“There’s a new Mac Pro coming, hopefully as soon as this year. We could see a preview of it as soon as WWDC 2019 in June. But, a preview of… what exactly? That Apple has even been talking about it before any kind of official introduction is unprecedented, but hints aside, we still have no idea what it will be,” Rene Ritchie writes for iMore. “We do, however, know what we want it to be.”
“The first option, and what many people say they want, is the simple, conservative, safe solution: Just go back to the damn cheese grater already. My Nehalem Mac Pro is probably the best traditional computer I’ve ever owned. It was — and is, since it’s still up and running — a marvel of accessible design. Almost every part could be opened up and swapped out, with not so much as a screwdriver required,” Ritchie writes. “Seriously, it’s one of the most ingenious things they’ve ever made and just updating that concept with modern computing bits would make so many pros so happy.”
There’s a “second option, which I’m guessing far fewer pros would think they want, and is also more complex, radical, and risky a solution,” Ritchie writes. “You get the base, the brain, that houses the CPU and just what it needs to be a functional CPU. And if the socket or even architecture changes over time, you can swap that module out for newer, better brains in the future… Same with GPUs… Same not just with external storage but with external IO modules for external storage that, let’s say when Thunderbolt 3 becomes Thunderbolt 4, you don’t have to wait for Apple to introduce a new machine, or to justify buying a new machine, you can just swap out the module.”
Much more in the full article – recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: Of the two possibilities, which would you like? One big box that you add and swap GPUs, storage, etc. into or a bunch of boxes you can stack (or line up or hide or whatever) that you purchase and assemble into the Mac Pro that works best for you?
MacPro 2019 LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL. 2025 maybe!
You come across as a moron…and a fool.
Congrats!
You come across as a sanctimonious, f’ing idiot. LOL
D-Tw@t
Why ? Given the Mac Pro situation, how can you possibly say that without sounding completely sarcastic ? You are the one who seems to be in denial!
Why not both options? Apple starts with a beautiful, accessible design that comes with everything you need for a “base” professional model. Great processor, a few excellent options for graphics . . . lots of ports. RAM is easily upgradable, so is storage. Picture the cheese grater Mac Pro but maybe a bit smaller and more “modern” looking. And then, Apple could sell modules that match and stack that can be attached to add capabilities through Thunderbolt 4 like eGPUs and super fast storage solutions that the operating system treats as if they are one and same with the main unit. This would allow expandability that truly is based on need. So I guess I’m saying “option 2” but where “option 1” might be all a lot of pros would ever need. As opposed to an “option 2” where the base “brains” machine isn’t enough for anybody without buying modules.
The flaw with the ‘modular’ concept that’s floating around is that if it is Apple-proprietary, then we’re still 100% reliant on Apple getting around to making updates.
Whatever the ‘module’-ish interface standard is, it must be 100% open and non-proprietary so that Third Party vendors can compete with each other on innovations that are fast to market and done so at affordable prices. Anything short of that will be another Cube/TrashCan/”Module of Fail”.
The issue with Option 2 is that Apple will change to docking connectors. Mac Pro 2019 TB3 – Mac Pro 2014(???) SuperLightning connector or whatever is in vogue then. Look at the iPhone, a 30 pin connector to a Lighting conector to USB-C(?) next.
Ah yes, Rene Richie, the VP of Laughing at his own Jokes Awkwardly
Don’t overthink this Apple, the first option is by far a more sensible option. A “Demi-Cheese Grater” would serve most pros just fine.
2 HD Bays (Multiple HD, Fusion, and SSD options)
4 – 8 RAM Slots
2 PCI Bays (multiple GPU options obviously)
6 USB C/TB (2 on front)
3 USB 3.0 (1 on front)
2 Ethernet
HDMI
SD slot (one can dream)
No screwdrivers required please.
The second option sounds cool, but would, without a doubt, cost more, with little or no gain for the consumer. Any external boxes can be hooked up by TB3 anyways.
Above all, Apple should remember that this is a desktop class machine, whether or not it sits on your desktop. Issues of size, weight, thinness, and power consumption are completely secondary.
What would be cool for pros, would be to size the MacPro so that it is easy to slide into a standard 19″ rack, either 2 or 3 rack spaces high. I would love to have my Mac in a rack in my recording setup.
That’s an interesting idea… the idea to offer a 19″ ability for racks… kinda like the Xserve. I like that idea for musicians. I would use one. But like to also have a desktop option for my video/graphic needs too.
