Me too but I added the Satechi one that fits under the base. Wonderful machine. Didn't justify it, just bought it as a tech hobbyist would. Using it as a remote headless number cruncher through screen sharing.
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No new M3 Mac Studio. No new adult size iMac…. for YEARS.
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Me too but I added the Satechi one that fits under the base. Wonderful machine. Didn't justify it, just bought it as a tech hobbyist would. Using it as a remote headless number cruncher through screen sharing.
Most people don’t actually work…they just consume content…maybe pay the occasional bill or write down a recipe…
I guess if they do work, their employer probably buys the computer.
Desktops have always been few and far between at Apple.
Might I mention the 2013 Mac Pro…which stuck around unchanged all the way until 2019?
Anyway, the Mac Studio is a great device. Your options are to wait for the M4 Studio (probably within a year) or get the M2 now. Or just move to the Mini, which isn’t so bad anymore with Apple Silicon.
No point in waiting for another big iMac. Even if that does come someday, expect to pay iMac Pro prices for it (so starting at 5k).
Might I mention the 2013 Mac Pro…which stuck around unchanged all the way until 2019?
Anyway, the Mac Studio is a great device. Your options are to wait for the M4 Studio (probably within a year) or get the M2 now. Or just move to the Mini, which isn’t so bad anymore with Apple Silicon.
No point in waiting for another big iMac. Even if that does come someday, expect to pay iMac Pro prices for it (so starting at 5k).
It's as simple as considering revenue shares:
- iPhone (%) 50.65%
- iPad (%) 6.13%
- Mac (%) 8.21%
- Services (%) 26.30%
- Wearables, Home & Accessories (%) 8.72%"
In total, Macs, especially desktop Macs, don't sell in high enough numbers or earn Apple enough to warrant the frequent and big hardware upgrades we see for iPhone and other more mobile devices.
Apple earns far(!) more on its array of fully or semi-incompatible with non-Apple products-products and services, like iPhone, iPad, Watch, AirPods, etc.
Another way to look at it is that Macs sit "outside" Apple's Walle Garden, and don't really incentivize sales of apps through Apple's App Store(s), or purchasing AirPods, Watch, etc.
Lots of freedom for Mac owners when it comes to headphones, hardware accessories and apps means, comparatively, far fewer profits for Apple's shareholders.
Just the hardware price for your average Mac is a "gate" that makes them much less accessible to the masses, leading to lower sales, comparatively. iPhone, iPad, Watch, etc., can be bought on payment plans, with all kinds of deals and trade-in discounts, making them far more attractive and easier to acquire.
It's also the same reason Apple has been so slow at improving AAA gaming on Macs: Revenue generated by App Store mobile games are absolutely phenomenal. Both by comparison to competitors and to Macs. Cheap to make and can earn perpetually.
Consumers naturally aren't playing these games on their Macs but on iPhone and iPad.
Overall, it's just about prioritizing the products and services that that consumers increasingly want that also earn Apple the most, which is mobile devices, iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro, etc.
Although nothing drastic from year to year, I'd expect new Mac releases to slow exponentially over time. Maybe even get retired entirely in 10-20 years depending on how fast products like Apple Vision Pro can be improved.
Are we expecting the kids growing up with AI devices to know how to or need to operate a desktop computer like the Macs we have today?
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Yep, could not agree more. Modular is the way to go for everything but aesthetics. Had enough experience of being burned by Fusion drives which turned the iMac into an expensive monitor. If you want to go cheap you buy a M2 Mini and a LG 5K Ultrafine, and update what you want when you need to. I run a M3 Max with the LG Ultrafine and haven't changed my monitor in four years. Best of all worlds.
An Apple laptop is just as good as any APPLE desktop.
