Mac Pro WWDC ?

[Zdigital2015]

This has even worse driver support which you brought up in my other post. Apple could solve a lot of these problems with a motherboard your can install in your own case and bring your other parts from a supported hardware list...

The only time Apple ever did that was the Apple I back in 1976.

Apple is never going to release just a motherboard. You need to go build a Hackintosh if you want to pick parts.

You are talking about Microsoft when you mention an approved parts list (WHQL). Apple could not be further away from Microsoft’s business model.

 

[Zdigital2015]

MacOS is going to get a fixed amount of stage time of the WWDC Keynote.

macOS is lined up to:

Kill off 32 bit apps ( how many users have completely cleaned up and prepare for this? )
Kill off QuickTime.
Intro Marizpan.
As partially an representative example of Maripan, kill off iTunes as
a name ( this may get spread over multiple OS. )
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/06/01/apple-wipes-itunes-facebook-instagram-pages/
the fact that early before the keynote, Apple is poking a stick in the hornets nest that is old school, hard core iTunes users means they'll have some explaining to do. That will occupy some substantive time. Probably
one of the major bullet points of the keynote if pre-triggering like this. )

Plus new stuff that isn't Marzipan. (e.g., perhaps new driver framework (more stuff folks will need to migrate/upgrade) , etc.)

So, some large empty void of extra time for a Mac Pro extravaganza ...... doesn't look promising. Multiple Apple software and service moves that impact tons of Apple users (and developers ) probably will get priority. If all Apple is doing is 'kicking the can' to the end of the year they could do that outside the keynote.

Apple spent right around 6 minutes on the iMac Pro sneak peak at WWDC 2017. If they spend roughly double that amount of time (10-12 minutes) on the 2019 Mac Pro, they will give most potential buyers quite a decent demo. I do not see them having any issue with fitting it into the keynote.

They will talk about all the changes to macOS 10.15, but Marzipan will be the only thing that takes up substantive time. The demise of iTunes will be that it is given a fond farewell and kicked to the curb quite fast while they demo the Podcasts, Music and TV apps. They aren’t going to explain themselves beyond “It’s time to move on.” Hardcore iTunes users? Well, I suspect that will start a huge angry forum thread tomorrow afternoon...oh well...it is what it is. Cannot wait to see iTunes disappear myself.

The elimination of 32-bit apps will be a footnote, if they even mention it at all. That is something for a session later in the week or the State of the Union address, not the keynote. People who haven’t seen all the warning pop ups for the past couple of years and made preparations are going to be SOL. Apple has been telling everyone since High Sierra this was coming. I have zero empathy...either keep an older Mac with Mojave to run older apps or update/upgrade.

Except for those people still running MacOS X Tiger (you know who you are), and who will be until the damn Apocalypse has come and gone. You guys just stay in your bunkers, okay!

All the major macOS features will get demos, and advanced stuff will get some time, but the real meat is handled in WWDC Sessions during the week.

Apple has no other Mac hardware that it needs to introduce since the iMac and MBP is already done, so the Mac Pro will get all of that time as well. The 12” MacBook is a good candidate for refresh at an iPhone/iPad event. I just don’t think Intel can provide a sufficient Ice Lake CPUs at this time. Also, it would also necessitate the MacBook Air being updated as well and I think Apple will wait until closer to the Christmas buying season to refresh both of the models.

No one expects new iPhones, iPads, Watch, HomePod or AppleTV hardware at this time.

Looking forward to seeing the Mac Pro sneak peak tomorrow.

 

[teagls]

I don't really care for max CPU cores anymore because nearly all that type of rendering and compute stuff is going on GPU. Things changed a lot since the cMP release. I just want maybe 8 cores with a high clock speed, two slots for full size graphics cards, two m.2 slots for storage, really compact silent design.

The interesting thing about Threadripper 3 is Lisa Su confirmed they are adding something new besides more cores to it – to "move it up". So maybe they could add hardware video encoding or other specialized gpu like hardware. I've given up on GPUs for MacOS unfortunately. Without Nvidia it's a bust and I don't see it happening.

 

[JayKay514]

With the WWDC only days away there is no news leaking as to what we can expect for a release of a new Mac Pro.

