Apple Silicon Mac Pro Revealed at WWDC 2023

[D-One]

There are always people asking "is this the end of Hackintosh?", to me it seems more like the end of Mac Pro's.

Won't PCIE being the only difference from a Mac Studio shrink the amount of Mac Pro users even further? It doesn't seem to be a justifiable purchase for anyone other than maybe commercial Video studios that really need pcie media accelerators?

I find this all so odd... that huge chassis empty chassis, the cooler seems the same as the one for intel, isn't it completely overkill for an M2 Ultra? A chassis design made for intel being used for apple silicon is so strange.

 

[pastrychef]

Mac Pro feels like a dead end.

My next Apple Silicon computer will be the VisionPro.

• M2 chip? Yup, it’s in there
• Runs iOS, iPadOS, and realityOS apps? Yup
• Has a big screen? The biggest!
• Has multiple screens? As many as will fit around you
• Does it have OLED for perfect black levels? Yup
• Can I see my 3D projects in 3D and walk around them? Of course
• If companies release 3D models of their new products, can I walk around life-sized 3D versions of them to better check them out? I’m waiting to see the new BMW i5 in person, but I could instead see it in VisionPro — on my own driveway and in the garage
• Can I do all the media stuff (movies, photos, music)? Oh yes
• Do I already have plenty of conventional computers for all the other things I do? Ya, like 8 other machines
• Is it HALF the cost of entry level Mac Pro? Yup, but maybe there’s something not quite right with that comparison?

First version of VisionPro is…a first version. But consider the evolution of this thing. Consider how Apple evolved the first iPhone to the one we have now…

Lower priced versions are already rumored.

Don't forget the incredible porn possibilities. This is gonna earn Apple billions!!

 

[D-One]

Don't forget the incredible porn possibilities. This is gonna earn Apple billions!!

You might be joking but I do feel like this is an accurate statement... Maybe it's just my dirty mind but I kept thinking about this during the presentation lol

 

[CaseySJ]

Don't forget the incredible porn possibilities. This is gonna earn Apple billions!!

You might be joking but I do feel like this is an accurate statement... Maybe it's just my dirty mind but I kept thinking about this during the presentation lol

Those who are into that sort of thing can do it on any headset available today, and pay a hell of a lot less for it.

 

[CaseySJ]

Here's another use case I'm thinking for myself:

• Turn on any existing Hackintosh or my 14" Apple Silicon MacBook Pro
• Use the Vision Pro as a main monitor
• Work on the Mac while walking around the house and doing other chores at the same time
  • Don't have to be right next to the computer or laptop
  • Prevents me from being stationary for long periods of time
  • Focuses my eyes on distant objects more frequently
  • May prevent neck and eye strain because we can resize the monitor, move our heads into any comfortable position, etc.

 

[trs96]

A chassis design made for intel being used for apple silicon is so strange.

Apple spent a lot of cash on the R&D for the Intel Mac Pro. It's a way to recover some of that but not all of it. The numbers of Mac Pro Intel ('19) or AppleSi ('23) sold now and in the future are miniscule compared to the number of consumer Macs and iOS devices Apple sells. Quinn from Snazzy Labs says it best (as he pinches his thumb and index finger together) "The Mac Pro has transcended practicality for almost everyone and serves only an extremely niche market."

So it's really funded by all the profits they make selling phones, tablets, Macbooks and even services. I'm sure that many Audio and Video pros really won't care about the amount of empty space, as long as they have enough PCIe expansion slots and TH4 ports to connect all their gear. They are mainly concerned with getting their current project done on time to meet a deadline.

This is the rear I/O of an audio pro that works independently in Hollywood. He's got a rackmount Intel MP. There's no way he could get by with a Mac Studio and do his work. So professionals like this (Neil Parfitt) won't scoff at all of the empty space in the new Mac Pro. He'll probably stay with his 2019 as long as possible and then switch to an Apple Si version years from now. Most of his audio production software is macOS only so he'll likely stay with Apple long term.