Either Apple or a third party should come out with a 19″ rack adapter (probably 3U tall) with the Mac Pro on the left and lots of external disk bays on the right, connected to the MP by TB3.
what will you do when TB4 is released? will you wait 6 years for Apple to support the newer industry standard?
Apple needs to offer:
– a couple common legacy ports
– 4+ of the latest ports
– PCI slots so users can add more ports now and in the future as they wish.
– internal drive slots so expansion doesn’t force users to have a snakes nest of cables, none of which today are secured from accidental pullout
anything less than this is a slap in the face to pros.
Anything less is an additional slap in the fact to pros. Cuz Apple’s been slapping them repeatedly for 6+ years now, to the point a fair number have abandoned the platform entirely.
Amen, amen, amen.
My first tower was a something called an Amax if I remember right from some local box maker running Win XP so I could do 3D CAD in 1998. The Cheese Grater is just a fancier looking version of a PC Box.
But, the Cheese Grater can boot Windows & is thus superior to a Biege Box. Case closed.
As the Cheese Grater show by users here abouts, it has a longer lifespan than the average car. That makes the maker of a device like that have intense customer loyalty. Sure it gets “older” but they get repurposed to less intense tasks and backup solutions.
Ford understands this better than Apple. The average age a Ford pickup runs on the road is astonishingly high.
Apple doesn’t realize what Peter Drucker said a long long time ago: Business is all about satisfying the customer.
Unless Apple is going to go all laptop/iPad all the time, they need an Apple Ford F150. Sure the exterior can change slightly, but the guts can remain the same for a decade.
No criticism, just observations:
1. The Cheese Grater is just a fancier looking version of a PC Box.” I disagree. The Cheese grater was a marvelous design of simplicity. I worked with a lot of PC boxes, and they were all about sharp sheet metal and lots of threaded fasteners. The Mac Pro could be worked on with nothing more than the fingers on your hands. It was a joy compared to PC boxes. And it was Quiet; no fan drone as found on PCs. It was better in every way.
2. Peter Drucker: The Mac Pro aside, it not really accurate to say that Apple doesn’t realize that satisfying the customer is important. Of course they do. With Mac Pro (trashcan) It’s obvious they made a number of misguided decisions in their attempt move away from the PC box paradigm. They went all in (with that super-factory they built for Mac Pro) thinking they had a home run. They were wrong, clearly, but I think that with all they had invested in their new design they sat in denial for too long. I truly believe that had to overcome a crisis in confidence, which further delayed dev of the new Mac Pro. The magnitude of the trashcan failure is monumental. I also believe that the iMac Pro was developed with the belief that Pros would love it and forget about the Mac Pro. We know that didn’t happen.
I would be happy with a downsized Cheese Grater style box. Keep it as simple and affordable as possible.
I am open to ANY new design that is updated at least every 2 years, I prefer every year. Prior to unfocused Pipeline running the show, I would purchase a new MacPro every year. I have over 12 macs running my various companies, and we update many of them often. Since Tim took over, that has been severely neglected. For a company of this size and revenue its completely unacceptable. Also a new display. The MAJOR thing Apple needs to stay focused on is, who is using the Mac Pro. Ask users. In the music field, communicate with companies like Avid and Motu about making sure they support each other. When Apple acts arrogant, with little communication with the ecosystem, we see the failure of the current MacPro’s perception. (and I own 2 of them) Most ‘Pros” can be summed up in 4 categories: music, video, photo and other. For many of them, just having swappable particles of IO would suffice. Upgradable processors, ram and storage. Pretty simple. Bot for some reason, this seems to be difficult for a billion dollar company to figure out. Really sad. I can’t wait for the day Tim Cook is replaced as a CEO.
Yes, because with Tim replaced, the executive team that has been ignoring the Mac will… ahhhh… continue to ignore the Mac.
That is, unless there’s a web petition that shows them the light.
I dunno,…you think that replacing non-Jobsian vision Pipeline with another likely non-Jobsian vision CEO? There will never be another person with the same authority and charisma that made people listen and obey that Jobs exuded. Maybe Forstall but he’s now committed to the arts.
The thing about yearly is, Mac Pros are gonna use Intel Xeon chips for the foreseeable future. No A series is going to come close to latest high-core count Xeon chips. Intel doesn’t release Xeons annually. A new model come every 18 months to 2 years. Even if Apple gets early access to Intel CPUs I wouldn’t expect a new Pro more than every 24 months based on riding the CPU cycle. If Apple had released a Mac Pro based on Intel Xeon Skylake in mid/late 2017, they would not have released an “updated” Pro in 2018 based on the same chip. The follow up CPU to Skylake is not released yet . So Like HP and DELL and the rest of PC workstation and server manufacturers, Apple is at mercy on Intel’s release cycle.
