Is it time to say goodbye to the Mac Pro?

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dave November 01, 2011

Is it time to say goodbye to the Mac Pro?

Apple's Mac Pro hasn't been updated since early 2010. The case itself has seen the same design since 2003. The machines are notoriously expensive and have often catered to Apple's more creative and professional customers (music, video, graphics, servers, etc).

Recent reports have hinted that Apple has been thinking of killing off the Mac Pro for awhile now. Sales of the computers are sluggish and Apple has focused most of its attention on their laptops and the iMac.

Is it time to say goodbye to the Mac Pro? Are desktops computers in general in a decline?

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Dignan17 6 months ago

I would be a Mac user right now if there were a Mac desktop with specs like the iMac. It really bugs me that Apple wants to force me to upgrade my monitor when I upgrade the computer. I never upgrade my monitor that frequently, so that's even more wasted money. I've used exactly two monitors in the last TEN YEARS, but my computer has been updated at least four times.

I never went with the Mac Pro because it never started for less than $2500 for a very neutered machine.

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mike 2011-11-01 15:21:48

There is...it's the 13" MacBook Pro. Added bonus: you get to unplug it from your external monitor and take it with you.

Dignan17 2011-11-01 15:26:26

But I don't want that. And you realize that you're still paying for that screen, right? Why not give me just the computer for a little less money? Or give me a little more power for the same amount. Plus, if it's in a desktop form factor, you don't have to worry about as many cooling issues and the computer can run at a higher performance level.

Lastly, I've never been a big laptop guy. I realize I'm in the minority, but I've never felt comfortable carrying around something that's $1000+ and can easily be dropped or stolen. This particular issue is certainly just my craziness, but the other stuff is something I think a great many people want. Possibly not enough to justify another product in Apple's line, but it's still something I think would sell well.

jordancheek 2011-11-01 15:37:14

I agree with Dignan here, the 13" MacBook Pro is really just the Mac Mini guts with a small screen. The iMac has a quad-core processor with much better specs than either of those machines. I'd rather purchase the quad-core iMac guts in a small desktop form factor for $999 and a 27" Thunderbolt Display for $999 then purchase an all-in-one 27" iMac that cannot be upgraded independently of the monitor.

On top of it all, there is already a name for it that fits perfectly in their lineup: Mac. It's not a Mac Pro, and it's not an integrated iMac, it's not a Mac Mini, and it's not a laptop. It's a Mac. I think they would sell tons of them along with tons of Thunderbolt monitors.

FWIW, I own an iMac and an iPad, so Apple's plan works perfectly on me. It's not what I want, but I want it more than anything else.

mike 2011-11-01 16:21:44

It's hard to imagine not wanting a computer that serves as both a powerful desktop and a laptop too, but if you're insistant on a stationary computer, the newest Minis are very capable once you max out the specs. Only problem is you're now suddenly in the price territory where a home built PC is a much better value.

baileylo 2011-11-01 16:24:20

What is your opinion on the Mac Minis? I like you point about the monitor replacement, I own a iMac and had never thought about this.

jordancheek 2011-11-01 19:02:21

Mike, do you have an iPad? IMHO I find that "portable computers" are not that portable. iPad + iMac works great for me.

Only problem I have with the Mac Mini is that the SSD option is prohibitively expensive, and after experiencing SSD speed I don't want a computer with a traditional hard drive.

mike 2011-11-01 20:40:44

I do have an iPad, which I tend to use almost exclusively now as my portable computer when I travel. That said, I still can't justify not getting a laptop as a main computer. The form factor is smaller than a desktop, it uses less power, you get to use it as a second display, and you get to take it into another room. The only thing you can't do is tinker with it, but if you're into tinkering you wouldn't be considering an Apple product in the first place.

jordancheek 2011-11-01 20:45:43

That all makes sense to me. I certainly can't tinker with my iMac anyway. It's just that I hate clutter, cables, etc. IPS displays like the ones in the iMacs are expensive as well. SSD options are much cheaper in the MacBook Pros though. I suppose it's a tossup, there are pros and cons to each direction. But a standard Mac desktop sans monitor makes sense as an option to me, since all of the other options would presumably still exist.

