Looks like the end of the road for mac pro

[JesterJJZ]

Apple partnering with a workstation hardware company would be the ideal solution. Have one dedicated builder of custom systems that support OSX. Even if it was HP or Dell, they make crap PCs, but their workstations are top notch. OSX certified HP Z800 series workstation would be pretty sweet!

 

[Larry-K]

You can still use any Apple product. Buy an external monitor to use as your main screen, and put your palettes and whatever else on the Apple monitor. It's what most of our designers do.

Simply put, Apple doesn't do niche products any more, and big, powerful desktops are now a niche product. And, if Apple decides they need to abandon a niche in which they've long been the preferred machine, I have no doubt they'll do it.

It's a self-fulfilling prophecy, Apple took a very capable "niche" machine (the oMP) and replaced it with a "smaller niche" less capable, machine (the nMP), while at the same time doubling the price, and removing a lot of the practical functionality. I don't know if it takes a rocket scientist to extrapolate the outcome.

When the nMP came out, it seemed to me that Apple was basically saying "take it or leave it" with the intention of abandoning it eventually, in any event. So if that's the case now, I'd be the last person to be surprised. I know they haven't built anything in a while that suits my needs.

 

[Neodym]

A MacBook Pro will do just about anything you need in terms of design or production—Apple's historical niche—and they only really fall down when you're working on big Photoshop files which really benefit from a discrete GPU. So long as you're not opening .psb files, the Mac Mini is surprisingly capable.

Unfortunately neither the mini nor the MBP can offer the relative silence of a MacPro under even moderate load. So while "A MacBook Pro will do just about anything you need in terms of design or production" may be technically true, the way it does differs significantly.

Personally I much prefer a machine working as quietly as possible - not only while idling, but especially under load. Until a mini or a MBP (or iMac, for that matter) can deliver this, I don't see any of those as proper substitution for a MacPro. And this does not even consider throttling issues.

 

[shaunp]

I hope it's not the end of the road for the Mac Pro. While I realise the limits of mine (i.e. it's not a proper workstation), it's a nice environment to work on and I prefer OS X over windows.

What I'm waiting for is the upgrade to the Macbook Pro. With the mobile Xeon's launched (I know they are only i7's really), will Apple produce a 'workstation class laptop' or continue with this thin and light crap. I will replace my laptop sooner than my nMP and that will set my future path. If I have to move over to Windows for my laptop (I need loads of RAM for VM's and 16GB just doesn't do the job) then I'll move my nMP to my VM lab and put ESXi on it, and move everything over to Windows.

I bought my daughter a Windows phone recently, partly because of the price, but mainly because I was interested to see how the platform really was. Apple might be riding high on the sale of iPhones, but if I can't have the end to end because they don't sell any high-end desktops then I'll move everything to Windows.

Apple don't you get it? No end-to-end = I don't buy iPhones or any of your services any longer ... Microsoft for all their faults seem to get this now.

 

[throAU]

What are you contributing in this discussion?

The fact that there's no new mac pro or no new promotion because it is not a consumer level device, and there are no major updates available from intel yet to justify a new model or media event for same.

If people need/want a Mac pro they know where to find it.

The Mac Pro buyer is not someone who needs to look at the shiny family page and pick it out of a lineup.
The average customer shopping on Apple's website for a computer has no need for a Mac Pro and ramming it down their throat just confuses them with regards to what they should buy.

Same reason apple offers limited specs of the machines they DO have on the front page - pick the size/shape you want, pick good/better/best, job done.

Thinking the sky is falling because Apple haven't put it front and centre in their Mac lineup page is premature.

 

[throAU]

You don't find it strange?

No, as per previous post. I find it a logical extension of the concept of limited models on offer to simplify consumer choice.

Average apple web shopper doesn't need to be confused, and i guarantee you that the Macbook air is not long for this world because of that.

Sooner or later, the Air will be dropped, the Macbook will replace it and possibly the Macbook Pro Retina line will either become just bigger more powerful "Macbook" models and drop the "Pro" moniker.

This doesn't mean 'omg apple abandoned the pro market'.

It's just a case of specs on the various models converging, sooner or later the only people who need a Macbook at all (for example) will be considered 'pro' users, the consumer stuff will all be possible on an iPad (possibly using a bluetooth keyboard/other peripherals and airplay to a monitor/TV) or similar non-PC device.

The average end user these days doesn't need a computer at all.


So - Mac Pro = not on front page because for most people, it is entirely irrelevant. Those who want one know what they're looking for.

 

[throAU]

Apple partnering with a workstation hardware company would be the ideal solution. Have one dedicated builder of custom systems that support OSX. Even if it was HP or Dell, they make crap PCs, but their workstations are top notch. OSX certified HP Z800 series workstation would be pretty sweet!

