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Really, 16GB max? I find it very strange how Apple went from targeting professionals, seeing the strategy work from the ground up for many years, but now someho

Really, 16GB max? I find it very strange how Apple went from targeting professionals, seeing the strategy work from the ground up for many years, but now somehow want to pivot to hobbyists/others instead of professionals. Could someone try to help me figure out the reasoning behind Apple changing the target customer?

itake 6y ago
This is their 13" model. Their 15" model is targeted for professionals.
- est31 6y ago
  Both have a 16 GB limitation.
  - TimothyBJacobs 6y ago
    They haven't announced a 15/16inch Apple Silicon Mac yet.
    - est31 6y ago
      Oh indeed. Disregard my comment then, I've mixed something up.
  - symfoniq 6y ago
    There isn't a 16" MacBook Pro with Apple Silicon yet.
  - jaykru 6y ago
    That's not true. The 16-inch model remains Intel and supports up to 64GB of memory.
- greenpresident 6y ago
  There is no 15" model anymore and the 16" model has not been announced with an M1 yet.
  - ogre_codes 6y ago
    > ... 16" model has not been announced with an M1 yet. That's the point the above poster was making. This is Apple's first CPU, there is a reason Apple said the transition will take 2 years. More powerful CPUs with more RAM for the 16" MacBook, the iMac, and the Mac Pro lines will be coming later. Some of those CPUs will likely be available for the 13" and the Mini.
- amatecha 6y ago
  I mean, "Pro" is in the name, I expect Pro-level specs, haha :P
  - capableweb 6y ago
    It was a long time ago MacBook Pro meant "MacBook for Professionals", as other makers have now equalized and sometimes even passed Apple when it comes to producing quality hardware for reasonable cost.
    - amatecha 6y ago
      Right, but the person I'm responding to says the 15" model is for professionals -- I argue the whole line of MacBook Pro is "for professionals" :)
      - nottorp 6y ago
        Nothing they launched now is for "professionals". The RAM is a joke.
    - saagarjha 6y ago
      Apple believes that there are different kinds of professionals. An artist that uses a lower-powered computer is still a professional, of course, just not a software engineer.
qppo 6y ago
My guess is the pros are going to be the tock to the consumer tick in the Apple silicon upgrade cycle. It takes months before pros are comfortable upgrading MacOS to begin with, and it will probably be a year or two before they're comfortable that pro software vendors have flushed out their bugs on the new architecture. Basically I'm guessing that no one who wants more than 16GB on their professional machine was going to upgrade on this cycle anyway. We'll see
- capableweb 6y ago
  Since about 2-3 years back, the film professionals I hang around with are all starting to dump Apple hardware in favor of PC workstations now, as they are tired of paying large amounts of money for something that can be had cheaper and with less restrictions. Especially when it comes to price vs quality for displays and hard drives that Apple sells. I think today's presentation is just confirming what we've known for a while, Apple is pivoting away from professionals.
  - unicornfinder 6y ago
    Same thing in the audio engineering world. It’s crazy how quickly it’s pivoted from Mac to PC in such a short timeframe.
  - wintermutestwin 6y ago
    While I use it for gaming, I cannot fathom anyone using Windows 10 professionally.
    - egsmi 6y ago
      I think it depends a lot on your job. I used to do a lot of Cadence Virtuoso work in Windows (now I've moved to Linux) but that fact that is was running on Windows only mattered once, when I setup the tool. From then on I was full screen in the CAD tool and my day to day was basically identical to my flow now. I imagine for a lot of professionals, like myself, it's the application suite that matters, not the OS.
    - 6y ago
vicnov 6y ago
Probably saturated market. "What got them here, wont get them there". They continuously need to show growth. As you said, the strategy of focusing on Pro users worked. It's now time to focus on not so Pro users... those who don't need matte displays, 32gigs, fancy keyboards and much rather use a colorful touch bar than another row of buttons.

itake 6y ago

This is their 13" model. Their 15" model is targeted for professionals.

est31 6y ago
Both have a 16 GB limitation.
- TimothyBJacobs 6y ago
  They haven't announced a 15/16inch Apple Silicon Mac yet.
  - est31 6y ago
    Oh indeed. Disregard my comment then, I've mixed something up.
- symfoniq 6y ago
  There isn't a 16" MacBook Pro with Apple Silicon yet.
- jaykru 6y ago
  That's not true. The 16-inch model remains Intel and supports up to 64GB of memory.
greenpresident 6y ago
There is no 15" model anymore and the 16" model has not been announced with an M1 yet.
- ogre_codes 6y ago
  > ... 16" model has not been announced with an M1 yet. That's the point the above poster was making. This is Apple's first CPU, there is a reason Apple said the transition will take 2 years. More powerful CPUs with more RAM for the 16" MacBook, the iMac, and the Mac Pro lines will be coming later. Some of those CPUs will likely be available for the 13" and the Mini.
amatecha 6y ago
I mean, "Pro" is in the name, I expect Pro-level specs, haha :P
- capableweb 6y ago
  It was a long time ago MacBook Pro meant "MacBook for Professionals", as other makers have now equalized and sometimes even passed Apple when it comes to producing quality hardware for reasonable cost.
  - amatecha 6y ago
    Right, but the person I'm responding to says the 15" model is for professionals -- I argue the whole line of MacBook Pro is "for professionals" :)
    - nottorp 6y ago
      Nothing they launched now is for "professionals". The RAM is a joke.
  - saagarjha 6y ago
    Apple believes that there are different kinds of professionals. An artist that uses a lower-powered computer is still a professional, of course, just not a software engineer.

qppo 6y ago

My guess is the pros are going to be the tock to the consumer tick in the Apple silicon upgrade cycle. It takes months before pros are comfortable upgrading MacOS to begin with, and it will probably be a year or two before they're comfortable that pro software vendors have flushed out their bugs on the new architecture. Basically I'm guessing that no one who wants more than 16GB on their professional machine was going to upgrade on this cycle anyway. We'll see

capableweb 6y ago
Since about 2-3 years back, the film professionals I hang around with are all starting to dump Apple hardware in favor of PC workstations now, as they are tired of paying large amounts of money for something that can be had cheaper and with less restrictions. Especially when it comes to price vs quality for displays and hard drives that Apple sells. I think today's presentation is just confirming what we've known for a while, Apple is pivoting away from professionals.
- unicornfinder 6y ago
  Same thing in the audio engineering world. It’s crazy how quickly it’s pivoted from Mac to PC in such a short timeframe.
- wintermutestwin 6y ago
  While I use it for gaming, I cannot fathom anyone using Windows 10 professionally.
  - egsmi 6y ago
    I think it depends a lot on your job. I used to do a lot of Cadence Virtuoso work in Windows (now I've moved to Linux) but that fact that is was running on Windows only mattered once, when I setup the tool. From then on I was full screen in the CAD tool and my day to day was basically identical to my flow now. I imagine for a lot of professionals, like myself, it's the application suite that matters, not the OS.
  - 6y ago

vicnov 6y ago

Probably saturated market. "What got them here, wont get them there". They continuously need to show growth. As you said, the strategy of focusing on Pro users worked. It's now time to focus on not so Pro users... those who don't need matte displays, 32gigs, fancy keyboards and much rather use a colorful touch bar than another row of buttons.