 

[bombardier10]

At the end of the day, Apple is a business and they have to make decisions that make the most financial sense. How would they price an Apple Silicon Mac Pro with 56 cores? How many of them would they sell? How much would it cost for them to develop and build something like that?

Yes we have to think realistically . That's why the hackintosh was created . Why overpay when you can make computer several times cheaper . There are customers who don't care if something is cheaper or more expensive. They want brand-name products. And that's business for Apple. Cheaper product also doesn't mean more people will buy it. The macos market is limited to 5%. Maybe with hackintosh it's 6%, but that's all. In this situation, lowering the price of the product will result in losses rather than profits for the company. Apple has no interest in lowering the price of its products .
If you do exactly the same on a PC as on a Mac . Yes exactly the same but cheaper and maybe faster.The only difference is the operating system. And it is the 5% of users who prefer macos and which apple is targeting. And maybe one small thing which is the prestige that they can pay more for a computer.

 

[pastrychef]

Yes we have to think realistically . That's why the hackintosh was created . Why overpay when you can make computer several times cheaper . There are customers who don't care if something is cheaper or more expensive. They want brand-name products. And that's business for Apple. Cheaper product also doesn't mean more people will buy it. The macos market is limited to 5%. Maybe with hackintosh it's 6%, but that's all. In this situation, lowering the price of the product will result in losses rather than profits for the company. Apple has no interest in lowering the price of its products .

Believe it or not, Macs have gained marketshare in recent years and it's a lot more than 5-6%. It has only accelerated with the transition to Apple Silicon.

Apple's macOS has been steadily gaining ground on Microsoft's Windows for more than a decade and the stats don't really tell the full story

Microsoft’s Windows has always dominated the desktop OS space globally, as the operating system is widely available with many PC manufacturing partners such as Dell, HP and Lenovo. However, a recent trend shows that Microsoft's Windows has steadily been losing ground in the US, due to the rise...

www.patentlyapple.com

Lower PC sales, but higher Mac market share.

What might seem like discouraging market news is actually a leap ahead for Apple Mac.

www.jamf.com

Apple’s growth story is consistent and sustained

Over the last three years, the Mac has seen a 60% increase in market share — while the PC market grew 6%.

www.computerworld.com

If you do exactly the same on a PC as on a Mac . Yes exactly the same but cheaper and maybe faster.The only difference is the operating system. And it is the 5% of users who prefer macos and which apple is targeting. And maybe one small thing which is the prestige that they can pay more for a computer.

Most things can be accomplished regardless of which operating system you use. It's all about which OS each person prefers.

Personally speaking, I can't can't get anything done in Windows... I made a clean install of Windows a few days ago because I wanted to compare RPCS3 performance between Linux and Windows...

After booting in to a 100% fresh install of Windows:

1. I downloaded and installed Rufus, 7zip, and RPCS3.
2. Tried to launch RPCS3.
3. Got error popup telling me vcruntime140.dll is missing.
4. Googled for fix and found out I needed to install Visual C++ Redistribution.
5. Installed Visual C++ Redistribution.
6. Tried to launch RPCS3.
7. Got error popups telling me msvcp140_1.dll and vcruntime140_1.dll were missing.
8. Googled for fix and found a bunch of "fixes" that didn't work.
9. Gave up.
10. Formatted drive with Windows.

Wasted several hours and never got to do what I wanted to do. Is saving a few bucks worth this headache?? I don't think so.

On macOS, RPCS3 runs perfectly after downloading.

 

[ramazarusx]

Apple spent a lot of cash on the R&D for the AppleSi Mac Pro.

The Mac Studio on Steroids? I doubt it. Look at the PCB.

 

[ramazarusx]

I don't know how many Mac users were waiting for a $5900 350W, 56 core, 112 thread CPU... In fact, I don't even know if many PC users were waiting for that...

Khm… I would and I can bring at least 6 of my clients who would too and that’s just from the top of my head.