Having dealt with PC hardware for 25 years, I'd say that would be a horrible move on Apple's part.

One of the reasons I buy apple hardware is because they build it properly. Compare the inside of a 2010 or previous Mac Pro to a Z800 workstation (yes, we have some at work I have dealt with) and they're just not in the same league in terms of airflow management, noise, etc.

As to the current Mac Pro being less capable than the last one? Maybe in some respects if you have an aversion to thunderbolt and external storage. If you don't - hook up that SAN to it via multiple 10 gigabit uplinks and go nuts. If you're attempting to expand the new Mac Pro the same way you would a previous generation model and wondering why it sucks, it's because you're doing it wrong.

 

[minifridge1138]

Oh no... the Mac Pro has been removed from the Mac Store!! It's dead. Perhaps the next apple event will open for a eulogy for the Mac Pro. I expect Phil Schiller to say something lovely. I suppose it had a good life, but we knew it was sick for some time (it was getting so thin it couldn't even hold two hard drives). Apple doom. What? It's still for sale? Are you sure? That doesn't sound right.

Could Apple kill it in the future? Let's ask the professionals (and they were not semi-pros or pro-sumers) that depended on xServer. If corporations are people, then I assume they can be professional people. I try not to judge.

Will Apple kill it in the future? Perhaps. Or maybe they'll stop selling MacBook Pros to push all that demand to Mac Pros. Imagine the revenue boost. Maybe they'll start selling footwear; everything is better with bluetooth.

License OS X to other vendors? Because market share? Sure. That could happen. Why should they. What could go wrong? More people would use Apple services. And Apple would have to spend money to increase capacity of their datacenters, services, and infrastructure. That's free. And there would be greater risk of hardware/software incompatibility. So Apple would have to increase their technical support business. That's also free. Or when your dull (I assume it would be plastic) Pro Dell Station Mac D9000 boots to a gray screen of purgatory you can go visit a Dell Genius at the Dell Genius Bar. When you find out how far away the nearest Dell store is you can go online and write negative reviews of Apple and the problems with their lousy products. Tarnished brand and product image? Not free, but totally worth the cost of licensing.

Give the OS away for free? They have been doing that since 2013. You can have the OS at no charge. That's not even the best part: you're free (there's that word again) to run it on any hardware you buy (not free?) from Apple. No, this is true.

Let you install OS X on hardware from someone else? I bet an entire community could be built around that idea. They just need a clever name.

 

[filmak]

For me as a professional print designer and photographer the lack of wide gamut displays is what kept me on a nMP. Yes the Retina is really nice but the iMacs have had QC issues for years (yellow/warmer bottom or top half of screens) plus running something that gets to 105c all day in a tight package didn't sit well with me either. I even picked one up to see if I could live with the non-matte/non-aRGB screen and it had the yellowing issue. I gave up and replaced it with a nMP.

I'm probably a dying breed who want an external aRGB display as my main screen but come the next upgrade cycle I may just jump to *gag* windows. That tasted awful.

How true are all these... This could easily be my post.
+1

 

[linuxcooldude]

Apple took a very capable "niche" machine (the oMP) and replaced it with a "smaller niche" less capable, machine (the nMP), while at the same time doubling the price

Double the price?!? During that time no other manufacture could beat it on price based on the parts they put in it!

When the nMP came out, it seemed to me that Apple was basically saying "take it or leave it"

Apple has always done it that way with its other products, why would the nMP be any different? Like removing the CDROM drive, non removable batteries, no removable microSD slots ect.

 

[fastlanephil]

Is it really the end of the Road?

 

[theluggage]

Oh no... the Mac Pro has been removed from the Mac Store!!

Correction:

Oh no... the Mac Pro has been removed from one picture on the Mac Store website!!! Yes folks, Apple have leaked a major, top secret and controversial change to their product line by being too cheapskate to risk having to re-do one photoshop composite in a few months time.

...but it gets worse! The 13" MacBook Pro, the 11" MacBook Air and the 27" iMac are also missing from that photo, so are clearly for the chop, too, which is a bit of a shaker. However, I'm sure that people will be relieved to see the 13" Air will be with us for posterity...

Of course, if the Mac Pro isn't making money Apple will drop it like a shot.

 

[dpny]

It's a self-fulfilling prophecy, Apple took a very capable "niche" machine (the oMP) and replaced it with a "smaller niche" less capable, machine (the nMP), while at the same time doubling the price, and removing a lot of the practical functionality. I don't know if it takes a rocket scientist to extrapolate the outcome.

