'Unmitigated disaster': Longtime Apple fans feel forced to buy 'pathetic' and 'old' Macs from 2013
A loud contingent of these users are complaining that they are essentially being forced to buy the Mac Pro - a computer that hasn't been updated since 2013 - because it's the only Apple desktop that fits their needs.
One recent example: Chris Adamson, an author who writes books and guides about how to write apps for Apple devices. He wrote a blog post on Tuesday titled "Capitulation" in which he discusses his decision to pay thousands of dollars for the 1000-day-old Mac Pro.
And Apple defenders like John Gruber think he made a reasonable decision. In 2013, Apple launched a high-end, $3000 Mac Pro. It replaced an older tower model to which users could add more RAM, newer video cards, and better components. The 2013 Mac Pro turned heads with a sleek and curvy design, but the good looks came at the expense of customization: Unlike earlier models, the 2013 Mac Pro does not allow users to upgrade the system by swapping in newer components (other than extra memory).
To make matter worse, Apple hasn't updated the model has since 2013 - leaving Pro users in a tough spot.
They need the expensive "pro" model for performance, but the only version of the machine that Apple currently offers is running 4-year-old chips.
Adamson writes:
I think my needs, for development and especially for video work (Motion and Wirecast, mainly) are best served
I'd been catching up financially for a while, and finally had a $4,000-5,000 budget to work with. What made finally pull the trigger, ironically, was [Apple CEO] Tim Cook's ham-fisted, half-assed claim that desktop Macs remain strategically important to Apple.
He's not the only computing professional suddenly faced with the undesirable choice of purchasing an essentially obsolete desktop or an Apple all-in-one that doesn't meet their needs.
A lack of focus
When Apple launched the Mac Pro in 2013, Apple's head of marketing Phil Schiller famously introduced the computer with the line, "can't innovate anymore, my ass."
But since then, the model, lovingly nicknamed the "Trash Can," has not received a single revision - even just to update the chips inside it and keep it current.
Gruber wrote on Tuesday, in response to a different complaining Apple fan post, that "'What the hell happened with the Mac Pro?' is the most interesting question about Apple today."
Gruber, one of the most tapped-in Apple bloggers, writes about the Mac Pro:
Because something clearly went way wrong with this product. I'm not convinced the basic idea for the design is unsound - the idea is that expansion would come in the form of external peripherals, rather than things you install inside the box. I still think that's probably the future of "expandable" computing.
If Apple had updated the Mac Pro on a roughly annual basis, we wouldn't be calling this a disaster. I'm sure there would still be people who would wish that Apple had stuck with the traditional tower form factor, but we wouldn't all be saying "What the f---?"
According to Gruber, Apple seems poised to redesign the pro-level computer, because it hasn't updated it and because the price remains the same as it was in 2013 - starting at $3000 - suggesting Apple hasn't yet abandoned the line.
But regardless, Apple's strategy is putting pro users in a tough spot. "Whatever the explanation is, this situation is an unmitigated disaster," Gruber concludes.
The Mac Pro is one of Apple's lowest-volume product, but it remains strategically important, especially for the armies of Apple developers who want professional workstations to develop apps for iPhones and iPads. Apple requires software for its smartphones to be built on its laptops and desktops
The Mac Pro is assembled in Texas, a decision that was made as a way to score political points.
Bloomberg reported in December that discussions inside Apple about the next-generation Mac Pro included some employees suggesting moving production back to Asia.
Regardless of what Apple eventually does with its pro lineup - some suggest that CEO Tim Cook's recent leaked comments mean the new highest-end Mac is the iMac - some of Apple's longest and most dedicated evangelists are starting to become unhappy.
Those evangelists are likely to slowly simmer until Apple launches new Mac desktops - what Apple eventually launches will determine whether thier anger spills over into a boil.