“Apple’s goal with professional hardware has always been to inspire creatives and developers to produce new things. That’s not an altruistic objective; the more creative things get made on Macs, the more other creatives and developers are drawn to the platform, and the more Macs are sold,” Samuel Axon writes for Ars Technica. “To that end, the iMac Pro is available to order today, so we spoke with Apple and several third-party developers who were introduced to us by Apple. We learned more about the iMac Pro and how people expect to use it to improve performance or add new features to their applications.”
“All these software applications showed that the iMac Pro’s performance can mean more than just specs on a page — or even more than just faster compile and render times,” Axon writes. “Nothing we saw demonstrated performance that couldn’t be matched by hardware from other manufacturers, but it did show that the performance bar has been raised on the Mac platform in ways that will be very relevant to people using some demanding professional applications.”
“Some of the applications also showed that Apple, a VR late bloomer, is serious about jumping on the VR content-creation bandwagon with this machine. However, when Apple is late to a party like this it usually justifies that by saying that it joined the movement only after it had constructed an experience that elevated the standards of quality above what was already in the market. That’s not the case here. All the VR applications we saw would work just as well on a comparably specced PC. In this case, Apple is just late, and there’s nothing else to it. But it’s good to see the company catching up regardless,” Axon writes. “There’s no question that the performance on display here is cutting edge—especially for an all-in-one.”
Tons more in the full article – recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple CEO Tim Cook took his eye off the Mac and, hence, so did the rest of Apple. After much clamor, it seems Cook & Co. have refocused on the product that built their company; the product that still, despite Apple’s seeming indifference (especially on the desktop and, a convincing case could be made, in software quality control), routinely brings in billions of dollars more each quarter than the iPad.
When a company is headed by a caretaker CEO vs. a visionary founder, sometimes you end up going down blind alleys, hitting brick walls*, and are forced to play catch-up.
Anyway, thankfully, a considerable swatch of professional Mac users once again have cutting-edge performance at their disposal.
So, here’s to Apple’s re-found love of the Mac! More, please! We can’t wait to see what’s next!
*See the current Mac Pro, released four years ago on December 19, 2013.
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s iMac Pro, the most powerful Mac ever made, is now available starting at $4,999 – December 14, 2017
Wonder how many pros jumped ship due to the awful delay of getting a new pro mac out?
Me too since I was almost one of them. “Awful” and I might add unforgivable. Fortunately an upgraded 2010 5,1 Mac Pro will see me through until next year, most likely the END of next year for the new Mac Pro and even that may be optimistic.
I can almost hear their now more routine apologies for missing 2018 now…
Unfortunately, I’m one of those that had to jump ship — at least partially. My personal desktop and my personal laptop are still Macs. My number cruncher is a custom built Linux box that replaced a 2012 Mac Pro with tailored hardware added to it. Even that box could not keep up with what can be built from the open market no matter how much I tweaked it.
Hopefully the new Mac Pro will be something with which I can justify going back to a Mac. Unfortunately, this iMac Pro is not it.
Sent Tim Cook a response to his tweet on the new iMac.
“Nice Gaming Machine. Now can we have a proper workstation that takes standard cards and memory? Do not want a glued shut all in one. I like my matte screen H-P 32″4K display “
From your lips to the gods at Apple’s ears.
Also sent him and Board Member Al Gore a link yesterday to an article that shows only 20% of e-waste is being recycled.
Making throwaway devices that are obsolete and cannot be upgraded only makes that problem worse.
Tim Cook, Steve’s worst mistake.
John Sculley and Tim Cook are who he chose. Maybe he wasn’t;t that bright an HR guy. Both are guys who know how to make the trains run on time but lack the vision thing.
Ignorance can be found everywhere, especially on Apple centric blogs.
“When a company is headed by a caretaker CEO vs. a visionary founder, sometimes you end up going down blind alleys, hitting brick walls*, and are forced to play catch-up.”
