By now it is clear that Apple will introduce the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus at today’s Apple September event inside San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. That’s great news—but not the news that the Mac faithful are anxious about.
The Archival of Mac Pro Support Pages—What Does That Mean?
This has been the longest stretch in history without any update to a product line that Apple sells currently in its stores. We are talking about the Mac Pro. Yesterday, AppleInsider broke an interesting story adding another layer of intrigue to the fate of the Mac Pro.
Apple has moved some of its support pages for the 2013 Mac Pro to the archives. Yes—to the Archives!
The timing of all of this possibly suggest that Apple may introduce a major update to the Mac Pro today or perhaps discontinue the current form factor model and introduce an all-new Mac computer aimed at its loyal professional users. If the latter course takes place—and we are not betting either way—don’t be surprised if Apple introduced a new “pro” version of the iMac.
02 – A top-down view of Apple’s Mac Pro. Partially maligned, the new workstation class machine is still hoped for within the industry and just needs some attention and love from Apple’s best and brightest.
Why? Because our research suggests that not only have pros being using the iMac line since the Intel i7 quad core model shipped several years ago due to its performance per dollar, but there are more Mac Pros who don’t need all the expansion bells and whistles that quite a few Mac Pros lament about the current Mac Pro not being able to handle sufficiently. Apple may instead deal with those types of Mac Pros differently through a range of expansion options handled through all new Apple monitors and the latest Thunderbolt technology.
Making Technology Dollars Stretch
For example, if Mac Pros need access to large-format discreet GPU cards, there are companies today making such external GPU enclosures for the Windows market. Why is such an idea not workable for Mac Pros as well?
MORE: Could Apple Release One Of These—External GPU Enclosure Anybody?
In fact, there is something truly enticing about such flexibility—in an era where the average user now must contend with the cost of updating a smartphone, plus a tablet, and then a computer or two, the economic reality of this context means that companies like Apple must recognize this new reality and plan its product development accordingly. Allowing us to partially update the performance of our Macs this way goes a long way to understanding customer realities.
The Big Mac Update
The rumor mill has suggested that Apple’s big Mac update is coming in October. There have also been suggestions it may come in two parts with one part in Q1 2017. But we know now that Apple can get its hands on earlier-than-expected delivery of Intel’s new Kaby Lake microprocessors which means that Apple could introduce new Mac kit today.
What could be on tap? Well—just about everything in the product line is now long-in-the-tooth and in need of an updating. While the Mac Pro is the most salient machine in need of direct attention, a new Macbook Pro is arguably the machine we may possibly see today alongside the new iPhone 7’s…if any Macs do show up to the party.