There is absolutely a gap in the Mac lineup between the iMac and the Pro.
Yes, there's a technology gap, but that doesn't mean that its a market gap too.
Yes, there is a difference.
If Apple created a $1500 tower machine...they would sell a TON of machines
Considering that 70% (and growing) of the Macs sold by Apple are currently laptops, this only leaves 30% for the desktop market.
The bottom line is that even if we as enthusiasts prefer conventional desktops, the conventional desktop market is nevertheless dying.
And FWIW, the PC market isn't too far behind the Mac: sales of laptops there just broke the magical 50% number.
If we wish to nevertheless persist, to peel the onion one more layer, we find that the Mac desktop market gets split 3-4 ways depending on how we want to count products: mini, 20" iMac / 24" iMac and the Mac Pro. Assuming the latter count (4) becuase the two iMacs require different cases (at least), and for sake of easier math we use an even product distribution, this means that we'll assume that each current desktop product gets 30%/4 = ~4.5% of total Mac sales.
Thus, even if the proverbial $1500 xMac existed tomorrow and it didn't canabalize even one sale from any other Mac ... and if it was just as successful as any other desktop Mac, it would only increase Mac sales by 4.5%.
However, if we're more realistic and recognize that canabalization will invariably occur, if we SWAG the level of canabalization at 50% (which means 50% of all sales are customers completely new to the Mac platform), then the total increase in Mac sales would be on the order of only 2%.
The question of if this +2% is worth it has to be balanced against the additional costs that are incurred: adding another product will incur development costs for the design/test/build of one more motherboard, one more case, one more set of unique parts, etc, compatibility testing of the OS, other Software, etc... and then there's all of the manufacturing issues (commitment contracts, packaging, etc) and after its built, the inventory tracking, storage, control & distribution.
From all of these adoption expenses, one can conclude pretty easily that even if it turns a profit, there's not going to be a whole lot of that 2% uptick left as real world profit. Even if we assume a 25% margin (somehow), we're looking at a gain to Apple's bottom line of along the magnitude of 0.5%.
Strategically, one then has to ask if its worth an extra +).5% to the bottom line if the addition of the extra product results in dilution of the strength of the brand, increased customer confusion, etc... bottom line is that its never this easy.
My only reason for even considering a Mac Pro is that I've always owned PCs that I could expand and upgrade myself at a reasonable cost. The idea of buying a sealed computer that I can't feasibly upgrade makes me uncomfortable.
Then by definition, you've never owned any laptop...?
In any event, the two most common hardware areas for computer upgrades are RAM and Hard Drive. Most Apple models offer relatively easy access for RAM, and while its not always a simple task, I'm not familiar with any Mac that hasn't been able to be DIY disassembled to have its HD upgraded.
Personally, I upgraded the HD in my 12" G4 Powerbook a couple of months ago, and IMO, it was
LESS painful than taking apart an old PowerMac 8500 tower. As such, even the mini and iMac are able to pass the "good enough" test for DIY upgrades at home.
-hh