And this is only true because they are more or less out of the desktop business. This is why their current “desktops” are just laptop boards and chips inside a bigger box
Blender uses hardware accelerated media engine and ray tracing in M3 and M4. Hardware acceleration support is what makes M3 more efficient. When it comes to compute, outside of media accelerators support/Neural engine, M3 Max doesn’t really have the power of M2 Ultra.
buy a console. way better experience than a mac for gaming, and buy a lower spec mac.
I mean, I hear you, compared to my desk 16” is cramped (though I’d hardly call it tiny), but it’s fine for working on the road (or from my patio or couch), and usually my laptop is docked at my desk with dual 27” QHD screens flanking a center 32” UHD. It’s indistinguishable from a desktop except that I can move it and work off the internal screen when mobile
FWIW I typically use multiple virtual desktops combined with keyboard window management courtesy of divvy and switch between desktops when needed when on the internal screen to solve the problem you’re talking about
It does for me. I’m able to get a lot more work done in Blender and really anything else that uses the GPU.
Genuine piece of advice here— get yourself a nicely discounted M1 iMac, refurbished or second hand, then (as long as you have a decent internet connection) subscribe to NVIDIA GeForce now. I do exactly this and it’s perfect. Ray tracing/RTX, the whole shebang.
That's been the problem since the Apple II came out. If you can buy it today, it's obsolete.
Even centuries old tools like the hammer got upgraded with rubber grips to reduce repetitive stress injuries.
I need to upgrade from my older iMac, and I've waited half the year for an M3 or M4 Mac Studio or a new 27" iMac. I can't wait forever, so it seems I'll have to go with the M2 Mac Studio. Which means that I'll now be disappointed if they announce the products I was waiting for anytime soon.
We just purchased an M2 Max Mac Studio and the Studio Display to replace the 2020 27" iMac my wife had been using for photography. It had started to restart randomly once or twice a day. I'll take it to Apple before AC+ expires and see if it's a power supply issue. At least when it comes time to replace this machine we won't be buying another 5K monitor!
That’s pretty bad. I had no issues at all - apart from performance and age with my 2014 maxed out i7 iMac.
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This is utter nonsense.
The battery and the display will last long past the useful lifespan of the machine, and you should be upgrading well before then anyway. Thinking about a computer purchase as like a 10 year item is ridiculous, especially if you're a working professional.
What are you talking about?
MacPro: last refresh June 2023
MacStudio: last refresh June 2023
MacMini: last refresh January 2023
iMac: last refresh October 2023
I dont remember anything about the MacPro, but the other 3 are rumored to be refreshed in Late 24 to Mid 25 with M4 processors.
How is this not a "semi yearly" release cycle?
I've got a 2012 Mac mini sitting up on the shelf beside me that's been running for nearly 10 years virtually non-stop
Yeah… I think so. Isn’t that what tech people want? And you’d think Apple would want to sell that to people
display maybe, battery doubtful
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If you have a desk setup and you use a laptop in clamshell mode constantly and consistently , the battery will wear off , it’s not a matter of “10 years” , it’s only a matter of few especially if it’s sitting in clamshell mode hours through out the day.
MacBooks displays have had so many issues , that it’s notorious now , go and read up about the AR coating issue , horizontal lines , Verical lines , TCON chip issues etc the list is endless .
I am a working professional , I work for the second richest software company in the world , it’s just below Microsoft . Our company hands out all the employees a high spec’d laptop , as a matter of fact every company in big tech does . My Mac and iPad are for personal projects and casual use
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The mac studio was “upgraded” with the M2 family, only to introduce a couple of months later the corresponding M3 chips with the mbp, so I wouldn’t count that as a victory on apple’s side.
The mac pro skipped the M1 gen and went directly to M2 at the same time the studio was updated.
All in all, apple keeps considering their most expensive computers a low (lowest) priority.
I fully agree of course; that is what I have been doing since Thunderbolt gave MBPs throughput. But do note that not just any "current Apple laptop is as good as any desktop." One still needs to build (and pay for) a fully loaded MBP to have a fully competent desktop box.
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