Daniel Hruska This year, a prominent figure in the field of advertising and marketing visited Prague. We filmed Ken Segall and I for you during his stay interview. Now Segall has published an opinion on his blog about where Apple is taking its products intended for professionals. Over the past few years, many professionals have started to feel like a lover who has been let down by their significant other. Although it wasn't their fault, it was as if the whole relationship gradually fell apart.
Mac Pro
Apple's most powerful computer seems to have been completely neglected. Practically nothing has changed for many years. It is laughable that this professional station, as the only one from the entire Mac portfolio, remained without Thunderbolt. Even the cheapest Mac mini got it two years ago.
17-inch MacBook Pro
The laptop with a large display was very popular with designers and video editors. For some, this particular MacBook was a necessity to carry out their work in the field. Then just the lines of the mary fuk - and he disappeared.
Final Cut Pro
When the long-awaited update to the high-end video editing package came out, many users were dismayed. The software lacked some critical features like multi-camera editing, EDL support, backward compatibility and more. The professional community did not remain silent and there were loud cries for a long time.
Aperture
The last version was released in February 2010. Yes, after three and a half years without a major update. This stagnation can be all the more surprising when the direct competitor Adobe Lightroom is continuously and noticeably updated.
So where is Apple going?
Can this really happen? Can Apple seriously consider leaving the "Pro" market? This actually almost happened at one time. Even Steve Jobs himself was in favor of this possibility. The iMac became a global blockbuster at the time, so a move away from expensive, powerful workstations would seem like a logical step. After all, they are intended only for a narrow circle of users and their development is not exactly a cheap matter.
Professional products continued to mean a lot to Apple, even if their sales were not in high numbers. But at the same time, they are flagships influencing other products from the entire portfolio. They are the pride of society. So Steve eventually changed his stance on the "Pro" segment, but he never claimed to always hold it. One thing is certain - Apple has changed its thinking about the "Pro" market.
Some may not like it, but most of the anger revolves around the changes between Final Cut Pro 7 and Final Cut Pro X. In the XNUMX version, the control is very extensive and in-depth, which requires some effort for the user to be able to work effectively with the application. In the decimal version, the environment is no longer so daunting and at the same time it can automate some advanced functions. Some talk about a dumber version, while others talk about a development in a kind of "iMovie Pro".
However, it is necessary to be careful and distinguish two different problems in this discussion. The first is the very list of functions that the application offers. The second is more complicated, namely the direction in which the entire video editing will move in the future. Of course, Apple would like to rethink everything and create something new, better.
As a result of its actions, Apple is losing some of its customers. Some of them show it enough. But the true core of professionals is kept happy thanks to the above changes. At the same time, it can attract a wider range of professional users who will be happy to use the application and get the most out of it.
With a similar philosophy, the new Mac Pro was launched, which will hit the market at the end of this year. Its design is more user-friendly – instead of internal slots and compartments, peripherals will be connected via Thunderbolt. You simply connect what you need.
By introducing the new generation, Apple is sending a clear message to all professionals - we haven't forgotten about you. More than a simple update, it is a reinvention of one of the oldest categories of computers. One of the things only Apple can do.
For many, the launch of the new Mac Pro may bring back memories of the Power Mac G4 Cube. It also attracted the public with its distinctive appearance, but was withdrawn from sale after a year. However, the Cube was a consumer product with too high a price tag. The Mac Pro is a professional workstation that should be worth its price.
So will every professional user fall in love with the new Mac Pro? No. There is no doubt that we will hear disgusted comments about the cylindrical shape of the chassis, or that it will not be possible to easily replace or add internal components. For these people, there is only one explanation - yes, Apple continues to move away from the professional market. He's treading into entirely new waters and asking professionals to follow him. Apple bets on people capable of creation and innovation. And it's those people who will benefit from a super-powered computer the way Apple can.
Wait, we still have the extinct 17-inch MacBook Pro here. If you don't believe that professionals will suddenly start preferring to work on smaller displays in the future, you will hardly take this step as a positive one. However, all will be forgotten if this pet returns with the moniker Retina.
