In a bit of not-so-surprising news, rumor has it that Apple is mulling the idea of pulling the plug on its high-end desktop Mac Pro line, leaving just the Mac mini and iMac to choose from. As Mac Pros have long been the go-to computer for professionals working with OS X, a discontinuation of the line wouldn’t go unnoticed.
It’s been speculated for a while that Apple has begun to lose interest in the professional / workstation market, and part of that is evidenced by the fact that the most recent version of Final Cut Pro proved to be little more than a slap to the face of those who relied on the tool. There’s also the fact that the Mac Pro line hasn’t been updated since last summer (a PC that’s at least 30% faster could be built than the current $2,499 Mac Pro for about $1,000).
If Apple does in fact discontinue the Mac Pro, however, that leaves a lot of professionals to wonder about their platform of choice. The Mac mini is certainly not meant to be used for video editing or even photo manipulation, and the iMac doesn’t come close to the capabilities that the Mac Pro implies. Professionals often stress the CPU and GPU for long periods of time, and for an all-in-one computer, that’s not ideal.
Of course, this is all just a rumor for now, but the fact that Apple hasn’t updated its Mac Pro line in well over a year is pretty damning evidence that something is going down. And while on that topic, if Apple has found that its Mac Pros are not flying off the shelves like they should be, it could be that the cost is just too outrageous – even for Apple fans.
Even at the time of the last Mac Pro update, the $2,499 model carried a $800 – 1,000 premium (or even a bit more) than a DIY build would have. Unlike Dell, Apple doesn’t update its line-up consistently throughout the year, but rather does an overhaul every so often. As a result, anyone who purchases a Mac Pro is always paying a major premium, one that only widens until the next refresh.
I am not sure if more reasonable prices would pique the interest in more people, but it sure wouldn’t hurt. It’d be unfortunate to see Apple leave this market entirely, however, as many, many professionals call their Mac Pros and the Mac in general their home for all of their content-creation needs.