In the past year Apple has introduced work station grade iMac Pro, 4 versions of Apple Watch Series 3, AirPods, AppleTV 4K, HomePod, iPhone 8/Plus, the revolutionary iPhone X and more powerful iPad Pros, iOS 11 and MacOS X High Sierra. Not to mention completion of Apple Park, opening new Apple Stores including remodels of existing Stores and acquiring important companies/technologies. All while managing legal distractions coming from the EU and patent trolls. During Cook’s tenure he has managed that and more (including an aggressive share buyback and dividend program), while growing the Company from $65 Billion a year (FY2010) to $229 Billion a year (FY2017).
Not once during Steve Jobs tenure did he have to manage such an ambitious agenda.
No company, regardless of wealth, has the resources to address all of its products equally.
Its always so easy for one or two man proprietorships to criticize those that head multi-nationals employing tens of thousands, and who could never do what Tim Cook does.
To all of Cook’s critics I say shut the fuck up. That goes for MDN as well. Managing a blog is about the same as managing a SINGLE Apple Store, and in no way qualifies you as an “expert” that knows better than the man managing Apple.
As a very wiseman once told me, its better to remain silent and let others think you stupid, than it is to open your mouth and prove it.
There’s a lot of proof floating around in the blogosphere these days.
From your list here is what floats my boat: work station grade iMac Pro, and I replaced my 5s phone with an 8, which I really do like.
From an Apple profit point of view which is justified) and the stock price, its all wonderful.
But am I likely to buy anything new?
(possibly the work station grade iMac Pro because I may need it)
No, no logical reason or need other than that.
A mix of eight products released in an entire year that are mostly upgraded, not new. That’s less than one a month for a behemoth multi-billion dollar company.
How many cars and trucks with all the different models and options are put out year after year like clockwork by auto companies?
Apple would do much better with a visionary tech savvy CEO, sorry …
Changing fabrics and chrome trim isn’t the same thing as upgrading software, processors, features, etc.
Changing only fabrics and trim?
You must be driving an old Merc from the 1970s. Vehicles have onboard computer components for more years than the iPhone is out.
Count up the number of parts for an average vehicle that dealers HAVE to stock compared to an iPhone. And how many years required by law manufacturers have to have parts available before they are rendered obsolete. Unlike Apple that after a few short years making products obsolete …
You mean the iPhone app that consistently randomly goes to some clunky advertisement over and over again and never lets you see the actual content?
I like the simplicity of the app and website, but its amazing how they can make something so simple so clunky and obtuse.
This thing has five configurations. The starting config is $5,000 and top config is at $9,600. Add a 18 core processor and 4TB SSD drive and you’re looking at $13,200.00
Stop whining! FFS.
If you can get something else with this much power for less then go buy it. Else, stop whinging you amateur! This is for pro.
You’ll have to excuse him/her/it. I think he/she/it expects them to be given away for free by the government.
Another GOP investor.
Simply making an observation. This thing is for a very niche market at those price ranges. You’re not a user, just an investor that hates anything that can be seen as negative press against Apple stock.
From your comment I gather you are not an investor. Now you are really showing your ignorance.
yeah this will sell… not
Yeah, just as those that claimed the iPhone would never sell, AirPods would never sell, the Apple Watch would never sell, the iPhone X would never sell.
Carefull, you’re letting your ignorance show.
Even though I retired recently, I want one and I will buy one because I like fast cars. A 200% to 300% increase in anything warms my vitals and loosens my purse strings. I long to feel the wind in my hair as I race along the coastal highway, from Monterey all the way down to Pasadena — a glittering Pacific on my right, crumbling cliffs on my left, villages flashing by one by one until I slow down for the exit to JPL. The guards check my ID and wave me into the facility. I charm myself into HQ, where I namedrop Margulis and Sagan. The director greets me warmly and we discuss Voyager 1, and how it could still save the human race from itself, if only anyone (or anything) else out there is listening and cares about a bunch of farting apes.