I expect them to make a hybrid machine - like a classic Mac Pro that's powerful and has internal expansion, but smaller in volume, and forward-looking in terms of how people use their machines. It won't simply be a Mac-branded version of a current PC Xeon workstation.

• Internally: Fully solid state drives only to keep things smaller, lighter, cooler and lower-power. A set of at least 4x M.2 slots, maybe "cartridge-ized" with a slim drive carrier mount to make them pop-out interchangeable? Compatible with all standards including SATA and PCIe - you pay extra for desired speed and capacity.
• A possible jump forward from current PCIe interconnect standards to PCIe 4.0, maybe partly backwards compatible with existing PCIe 3.0 cards, but also offering a much faster and wider interconnect bus on the mainboard, with many more lanes.
  • It would remain to be seen if Apple would stick with Intel Xeon if they can't support PCIe 4.0. They might then offer two versions, Xeon with current PCIe 3 and an AMD version with PCIe 4. (Intel is supposed to be supporting PCIe 5.0 only in 2021.)
• At least 3 cards can be accommodated, ideally all 16x capable, at least one full-length / double-height.
  • TBD: multiple 16x double-wide slots for SLI, GPU computing etc.
• Wide selection of graphics cards to meet different needs - expect complete support for all Radeons.
  • Radeon Pro WX series - for multi-screen workstation graphics and (at higher end) compute units. Notable because these have many versions with quad + more Mini DisplayPort connections = more monitors off a single card
  • Radeon RX series for everyday / gaming use and AR + VR gaming / development.
• As well as more / faster PCIe bus devices (USB-C, latest Thunderbolt, 100Gb Ethernet, etc.)
• T2 or equivalent chip with secure enclave + 'hey siri' functions, etc.
• Obviously current Xeon or AMD workstation-class, 64-bit chips. At least 1x 8-core, 4.0GHz range.
• ECC memory as with previous Mac Pros, 32 / 64 / 128 / 256GB. It would be surprising to see DDR5 but very fast DDR4, 3D dense memory would be probably available.

 

[audiomatt]

There have been ZERO rumors about this machine since the initial apology. Why are people predicting its release tomorrow?

Also, releasing their own motherboard would be amazing which is why they won't do it. Maybe it's just me but I can't understand why people are expecting to get what they want from this product. They haven't gotten what they've wanted for a decade or so. Last time it was competitive was when?

What I'm really predicting is a sad last ditch attempt to keep video editors, graphics and musicians on their platform.

The thing I've really always wanted was a headless ios device that sat somewhere near a raspberry pi and an arduino. Apple really passed up an opportunity to attract an entire generation of makers to their platform. It's a prime space for their practice of knitting together hardware and software.

 

[MisterAndrew]

All of these Mac Pro 7,1 threads should be combined.

 

[macguru9999]

All of these Mac Pro 7,1 threads should be combined.

after tomorrow it may not matter

 

[Mr. Dee]

I think the base price will be $5,000. The fact that Apple has a MacBook Pro and MacBook around the same price, it’s not impossible for them to do it with the Mac Pro too. It will ultimately be up to the customer to choose what suits them the best, all in one with accessories or system unity with BYOD. It would suck if Apple doesn’t at least include a mouse and keyboard.

 

[daveedjackson]

Isn’t the biggest clue that it’s gonna be announced the fact that it’s featured in the artwork for WWDC. Also the thunderbolt icon would suggest TB4 is coming.
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I'd love to see Apple go with AMD Threadripper... Since we didn't see a preview at computex from AMD about threadripper 3k series it would make sense to preview with Mac Pro. Lower TDP of 7nm and higher core count than intel parts. There were thunderbolt motherboards by Asrock and we have seen hackintoshes with Ryzen chips. If they didn't use AMD what Xeon chip would they use that's different from the iMac Pro? What video card would they use from AMD? Navi?