The new Mac Pro is a disappointment for me :( Although it has a revolutionary design and above all the HW layout, what I liked about the Mac Pro was that it was expandable. Xeons have a long life, although their performance is unusable outside the server, they could have given the i7 an option. Graphics that are really only suitable for something and those who want to play games on a Mac Pro are simply out of luck, these graphics are out of this segment. It would be better if Apple put a "normal" GPU in the Mac Pro, moreover, if they gave the option replacing the GPU would make the product uncompetitive... This is how Apple killed the Pro with the Mac Pro, in 5 years, the performance of the Mac Pro will be good, but... If they have the same strategy of releasing new Mac Pro generations as the previous generation, it will be a mess...
Who would want to play games on a Mac Pro and why?
that time it was enough to fundamentally innovate - that's without discussion. in my opinion, this is clearly a step backwards. and the development wouldn't cost much more regardless of the fact that it was enough to step on Intel and Nvidia's neck and force them to make cards just for that (simple hw hack) so that they work in apple devices for apple money (ie more expensive than usual).
this way it's more of a showpiece, although powerful, but just a showpiece.
But fart, having a MacPro for games is total stupidity. A professional probably won't cry if he has GTA 5 at 10fps, but what's the point, a professional needs performance in things like ProTools, Logic, Cinema4D, AfterEffects, Premiere, etc.. And a dozen GPUs are simply not for that, just like an i7 , although I would still download it for some versions. Xeon is just Xeon :)
I guess. Apple certainly didn't think of gamers when developing the Mac Pro :)) And I don't know why anyone should buy a Mac Pro for games, when they can have a bloated gaming PC for 20-30 thousand. Although with Win, but exactly composed for games. And to add to the fact that about half of the titles are on Mac... I have a similar opinion as in the article, some will love it and some will curse it. I like it and think that the expandability via thunderbolt 2 is great. Why have graphics plugged into the box when it can be external. Disks the same.
When I bought my first Mac Pro two years ago, expandability was the main argument. An SSD went into the computer, more memory, but basically that was all. So I ask, how widespread is meant? Currently, most things are solved via the Cloud, I don't know anyone around who would put as many HDDs as possible into their computer, the practice is the opposite. NAS servers on the home network from which all data is downloaded. Apple knows very well what it is doing with the Mac Pro, it has cut expandability to the important things and leaves the rest to the user.
I personally have a Mac Pro, two proc. Bought exactly a year ago (I still managed to get older cheap configurations from the sale after the announcement of new sets - more expensive but still the same) and the expandability is amazing.
On the one hand, RAM memory and disks (from 128GB RAM, ssd according to the current offer). Graphics card according to the current offer (I do 3d design, animation). Radice according to the current offer (usb 3, thunderbolt, for example)
I understand that "everyone" is now willingly tying the knot with clouds and disposable solutions (everything is powered on the board, nothing can be changed), but that's just because they don't understand the software business, or they make so much money that they don't care about paying for overpriced external solutions .
The point is that in two years I will buy a current professional Geforce for approx. 20-30 and I will be taken care of. I have software in boxed versions (adobe + maya). With your approach, I can imagine a situation where I lack performance, I don't have a subscription to the software (yes... I really believe that Adobe will make the cloud more expensive) and I still have to deal with expensive hardware updates, because it can't be simply thrown away because it's there powered up?
No thank you.
I totally agree with the article. I had my first professional Mac for DTP in 1990 (FX II) and have been a staunch AppleOldSchool supporter ever since. Now I also have a video editing room, and thanks to FCP, I'm more and more excited about the direction the Mac has taken...
Nice article. Apple hasn't forgotten about the Pro class, or is taking a different, new approach to it. He wants to make work easier and more pleasant for professionals. Unfortunately, it is understandable that users of classic sets resist this. However, Apple is thinking ahead. They didn't always succeed in the idea, but that's normal in technology. Not even Beta won over VHS. It's the same with SW. They want to simplify the work and immediately everyone shouts that it is like for children. They will have to do it a little differently, but why use complex programs full of offers when it can certainly be done differently, more easily with the same result. Probably like Android people will not understand using iOS and vice versa.
How many times have people with less options made more music... even if that's not exactly how Apple intends it to be :)