Dignan17 2011-11-02 00:12:05

I'm sorry, but the Mac Mini is not powerful enough for me. I chuckle, Mike, when you say "max it out." With what? There are really only two versions of the Mini, and neither are very powerful. Even the "server" version isn't very fast, and the graphics on it are sub-par. I've worked on a Mac Mini, and found it to be fast enough on average, but I experienced a ton of slow-downs that drove me nuts. I also wouldn't want to do any kind of encoding on such a system.

"It's hard to imagine not wanting a computer that serves as both a powerful desktop and a laptop too"

Mike, there are different people out there. You may be in the majority, but why should people like me get left in the cold?

baileylo 2011-11-02 11:22:53

I don't think that an Ipad is a suitable replacement for a laptop as a portable computer. I like to work from my couch or bed, there is no efficient way to do this. Ipad is a replacement to a book or hand held game, but anything more than that is just hyperbole.

drkokandy 2011-11-04 13:34:18

I agree with your comments, Dignan, and I'm shocked that other computer manufacturers have been focusing on all-in-one computers as well. I know people say Apple has stunning displays, but I'd rather not waste the monitor I have now that works perfectly well.

And to Mike's point, you can configure Minis to order - you're not stuck with the two base configs, but not nearly to the level of performance an iMac provides.

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ArmpitOfDeath 6 months ago

I've seen this coming for a while, but I don't have to like it.

Desktop computers are very likely seriously in decline among the core demographic of *Apple* buyers, i.e. the lowest common denominator of computer buyers in terms of utility (regardless of their self-image). When the Starbucks Seat-Polisher comes home, it's true - in the vast majority of cases the iMac is really all s/he needs, and even then it's probably likely to be more of an adjunct than their laptops.

Personally, I've already been hopping mad that as things stand right now it costs me >3x as much to host a dual-Xeon OS X system in a controlled environment (since I pay for rack space), in the form of the Paris Hilton of workstations - the Mac Pro - than it used to (with the XServes). True, if I switch over to Minis the CPU power vs volume density will actually improve, but a lot of my stuff doesn't scale that well on multiple slow machines vs fewer numbers of 'big iron'. And even the Paris Hilton of workstations is more or less workable both in my desktop and sorta-server roles. A less potent machine wouldn't.

But then I fully realise I'm not the 99% when it comes to computing. And no, I'm not happy at it probably being the case. As you can probably tell.

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baileylo 2011-11-01 16:42:50

One of the main selling points behind Apple is the seamless integration across products. A disruption in this chain at any one point could cause the entire chain to break. If a user who depends on their Mac Pro is forced to switch to a competing Windows desktop, he may also change to an Android phone that offered better integration with the new desktop.
If Apple does decide to develop their Mac Pro line more, they would see far faster return if they already had an established market presence.

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keppy 2011-11-01 15:22:22

I don't think they'll kill it yet. There are legitimate workloads where that type of horsepower is necessary, and it seems crazy that they'd cut that admittedly small market off from using OSX altogether. As for it not being updated much, I think that just speaks to the fact that it's a niche market, and not necessarily a focus for them. But killing it off entirely... I don't think they'll do that yet.

But who knows, they've done plenty of other things to alienate some of their customers before. *cough* Final Cut *cough*. :)

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roberto 2011-11-01 16:26:57

Apple is becoming more and more a consumer electronics company and less and less a computer company. My guess is that they will eventually do away with that whole aspect of their business and continue to polish the iMac line so it can continue to cater to the creative community.

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gomer43 2012-01-17 00:59:21

I don't really know if they plan to kill off the Mac Pro line (the last gap in updates was two years, and this has only been about 1.5 years), but I don't think they're ready to kill off desktops in general. While the scale is tipped in favor of laptops, I still see quite a lot of desktops out there, and i see a lot of them get sold. There's still a good market for iMacs, but I suppose we'll see what ends up happening with the behemoth that is the Mac Pro.

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