The benchmarks between threadripper and i9 are minimal. I recently went through them, all depending on what you need of course. Naturally it has more cores, but none of Adobe uses cores, so useless. Unless you need a processor solely for 3D and nothing else. Also was advised the threadripper crashes quite often. Doesn’t offer the stability of intel. Apple would be crazy to lock this system to AMD Graphics, they just can’t compete with NVIDIA.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

There have been ZERO rumors about this machine since the initial apology. Why are people predicting its release tomorrow?

No one is predicting its release tomorrow. People are predicting that it will be announced officially tomorrow.

Apple has already officially stated that the new Mac Pro is a 2019 release, and WWDC is *the* place to announce developer hardware. And Apple has a tendency to announce things before releasing them now, in contrast to the days of Jobs, so today makes sense, with a release in fall.

Isn’t the biggest clue that it’s gonna be announced the fact that it’s featured in the artwork for WWDC. Also the thunderbolt icon would suggest TB4 is coming.

Highly unlikely, since not even specifications for TB4 has been announced. No way Apple would include ports with absolutely no peripherials on the market ready to go. Also, since TB3 is being included in the USB4 specifications, comming next year, I personally assume that TB4 is dead in the water. We'll likely see USB4.1 or something ("USB4.maximillianBlipBlop" is even more likely given how the USB consortium likes to name things) at 80Gbps and a PD at 120-150W, in 2022.

 

[theluggage]

No way Apple would include ports with absolutely no peripherials on the market ready to go.

You're probably right that Thunderbolt 4 isn't coming right now, but not based on that logic, since that's pretty much what happened with Thunderbolt 1 and USB-C (certainly when the 12" MacBook came out). Oh, and USB 1 (with the original iMac)... and FireWire.

Actually, a little bird told me that Thunderbolt 4 will launch in 2020 and introduce the revolutionary new ePC support, which will enable you to plug a whole external computer with a top-end CPU, powerful graphics card, large high-resolution display, drive bays and working keyboard into your Mac. This will enable the thinnest, lightest Macs ever - consisting of a 0.25mm thick laminated photograph of Tim Cook with only one small raised lump to accommodate the new TB-4 connector. Several third-party manufacturers will be offering ePC boxes which are only expected to cost $300-$500 more than a traditional PC with comparable specs. TB-4 itself will feature new FTL technology enabling signals to arrive at the peripheral before they were transmitted - particularly useful for attaching Bluetooth headphones as it will remover the 3/4 second lag, finally making them suitable for games and music creation.

2021 will see Wireless TB4 and the new Mac Ultimate which will be thin, flexible and simply adhere to the front of your external CPU, GPU and storages boxes. Reliable sources claim to have seen Mac Ultimate prototypes and say they are stunningly small, made in the shape of the Apple logo and come in "Modern White" and "Retro Rainbow" colour schemes. iFixit warn that they depend heavily on adhesive and might not be user-repairable.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

You're probably right that Thunderbolt 4 isn't coming right now, but not based on that logic, since that's pretty much what happened with Thunderbolt 1 and USB-C (certainly when the 12" MacBook came out). Oh, and USB 1 (with the original iMac)... and FireWire.

That is not entirely correct. There were already USB1 and USB-C peripherials on the market when Apple launched those hardware interfaces. Thunderbolt 1 already had multiple manufacturers showing prototype peripherials a year before Apple launched that one, so they were ready to go. For Firewire400 I assume you are right, as I can't find any sources, nor can I remember the release back then. But I will argue that there was a big market potential for Firewire and Thunderbolt, which is much much smaller now, for a potential TB4, now that USB4 is going for 40 Gbps, so I still believe my argument is correct. I don't see Apple releasing such a thing without market support, and other then eGPUs and external PCIe interfaces, I have a hard time envisioning a market. And frankly, Cooks Apple seem afraid of taking chances.

Of course, I hope I am wrong. Technology jumps are a great thing!

 

[startergo]

Actually, a little bird told me that Thunderbolt 4 will launch in 2020 and introduce the revolutionary new ePC support, which will enable you to plug a whole external computer with a top-end CPU, powerful graphics card, large high-resolution display, drive bays and working keyboard into your Mac. This will enable the thinnest, lightest Macs ever - consisting of a 0.25mm thick laminated photograph of Tim Cook with only one small raised lump to accommodate the new TB-4 connector. Several third-party manufacturers will be offering ePC boxes which are only expected to cost $300-$500 more than a traditional PC with comparable specs. TB-4 itself will feature new FTL technology enabling signals to arrive at the peripheral before they were transmitted - particularly useful for attaching Bluetooth headphones as it will remover the 3/4 second lag, finally making them suitable for games and music creation.

