that an iMac can’t do either.

Time is money, hence why companies have IT techs and no matter how you slice it, an iMac with a dead hard drive is a paper weight, for example.

That you went modularity is besides the point.

Clearly you havent worked on a professional space. Modularity is always an option needed. Not everything can be external or a dongle.

the iMac is the ideal desktop Mac, whether you think so or not.

Fleets of Dell, Lenovo, HP tells me otherwise.

Of course, make enough noise and there is always a chance that Apple might listen,

They wont because they will lose money (look at how so many people still have the cMP 4.1 and 5.1) because they can be user upgradable. They dont want that at all. And also, per every 1000 users that claim for one, apple will listen to the lonely one that says is not needed, since it fits their narrative and bank account.

But to be frank, I don’t think there are even that many of you actually clamouring for a headless Mac.

Boy, I am sorry, but seriously, you need to think a bit more for yourself and not as to how apple says you should.

And do no take all that personally, simply stating my opinion about it.

 

[Abazigal]

Havent you noticed that their design philosophy is to make sure to extract as much money from the user and giving the absolut minimum? Havent you heard the many, many people complaining about the "rape by dongle" that they must endure with apple?

That's because Apple has always been about minimalism and design purity. About creating products cut down to their absolute most basic form, with nothing standing between the product and the user.

Apple products have never been about having the most features, or being the "most useful", but about distilling the purest mixture of form and function possible. thin, light, uncompromisingly simple. That's the goal end, not a huge feature list, which Apple believes makes a good product.

So when the iPhone lacked removable batteries or expandable storage, it's not because Apple wanting to grab more money (though money is always a bonus), but because Apple decided that supporting these features would sacrifice the integrity and beauty of the device. A solid frame with an internal battery would enable a more durable phone and a larger battery. Likewise, more internal storage is easier to manage than fiddling with sd cards, which makes things less complicated for the end user, and helps simplify and perfect the design of the iPhone overall.

And honestly, I feel this "rape by dongle" mantra has been largely overblown. Most people are really going to need just one adaptor that contains all the ports that they need. You don't even have to buy official Apple dongles. That said, the new MacBook Pro’s I/O is a lesson in long-term gain for short-term pain. Carrying adapters is an annoyance, yes, but the future is very bright for Thunderbolt 3 and I can’t wait to see the potential it unlocks.

I mean, the four Thunderbolt 3 ports are easily the most versatile the most powerful ports ever created. You can charging a laptop, running external displays, link to external storage units, and external GPU modules, which makes Thunderbolt 3 the perfect port to go all-in on. With a single LG 5k display and the right dock, there is potential to run a 5K display, connect multiple USB 3 external hard drives, and connect to the internet via ethernet all with one single cable. This is the future of computing - impressive power in a thin and light package that can tether to an ultra-powerful rig when needed.

And not at all out of place with Apple's focus on simplicity and minimalism.

when everyone says blue and you say red, there is the possibility that you are wrong.

There was a time when everyone believed that the earth was flat too.

Then, there is also the story of the king who drank from the poisoned well.

Time really flies. I have been subscribed to Aboveavalon for over 2 years now, and I like to think that it has given me no small insight into how Apple thinks and operates. And believe me when I say that I cannot think of a more politically correct or polite way of saying this -

Apple's loudest critics are almost always on the wrong side of reality. Not because they are bad people, but because they don't know anything about Apple.

I beg to differ, considering that besides the laptops, every corporation that order desktops, hate the idea of all in ones.

Sure, and Apple doesn't care about that.

If Apple had listened to what people wanted, we wouldn't have gotten the iPhone, or the iPad, or anything else like them on the market. Nobody wanted an iPad until it was announced, until they started using them. For the people who want a modular Mac, sorry to say this, I don't think that Apple really cares about them all that much. It's a niche product, and Apple has proved time and time again that they don't really care about niche products or markets (think 17" MBP, Xserve, Mac Pro and all the other products which Apple has either discontinued or left for dead).

Right now, it seems to me that Apple’s product strategy strongly implies a belief that the iMac, iMac Pro and MacBook Pro (maybe even the Mac mini?) can serve most of their professional audience well enough, and Apple is betting that most professional users don’t really need expandability and upgradability, even if they strongly profess to wanting it. And if companies hate the idea of the iMac, there's always the MacBook Pro paired to an external display, which I personally feel is way more versatile either way.

I am not surprised that this has left a lot of people feeling shut out, but even less surprising is that Apple hasn't gone down this route.

Boy, I am sorry, but seriously, you need to think a bit more for yourself and not as to how apple says you should.

You are still not getting what I am trying to say.

As a consumer, there is nothing wrong with having a wish-list of the features you would like to see in a product. People here want a modular, mid-tier Mac, I get that. Whether it's for the ports, or the ability to use your own monitor, or just the desire to save a few bucks by upgrading the innards on your own at a later date. I hear you strength 5.

However, Apple has always been about making products which, to them, represents a perfect balance of form and function (or as close to it as possible). Note the emphasis on the "to them". What constitutes this balance, or whether there should even be a balance at all, is obviously not something which everyone is going to agree on. That's what makes Apple such a polarising company.

But Apple is, at its very core, a design-led company, so of course their definition of what the ideal product ought to entail would naturally be through the eyes of the Apple's design department, not the general populace. That's why the Apple Watch and the AirPods have gotten as popular as they are, even as they are so widely criticised here, because the critics don't understand Apple's design-led culture, they don't understand business in general, and they don't understand Apple.

I could go on about how the recent 16" MBP actually has me concerned that Apple might be compromising on their design-led culture (which is what has led them to become so successful in the first place) by giving pro users what they wanted, instead of what they never knew they wanted, but I suppose it's another discussion for another day.

 

[amartinez1660]

This type of "pro" is different from the "pro" in iPads and iPhones. Youtubers do a terrific job, however they can talk about specs, looks and price, full reviews should be conducted by professionals who use these kind of hardware and demand every bit from these computers. When you do things like that, then the price is not that high.

Agreed. Would be great to have actual industry professionals doing these un-boxings, reviews and hands-on real world use examples.
However, these professionals for the most part don’t have the time nor motivation to do these, as their livelihoods depend on their professional work.
What could work then is if these YouTubers step it up a notch, get acquainted with a few professionals and do a sort of joint interview... that way the YouTuber can offload most of the info aggregation, video editing and cutting work from the industry professional. We would get the best of both worlds provided people want to share a bit their line of work.