Apple rarely drops the prices on a product as they age. This isn't new. And yes, they are mostly concerned about stock price - Tim is a bean counter, and as a reminder in theory, he works for the shareholders, not the customers.
It would be nice if Apple just turned over video driver development to AMD. We would have direct equivalence to our windows brethren, and it would be a major reason to stay with Apple. But it won't happen on Tim's watch. Tim is a bean counter, and as a reminder in theory, he works for the shareholders, not the customers.
Apple hasn't made any false promises - they haven't made any promises. Everyone here read into Apple announcements and interviews what they hoped would happen. The 7,1 is a direct continuation of the 6,1 - just in a different enclosure. Tim is a bean counter and as a reminder, in theory, he works for the shareholders, not the customers.
Just like the 6,1, it is targeted to video production. Just like the 6,1, it will launch with obsolete video cards. Just like the 6,1, it will only perform well with OSX only software (in comparisons to it's competition in the PCverse.). Just like the 6,1, it will launch with proprietary "features" that the other 95% of the market doesn't support. Remember, Tim doesn't use a computer like we do (Hence his inane comment on how an iPad can replace a computer). Did I mention that Tim is a bean counter?
None of the Apple systems have a 10 series chip, so price cuts on those are irrelalvent. (And based on Apple's refresh rate, they won't have any until it reaches EoL.) AFA gaming APIs, very few development houses are on Vulkan. If they were, it would be real easy to port to Metal. And then maybe, just maybe, Apple users could get some good games. Tim is a bean counter, and doesn't see the value of bringing in the gaming community to Apple - they expect to upgrade their computers on a regular basis - and that is money that isn't going to Apple. Tim is a bean counter, and isn't going to do anything that put money in other company's pockets instead of Apple's pocket.
If you are moving to windows, why on earth are you staying with Intel? You could build an AMD machine that outperforms a base 7,1 for about 1/3 the price. You could even install OSX on it if you wanted to, (see AMD-OSX).
$2,000 will get you a Ryzen 9 based system with 12 cores/24 threads, 128Gb ram, NVMe SSD, and a modern video card. At $6,000 you will have a system that will out-perform a top of the line 7,1. The 7,1 tops out at 28 cores -3rd Gen Threadripper will start at 24 cores. And then there is EYPC.....
Intel is having their bulldozer moment. They have nothing available today, and their road map is empty for the next couple of years.
