Macbook, iMac, iMac Pro, Mac mini, Mac Pro, Mac?

[EEzycade]

A common idea I've noticed(less common now that the new Mac Pro is out) is that Apple has abandoned the Mac. I've always disagreed with that idea. As you can see from the thread title, the Mac lineup is full. Almost. Since the Mac Pro came out, I've kept my mouth shut and just observed the forum. I've seen every argument and counter-argument.

Fans of the cheese-grater hoped for a long time that Apple would return to an upgradeable tower design. I hoped also, not that I would ever need one but I understand the desire of the community. So the WWDC keynote. Wow, they've done it! I wonder how much it costs? Dead silence, disappointment. For a lot of people. For those who complain about the price, I say, its not meant for you. Truly it is a pro machine(although I can't seem to wrap my head around the 1000 dollar stand, and the pitiful 256gb in the base config).

Sadly, this Mac Pro is out of reach for lots of people. People that want an upgradeable machine, but are shut out by the cost. Apple missed a huge opportunity here IMHO. So here's my idea. How about just a Mac? Bear with me(I'm not the most knowledgeable about PC hardware).

Mac. Starting at $3000.
Core i5 quad-core
Vega 56
16gb ram
512 gb SSD
Upgradeable everything. Go up to
Core i9
Radeon 7
128gb ram
lots of SSD storage

I probably could update the starting components(I don't know much). Has little chance of happening. It would obviously be expensive. But what do you guys think? I'd be interested to see how you guys like the idea. Sorry for the long post.

 

[redheeler]

A common idea I've noticed(less common now that the new Mac Pro is out) is that Apple has abandoned the Mac. I've always disagreed with that idea.

In early 2017 the Mac Pro and Mac mini were years out of date, the MacBook Air had a display that was straight out of 2010, the Butterfly keyboard issues were starting to damage the MacBook Pro's reputation with no permanent resolution in sight, and the 21.5" iMac was still shipping with ancient and slow 5400 RPM HDDs. So yes, two years ago it looked like Apple was ready to abandon the Mac (or was neglecting it at the very least). The turnaround started to happen with the announcement / introduction of the iMac Pro, and while I disagree with some of the decisions Apple has made regarding the Mac since early 2017 (such as soldering a low-end Core i3 into a not low-end $799 Mac mini), no doubt it's in a much better place now.
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Sadly, this Mac Pro is out of reach for lots of people. People that want an upgradeable machine, but are shut out by the cost. Apple missed a huge opportunity here IMHO. So here's my idea. How about just a Mac? Bear with me(I'm not the most knowledgeable about PC hardware).

Mac. Starting at $3000.
Core i5 quad-core
Vega 56
16gb ram
512 gb SSD
Upgradeable everything. Go up to
Core i9
Radeon 7
128gb ram
lots of SSD storage

I probably could update the starting components(I don't know much). Has little chance of happening. It would obviously be expensive. But what do you guys think? I'd be interested to see how you guys like the idea. Sorry for the long post.

Nice idea, but for the $2,999 price I'd still end up getting an iMac with comparable or better specs and a built-in screen. The screen alone is a $1,200 value.

It's true that not everyone would be content with an all-in-one and limited aftermarket upgradability. But for the xMac (or Mac Pro mini) to be a viable concept, I think it'd have to start at $1,999 with mid-range components like a hex-core i5, Radeon RX 560 (or equivalent), 8 or 16 GB of upgradable RAM, and 256 GB NVMe SSD.

 

[EEzycade]

But for the xMac (or Mac Pro mini) to be a viable concept, I think it'd have to start at $1,999 with mid-range components like a hex-core i5, Radeon RX 560 (or equivalent), 8 or 16 GB of upgradable RAM, and 256 GB NVMe SSD.

Agreed. Thanks for the reply. Good ideas! Like I said, I don’t know a whole lot about hardware.