2021 will see Wireless TB4 and the new Mac Ultimate which will be thin, flexible and simply adhere to the front of your external CPU, GPU and storages boxes. Reliable sources claim to have seen Mac Ultimate prototypes and say they are stunningly small, made in the shape of the Apple logo and come in "Modern White" and "Retro Rainbow" colour schemes. iFixit warn that they depend heavily on adhesive and might not be user-repairable.

Can we trust the little bird?

 

[theluggage]

There were already USB1 and USB-C peripherials on the market when Apple launched those hardware interfaces. Thunderbolt 1 already had multiple manufacturers showing prototype peripherials a year before Apple launched that one, so they were ready to go.

There may not have been zero USB devices on the market when the iMac came out - but there weren't many. A lot of PCs had USB ports but the Windows drivers were a mess and there was no compelling reason to use it. With USB-C, remember we're talking about the 12" MacBook in 2015, not the 2016 MBPs... and for Thunderbolt 1, it was a looong time before many of those prototypes actually hit the market.

Not that I think TB4 is imminent (or likely to be an Apple scoop) - and it does sound as if USB 4 is the future of Thunderbolt - but even under Cook, Apple has hardly shied away from "courageous" decisions on interfaces...

Can we trust the little bird?

I hope not - but if the "Mac Ultimate" came with a license to install MacOS on the machine you affixed it to, maybe we can hope...

 

[MisterAndrew]

I think it would have to have some ridiculously high-end hardware to cost $5k. I think it will start at $2999 as before, but maybe $3999. They want to sell the new display with it so they can't go too high if they want it to meet sales goals. The display will probably be around $1999. I think it's possible it may be available for order this week, such as Friday. There could be info about it in 10.14.6 because it's been over 2 weeks since the last beta. I assume we'll get a new beta today. Probably a 10.15 beta too.

 

[Pressure]

I don't really care for max CPU cores anymore because nearly all that type of rendering and compute stuff is going on GPU.

That's what Apple thought back before the 2013 Mac Pro were released. There is no need to force dual GPUs on people as many don't need it.

 

[Weaselboy]

Here you go! Just announced at the WWDC event.

 

[bookemdano]

CHEESEGRATER LIVES!!!

 

[swamprock]

Initial reaction:

(Cue Reeves' Johnny Utah voice) Whoa.

 

[SuperMatt]

Long live the Cheese Grater!

 

[Washac]

Apple just pulled the Youtube stream of WWDC right in the middle of New Mac Pro but from what I see this machine is not for the home users so it seems its goodbye Apple, sad but true, time to go buy a £1000 gaming PC, which can still be used for other things and will last longer into the future.

 

[Kpjoslee]

Apple just pulled the Yoputube stream of WWDC right in the middle of New Mac Pro but from what I see this machine is not for the home users so it seems its goodbye Apple, sad but true, time to go buy a £1000 gaming PC, which can still be used for other things and will last longer into the future.

If you are in market for £1000 gaming PC, why did you care about Mac Pro in the first place. It was never going to be mythical xMac.

 

[swamprock]

<snip>from what I see this machine is not for the home users</snip>

Well duh! It never has been for home users.

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If you are in market for £1000 gaming PC, why did you care about Mac Pro in the first place. It was never going to be mythical xMac.

Yep exactly. I said it 17-18 years ago and I'll say it again:

xMac. IT. WILL. NEVER. HAPPEN.

Hackintosh is your best bet for the mythical, never-to-be-made-by-Apple xMac...

 

[bookemdano]

Well to be fair the Mac Pro has never been targeted at home users, unlike MacBook Pro and iPad Pro. It's always been a high-end machine meant for professionals, corporations, music producers, etc.

But yeah the pricetag of this thing is gonna hurt.

 

[daveedjackson]

I wonder how much these “pro” products cost.