Maybe Apple will pull a monster rabbit out of their hat in the form of a super powered A12X that could compete with Xeon. That would be great for the Mac lineup and more regular updates.
It’s funny that someone still thinks I’m modular Mac pro is coming
Yep Its funny that you dont know its comming..
Consequence of living under a rock .
Apple just announced an event and it isn’t back to the Mac so hopes are not high for anything from the great pipeline or what ever Tim wants to call it this year.
The Mac is such a small % of Apple’s sales that there is no reason to have more than 2 sentences in the Apple PR show.
Mac Pro users understand the situation. They don’t want words. They want hard results.
And that’s precisely how you tell the company’s been taken over by beancounters.
A company that’s led properly understands well enough to look at the amount of revenue each product brings in, NOT its percentage compared with all other products.
i.e. if the Mac units consistently brought in roughly $X every year even as its overall percentage dropped against iOS units, you do not de-prioritize R&D on the Mac units!
Apple has totally lost all credibility in the professional space. To regain it, they must not only introduce a real pro model, but give it a reasonable price, and update it yearly despite the inevitable poor sales.
And yes the sales will be poor for several years, because people won’t trust Apple not to abandon them again. They did the same thing with the rack-mounted mac before they did it with the pro. (Yes, that was Jobs’s fault.) It will take several years for Apple to heal this self-inflicted wound.
Agreed, but looking at the prices of the current iMacProand MacPro, I fear the price of the new MacPro will be through the roof.
Agreed, but not only must Apple regularly update it, they also have to have the architecture be open enough to support 3rd party Windows PCIe cards so that we don’t have to wait until a Mac-flashed GPU card is maybe somehow made available, etc, etc….
That may be an idea. Get those internal Apple devs to dust off their skills and churn out the software drivers for all the major PCIe cards. They’ve gotten too lazy with only having to support a limited set of possible HW configurations.
Agreed, but I don’t necessarily think that it is all due to “lazy” coders at Apple: its a leadership failure to put it on the objectives list and to provide adequate resources – – consistently over time – – so that Macs being able to plug in any graphics card as soon as it ships becomes the norm.
Apple wouldn’t be Apple taking something simple but “innovating” on it instead and making it needlessly expensive and messy.
Certainly, enough has been written for years what Apple needs to do to DOMINATE the PRO computer space. We will see how FAST they listened…
Without a curated Apple branded monitor what is the point???
Apple has said an Apple branded monitor IS coming at the same time as the 2019 Mac Pro. Rumors say a 6K monitor.
Yes, I want a new wiz-bang aesthetic look in the MacPro that will knock me off my feet but not at the expense of expandability, replaceability, and functionality.
I feel that it should take the Hackintoshes head on. Fist the CPU it should be upgradeable no matter if Intel changes the CPU pin assignments. Devise a conversion board to match up to the pins on the Motherboard and to the CPU. then by software or make a new control panel to configure the bus and CPU along with other components . That will be the one up over the hackintoshes. When the latest comes out from intel, you need to buy a different motherboard and maybe some other components. As for the GPU it starts with 8 Gen i3 upgradeable to i5, i7 and Zeon. It should come with a fusion drive starting out with 1 terabyte. If you need more, just switch drives and every thing will reconfigure to the new drive. Same thing with the video cards and with PCI and PCIe cards. There should be another video card slot incase you want to use the cards in together or you can use one for a video card or a motion capture card in the other. With memory it should come with one terabyte standard of DDR 4 upgradable to 5 terabytes of DDR 4. I/O on the back should be: 4 USB 4 slots, 4 slots USB 3 slots to support legacy devices, 4 Thunderbolt 4 and 4 Thunderbolt 3 to support legacy devices. Gigabit Ethernet and the new Ethernet that is supposed to drop soon. 7.1 stereo out and in. And out for microphone. The Base model with i3, 1 terabyte memory, a Nvida 1050 video card, and 1 terabyte Fusion Drive for $2499.00 or lower. You can buy one that or have it configured to you hearts content. They need to dominate the Pro Market again like they did when the “Cheese Graters” were out. Not only to try not make the Hackintoshes irrelevant.
A stack of boxes sounds like hell, especially if Apple attempts another proprietary connector.
If Apple spends 6+ years between substantial Mac Pro updates, pros will desperately need massive internal expansion without Apple intentionally crippling the use of 3rd party improvements with petty hardware or software limitations. A stack of boxes is a perfect example of bad hardware design limiting user flexibility.