Then I suspect that Apple has some other aspects of this MP to announce when it finally gets launched. I bet they have a different strategy for this than a straight one-for-one replacement.
Major ones? Not likely. Some configurations that help control costs (multiple entry GPU line-up config options)? Probably. The fundamental flaw there is the assumption that the current/old Mac Pro was successful prior to the lull from 2010-2013. If the numbers sold was steadily dropping then they aren't going to go back to sell to some parts of that old targeted market.
So this is not intended to be a one-for-one replacement. There are some folks they are cutting loose and probably hope to replace with a new set of folks who are better aligned with this Mac and the rest of the Mac line up.
There are several sub groups of Mac Pro users and related boxes that complain that basically can be tossed out.
a. the Hackintosh folks. Those who complain that they can always grab their trusty screwdriver and build something better than the Mac Pro (current or new one) aren't going to move Apple's strategy. The complaints that are indirectly about the impact the funding stream of keeping the hacked drivers work going, Apple isn't loosing sleep over those. (those folks aren't customers and don't want to be customers. )
Is Apple going to completely shut down Hackintosh? No. However, they also aren't going to proactively enable it either.
b. A large chunk of the xMac folks. A substantial fraction of folks who constantly complain about the Mac Pro don't really want the Mac Pro. The primary xMac offering right now is older/used Mac Pro because it meets one of most requested xMac feature; lower price. Folks complaining about how the used market is going to change long term. Again this folks are primarily non Apple customers.
A large fraction of the "lower cost" complaints were coached as "smaller" (and therefore should be cheaper) ones. Apple more than shrunk the size, but they have left the higher BOM costs in. That mean there won't be a huge shift in price.
c. Users that are actually complaining about lack of focus on their sunk costs; not really the viability of the new machine. " I need proprietary card XYZ and it is more important than the rest of my Mac system. " . The flaw in their complaints typically revolves around Apple's duty to make their choices, good or bad long term, work. That Apple's business is primarily suppose about making their design and/or purchase decisions work.
Apple obsoleting a full sized standard PCI-e card SSD with a much smaller physical format at just as high bandwidth speeds. They aren't going to change course from that.
d. The form over function users. "I've had a box with slots so therefore I need a box with slots". Ironically a sizable fraction of these folks throw a complaint couched as "Apple is perusing form over function" and then proceed to complain about Apple's form as not being the one they prefer (which is still a form first focus).
e. The "I'm going to ride this Mac Pro to its grave" users. "Bah! Humbug! My vintage/legacy Mac Pro works just fine. I'm not going to spend more money". Frankly, practically none of that is about the new aspects of the Mac Pro one way or the other. They probably weren't buying no matter what Apple's design choices were.
Toss a-e out and the number of unique complaints will plummet. There are more than just a small few. But a major fraction of the bulk is the above.
Finally, the bulk of Mac Pro potential 2013-early 2014 buyers are simply just waiting for more info. They are not complaining or committing to buy while they wait for more information. Complainers are typically over represented in forums because it is more about their expression than best fit system design. And frankly for most folks with Mac Pros .... they aren't broken. They don't have to buy this model right now.
