Mac Pro

[Black Pearl]

I'm not a desktop user preferring my all-in-one iMac and iPad but would you just look at the new Pro:

http://www.apple.com/mac-pro/index2.html

 

[bugmeister]

I'm not a mac user but the design looks interesting. I wonder how it will perform in real life, previous hardware has a very reliable reputation and this looks as if it could quite happily work away very unobtrusively.

[colinb]

I'm not a desktop user preferring my all-in-one iMac and iPad but would you just look at the new Pro:

http://www.apple.com/mac-pro/index2.html

 

 

and so might we all be if they wasn't so bloomin expensive 

[Black Pearl]

Agreed - it ain't gonna be cheap.

 

Its a dramatic rethink on the design of a desktop PC, wonder if there'll be any less expensive brands making W8 based copies?

[Guest DaveW]

The designers may have run riot, but there needs to be a point to design not just something dreamed up by the arty crowd that may not sell.  Remember the integrated iMac, that design led nowhere since desktops soon returned to their old more functional designs where you could change the box or screen independently of each other. Eventually even Apple had to adopt the PC type modular construction. 

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/4315904/Apple-Mac-computers-through-the-ages.html?image=3

 

You may win awards with your futuristic designs and impress the press, but all that matters in the marketplace is they sell in quantity with a good profit margin.

 

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/06/at-long-last-apple-announces-new-mac-pro-with-cylindrical-design/

 

Computers are no longer Apple's main business as when they originally started. It's mobile phones that are their main source of profit now.

 

Not seen this years sales yet but:-

 

http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/24/apple-q3-2012-hardware-sales-numbers/

 

I hope the Mac Pro does succeed as an Apple shareholder, but it looks to me a bit of an innovation gimmick to answer those critics saying Apple has run out of new ideas, almost the equivalent of the motor industries concept car, though it will hardly matter if it does not since it is more important that the next I-Phone does for Apple's profits. 

Edited June 11, 2013 by DaveW

[Black Pearl]

Not sure what you mean about the iMac not going anywhere, I have one and find it the best solution I've ever had to home computing. One wire, no hideous space devouring boxes, silent, fantastically easy to operate and blisteringly fast - plus the latest versions that were launched earlier this year did so to great acclaim.

[Guest DaveW]

I was referring to the blue thing in my link above BP, which got rave reviews at the time but still did not outsell the PC.  Apple tried the all in one unit with the screen embodied in the computer several times but it lacked the flexibility to upgrade that the PC did. You could not upgrade the screen for instance whilst still retaining the "box".  If the inbuilt screen went kaput it was an expensive repair by Apple, with a PC monitor you just junked it and got another cheap one. 

 

The PC may not look pretty but it is as reconfigurable as a Meccano set.  A firm is not measured commercially by how artistic or advanced it's products are, but how well they sell and how much profit they make. The Betamax was more advanced than the VHS video recorder but died a death because the public bought more of the latter.

 

If phone users switch to cheaper android machines Apple will either become a niche player or go bankrupt no matter how much more advanced it's products are if it can not compete at a price the public will pay. Unless you charge the earth as a luxury item you don't remain in business catering for small minorities.  As said though, desktop computers are now only a minor part of Apple's business.

Edited June 11, 2013 by DaveW

[Black Pearl]

Apple tried the all in one unit with the screen embodied in the computer several times but it lacked the flexibility to upgrade that the PC did.

 

 

'Tried?'

Apple are still producing an all-in-one.....the ultimate all in-in-one as a matter of fact....and it's still called an iMac just as the original ones were from your link:

 

Today they are incredibly thin and have some of the best screens available this side of esoterics like Eizo, they are still popular too though sales are down a little YoY as more Mac users switch to the the likes of the MacBook Pro Retina. For Apple though (and your shares) that has to be a good thing as the Retina is more expensive. 

 

Apple has become as big and successful as it is currently because they sell partially on the design of their products. The iMac above is a beautiful thing to behold and own, go look at one in the flesh. Doesn't make it better but it does make it more desirable. An iPad Mini and a Galaxy Tab 2 7" will pretty much do the same job - I know as I have the former and Dylan owns the latter - but the Apple one costs around £100 more. Why? Because it is a £100 better built. It is an absolute joy to hold in your hand, it feels more expensive and that feeling not only costs but it makes people want it.

 

 

 

 

PC's may be configurable but the vast - vast - vast - vast - vast majority of conventional desktop computers sold never have a single component changed, upgraded or even replaced when faulty. There are a few 'computer literates' and "nerds' who like to fiddle, I was one of both, but even I prefer something these days to just work straight out of the box and continue to do so without the need to fiddle. I have added a LOT more RAM to my iMac but that was a case of releasing two screws and popping the RAM in, similar to the way one would do it on a laptop but I have no urge to 'upgrade' anything else. It was expensive but came with very good components that will last years. 

 

 

As to users switching to cheaper Android phones then I don't follow your reasoning. The iPhone 5 starting at £500 competes against top end Android phones like the Galaxy S4 at around £550 and the HTC One at £550 not lesser models. Yes Apple's high will eventually come to an end, or at the very least reduce significantly as very few tech brands last forever.........it looks solid for a while yet though.