The end of an era:
2 Likes
Really bad timing for John Siracusa; ATP is already out for this week 
5 Likes
IMO Apple knew the Mac Pro was done three years ago when they released the M2 version with a maximum of 192 GB of RAM. From what I’ve read a lot of pros were already using more than 2X that amount.
At least Apple has confirmed what most of us have suspected for years. And John can finally move on. 
The Trash Cans are super cheap on Amazon. I might get one for a Linux machine. RIP Sweet Prince
He is no stranger to Mac Pro and bad timing 
There’s an argument to be made that the last Mac Pro was the one in that case with an Intel chip. The M2 one was essentially a Mac Studio with overcooling.
2 Likes
I was sorry to see this. If they’d had more success fabbing the interconnected Ultra/? Apple Silicon that could outperform the Studio form factor’s heat management, it might’ve been worth keeping the form factor.
1 Like
I doubt the Mac Pro has sold in large numbers for decades. As I recall, it was supposed to be replaced by the iMac Pro around 10 years ago.
Now the iPad usually brings in about the same amount of revenue each quarter as the Mac.
This is really a shame, although the writing was clearly on the wall for some time. The 2019 Mac Pro was a real beast of a machine at the time; it felt like fans of the machine were singing the hallelujah chorus for some time.
I like the Mac Studio a lot. I wish that they found a way to make the Mac Pro exist, but it’s clear that the Mac Studio is the sort of computer they’ve wanted to make since 2013, and I can see why they’re leaning that way.
It does feel to me like they’re going to make life harder for some audio professionals in particular, and it would have been nice if they could have added the ability for expandable RAM or storage too. (I would have loved to build out a 48TB beast in a Mac Pro, but the cost was prohibitive compare to a NAS.)
2 Likes
I bought this beast 20 years ago and thought I was so cutting edge.
I remember shutting it down periodically to sweep out the dust it sucked in. It was like a radiator, and overheated regularly.
Now, my MacBook Pro that is never hot is a supercomputer compared to that 2006 machine.
Katie
1 Like
As long as the RAM wasn’t upgradable, it defeated much of the point of a Mac Pro.
1 Like
I bought the 2003 G5 PowerMac
Actually Mac revenue is about 1 to 1.5 billion more per QUARTER than the IPad. Neither revenue value is anything to sneeze at.
I said “about the same amount of revenue”. It appears to vary from time to time.
I know. I’m not arguing or debating. I just get tired hearing “ the iPads dead”, “ the Mac is dead” . A lot and I mean a lot of companies only dream of one product producing 6 billion dollars of revenue in 1 quarter. And I realize that was not what you were saying
1 Like
Let’s not forget the bottom line! The huge margins and gross profit Apple generates is far more impressive.
What’s the current stat? Something like the iPhone is only 20% of the global smart phone market but 80% or 90% of the gross profit worldwide?
There are still too many companies, in multiple industries, not just tech, chasing top-line sales growth while posting a net loss on operations!
1 Like
I was thinking the same thing!
Then stop listening to those people. In August 1997 Apple was running out of cash. Ten years later it changed the world.
Today AI appears to be changing the world, and ten years from now some MPU may be complaining about how many people have abandoned the mouse & keyboard. So what, change is part of the fun. 
What! People have abandoned the mouse and keyboard. That’s preposterous and should be made illegal. 
1 Like
That’s interesting. I had not considered that angle before. The Mac Studio is basically a trashcan Mac Pro without heat problems and a bit squatter and squarer.
Regarding the lack of expandability in a Mac Studio. Notwithstanding the fixed-at-purchase RAM, there is always Thunderbolt for mass storage and, I think, breakout boxes for cards?