Apple may ditch the Mac Pro. Like a worn-out salaryman reaching the end of his career, Apple's high-end desktop powerhouse could be quietly retired with a gold watch and a half-hearted handshake to see it into retirement.
Apple bosses are undecided about the Mac Pro's future, according to AppleInsider. In a telling sign of the way Apple has changed over the years, Apple's desktop computers now make up just a fraction of Apple's revenues: the iTunes store makes nearly as much as desktop computers, while the company sells three times as many MacBook laptops, nine times as many iPads and 13 times as many iPhones.
And many of those desktop computers are iMacs. The iMac may not offer the sheer processing grunt of the 12-core Mac Pro, but it's hardcore enough for even professional use and the recent addition of Thunderbolt makes it even more powerful.
The Mac Pro is also culturally at odds with the rest of Apple's line-up: you can dive in and tinker with it, simply opening the side panel to add up to 32GB of RAM, four PCI Express expansion cards and up to 8TB of storage. Meanwhile the fruity phone-flinger is so opposed to you fossicking about inside your iPhone it won't even let you take the battery out.
With no update since last year -- and then only minor changes -- it would seem the venerable Mac Pro's days are numbered. Ultimately it all comes down to the bottom line: increasingly niche it may be, but it's still a premium-priced product -- up to £15,000 when fully loaded -- and may earn Apple a tidy sum even with relatively low sales.
Is a Mac Pro still an essential tool for the workplace, or should it be fired? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section or on our Facebook page.
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Comments 8
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KaneFulton 1 November, 2011 13:42
Plus you need to fork out another grand for an Apple Cinema Display. Are there really any programs are there that need the Pro's extra 16GB RAM over an iMac that's, chortle, "rammed" to the max? You would probably be better off learning how to put a Hackintosh together.
anonymous 1 November, 2011 16:34
I think that it would be a mistake for Apple to abandon the Mac Pro platform. The video card in the i7 iMac is a good mobility card, but can't hold a candle to some of the high end GPU's that some people might have use for. Also, given the new Sandy Bridge processors that are coming out early next year, a newly updated Mac Pro could be an incredible tool for those who need that kind of processing power. I wonder if film production studios can do all of their work on an i7 iMac with the 2GB 6970M GPU option with the same efficiency as with an upgraded Pro? I'm not in the business, so I wouldn't know. It just seems to make sense to me to upgrade the processors, GPU and add the Thunderbolt port and leave the design alone, as anyone buying the Pro is not going to be nitpicky about the looks staying the same. They'll just be relieved that they have a high-power option to do their work efficiently.
anonymous 1 November, 2011 17:18
@anonymous "given the new Sandy Bridge processors that are coming out early next year"
I think you mean Ivy Bridge...the Sandy Bridge are already out. Ivy Bridge may make better GPU options available.
anonymous 2 November, 2011 08:15
The features of CS6 need serious power. I have been waiting the best part of a year for Intel's next gen Sandybridge E processors as have many. The iMac I have always considered a consumer machine not fit for powerful 3D programs and will fall short for the next gen Abode suite. Apple always feed out rumours to test market reactions, this is just another. Don't worry, Apple need a powerhouse in their lineup they are merely playing with us.
anonymous 2 November, 2011 10:27
Sure, just like they tested the market reaction before dumping X-Serve, Shake, and FCP... anyone who still thinks that Apple cares about the professional creative market is not in touch with reality anymore. Two years ago the Apple cheerleaders kept my spirits up, but now they are becoming dangerous to people making large investments in software/hardware ecosystems. And for anyone looking to buy a CS6 workstation I'd go with a PC that can effectively handle an nvidia cuda GPU. If I didn't need support for FCP6, I'd be looking at an HP Z800 or a Boxx. It's been a wonderfully creative and knowledge-building ride on the Apple roller coaster, but nostalgia and brand loyalty shouldn't trump your devotion to your work.
anonymous 16 November, 2011 17:24
From an eco point of view, the Mac Pro has to be better right? Something goes wrong, replace the faulty part and all is good!
I think it would be a shame to see Apple loose the power house Mac. Yes the Macbook and iMac are getting faster and more powerful and they are a lot cheaper, but they are still slow for heavy video work.
The Mac Pro I use is now 4 years old, but it still stands strong against the other iMac 8GB of RAM and 1GB on the graphics card I occasionally use.
I think if they drop the price, they would shift more units - if that is the current issue. "anonymous" mentioned cheaper options on the PC side. It's worth a look, as you can get some extremely powerful computers for £££'s less than the Mac Pro.
Loadit 14 December, 2011 21:53
Why would I pay a stupid £15000 when I could spend £2000-£3000 for the Alienware aurora that has far better specs. Plus many other windows PCs that can match it for far less.Apple need to get of this charge the highest for less attitude of theirs before it comes back to haunt them.
anonymous 4 January, 2012 15:28
I think Apple should be trying out something different with the Mac Pro.
It would be nice if they tried using Core i7 processors for the lower end offerings while retaining the Xeon options and having more state of the art graphics options and started charging normal prices for memory upgrades. Everyone even thinking about buying a Mac should know to buy only third party memory upgrades because Apple charges an absolute fortune for memory, which is crazy as you can get the same memory for buttons elsewhere.
Apple should start selling some normal priced monitors too. A lot of people are probably put off Macs by maybe thinking that normal PC monitors don't work with them or they just can't afford the Apple monitors which are about the same price as a loaded up Mac mini.