The cruelest hardware lineup that Apple ever destroyed started with the MacPro6,1 ("trashcan" ~2013-2018), continued into the MacPro7,1 ($$$$$ and immediately d

The cruelest hardware lineup that Apple ever destroyed started with the MacPro6,1 ("trashcan" ~2013-2018), continued into the MacPro7,1 ($$$$$ and immediately depricated towards Silicon), then into the current MacPro disaster [as you describe]. Fortunately I was broke when the last Intels were being released, so didn't waste any money on them. The current MacMini lineup is absolutely incredible; even the entry-level $500 M4 is much faster than $10k Intels from five years ago.