It's nothing of the sort. Desktop sales have been declining for a decade now, and it has nothing to do with Apple. Laptops have gotten powerful enough to do most of what desktops used to do, and businesses (which drive the vast majority of computer sales) have responded. Walk into any medium or large company and you will see almost no desktops around. Instead you will find laptops and docking stations and tablets, usually iPads. Apple is merely looking realistically at the industry and responding to where it's going.

 

[rawweb]

Pretty silly to think they abandoned it. I'm sure they're well aware of the Intel roadmap and are waiting for thunderbolt 3 implementation since it will require modification to the logic board and some internals. I think the days of yearly refreshes are out the window. With a lower profit margin it only makes sense to refresh this device when they can make a bigger splash with it. If Apple decides to update its aged display line with thunderbolt 3 and hidpi, it only makes sense to announce the units at or around the same time.

 

[dpny]

Unfortunately neither the mini nor the MBP can offer the relative silence of a MacPro under even moderate load. So while "A MacBook Pro will do just about anything you need in terms of design or production" may be technically true, the way it does differs significantly.

Honestly, I've never noticed the noise. Most offices are noisy enough so that any computer noise doesn't register. At home I've usually got music playing, so, once again, the noise isn't an issue. The last time I remember noise bothering me was using my G5 on a hot day.

 

[Larry-K]

Double the price?!? During that time no other manufacture could beat it on price based on the parts they put in it!

Double the price of the oMP. I'm comparing Apples to Apples.

 

[TheStork]

I fail to see what the "noise" is all about that started this thread. The Mac Pro is indeed in the Apple Store.

http://www.apple.com/mac/

Click on the Mac Pro "trash can" icon and get a chance to buy one.

 

[goMac]

Oh no... the Mac Pro has been removed from one picture on the Mac Store website!!!

 

[pat500000]

I fail to see what the "noise" is all about that started this thread. The Mac Pro is indeed in the Apple Store.

http://www.apple.com/mac/

Click on the Mac Pro "trash can" icon and get a chance to buy one.

hmm it wasn't about availability...was it? just saying the future of mac pro. thanks.

 

[pat500000]

Correction:

Oh no... the Mac Pro has been removed from one picture on the Mac Store website!!! Yes folks, Apple have leaked a major, top secret and controversial change to their product line by being too cheapskate to risk having to re-do one photoshop composite in a few months time.

...but it gets worse! The 13" MacBook Pro, the 11" MacBook Air and the 27" iMac are also missing from that photo, so are clearly for the chop, too, which is a bit of a shaker. However, I'm sure that people will be relieved to see the 13" Air will be with us for posterity...

Of course, if the Mac Pro isn't making money Apple will drop it like a shot.

Okay...it looks like apple won't be making it since they are not making money, right? I wonder how much they made since 2 013?

 

[Sydde]

Apple has always done it that way with its other products, why would the nMP be any different? Like removing the CDROM drive, non removable batteries, no removable microSD slots etc.

Not "always". Ten Moores ago, you could get a blue G3, a gray G4 or a G4 Cube, depending on which best met your needs. And the internals were modifiable. I fairly easily swapped HDs in my Cube, and later upgraded the video card as well as the CPU (which required a tad bit more effort). The black MP is pretty nice, but making improvements to it is quite difficult (replacing inadequate or worn out SSD storage is very difficult, since it uses proprietary connectors). Granted, vanishingly few people have any use for PCI cards anymore.

I read that Intel was playing around with a Xeon/FPGA hybrid CPU, which could prove interesting. Offloading intensive work to dynamically dedicated logic circuitry sounds very appealing and could improve performance a lot. Perhaps Apple is waiting for such a design to find its way into MC Xeons.

 

[ixxx69]

Okay...it looks like apple won't be making it since they are not making money, right? I wonder how much they made since 2 013?

You started this nonsense in several threads, and continue to egg it on post after post. Me thinks you're trying a little too hard to keep this all going.

 

[linuxcooldude]

Mac Pros have a much higher profit margin compared to some of their other lines. Especially their highest configured ones. Buying a maxed out Mac Pro would be the price of many iMacs/Macmini/MacBook Pros. So they can make money even though they sell less of them.

 

[pat500000]

You started this nonsense in several threads, and continue to egg it on post after post. Me thinks you're trying a little too hard to keep this all going.

ok..let's all just move on, yeah?

 

[goMac]

Okay...it looks like apple won't be making it since they are not making money, right?

Overall the Mac Pro line has made a very healthy profit. I don't know if the 2013 model has, but even if it hasn't, I don't think that would be enough to cut it yet. In 2013 they certainly saw enough reason to build a brand new one, so I'm not even sure Apple is seeing significant year over year decline. What Apple would really have to decide, if the nMP was a failure, is do they abandon the nMP and do something new, or do they just flat out abandon the whole workstation market?

I don't think anyone here actually knows enough to say whether or not Apple considers the Mac Pro profitable.