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Then why release anything now? Who is this for, if pros will wait for the "real" one and consumers already have one? Will the "stopgap" model be around/supporte

Then why release anything now? Who is this for, if pros will wait for the "real" one and consumers already have one? Will the "stopgap" model be around/supported in two years?

comex 9y ago
> Who is this for, if pros will wait for the "real" one and consumers already have one? It's for people who have a need/desire for "pro" components but also want a thin/portable form factor.
andreasley 9y ago
It's for people like me. I need something with more power than my current "classic" Mac Pro, preferably with fewer cables and more energy efficient. 2 SSD slots are sufficient for my internal storage needs, especially considering the Nbase-T Ethernet port. Vega-based graphics should be able to properly run the 5K display for the next few years. I've swapped out a lot of parts in my old Mac Pro, but at this point, I'd rather have something that "just works". And if my needs change, the resale value of this thing will still be good. But I'm just an iOS developer, doing some multimedia and web stuff as well. Maybe that's not a "pro" by today's definition. :)
- saurik 9y ago
  The thing I can't wrap my head around though is that that display is a very real amount of the cost of that device and will almost certainly still be a great display in five years or even longer, while the "pro" computer is going to be horribly out of date. The idea of purchasing a monitor attached to a computer seems like throwing money into the trash.
  - fliptables 9y ago
    If my iMac purchased in 2012 is anything to go by, it'll still be great in 5 years and only the GPU will really feel its age. But then if you're a pro user who buys the thing to make money with, it's probably more tax-effective to keep it 3 or so years then buy something new
wmeredith 9y ago
Because they already had this in the pipe and it __was__ the replacement for the Mac Pro. But they realized that it wasn't going to cut it. So now it's the stop gap and not the new Mac Pro replacement.

Then why release anything now? Who is this for, if pros will wait for the "real" one and consumers already have one? Will the "stopgap" model be around/supported in two years?

comex 9y ago

> Who is this for, if pros will wait for the "real" one and consumers already have one? It's for people who have a need/desire for "pro" components but also want a thin/portable form factor.

andreasley 9y ago

It's for people like me. I need something with more power than my current "classic" Mac Pro, preferably with fewer cables and more energy efficient. 2 SSD slots are sufficient for my internal storage needs, especially considering the Nbase-T Ethernet port. Vega-based graphics should be able to properly run the 5K display for the next few years. I've swapped out a lot of parts in my old Mac Pro, but at this point, I'd rather have something that "just works". And if my needs change, the resale value of this thing will still be good. But I'm just an iOS developer, doing some multimedia and web stuff as well. Maybe that's not a "pro" by today's definition. :)

saurik 9y ago
The thing I can't wrap my head around though is that that display is a very real amount of the cost of that device and will almost certainly still be a great display in five years or even longer, while the "pro" computer is going to be horribly out of date. The idea of purchasing a monitor attached to a computer seems like throwing money into the trash.
- fliptables 9y ago
  If my iMac purchased in 2012 is anything to go by, it'll still be great in 5 years and only the GPU will really feel its age. But then if you're a pro user who buys the thing to make money with, it's probably more tax-effective to keep it 3 or so years then buy something new

wmeredith 9y ago

Because they already had this in the pipe and it __was__ the replacement for the Mac Pro. But they realized that it wasn't going to cut it. So now it's the stop gap and not the new Mac Pro replacement.