After teasing that a new Mac Pro was in the works back in 2017, Apple convened another reporter roundtable to clear up any misconceptions about the timeline — and to illustrate just what we should expect from the new and improved Mac Pro. First off, it’s not coming in 2018. Speaking with TechCrunch, Apple was quick to point out that the Mac Pro is a 2019 product.
To wait or not to wait
“We know that there’s a lot of customers today that are making purchase decisions on the iMac Pro and whether or not they should wait for the Mac Pro,” Apple’s Tom Boger told TechCrunch. “We want to be transparent and communicate openly with our pro community so we want them to know that the Mac Pro is a 2019 product.”
Apple’s reason for coming clean about the timeline is a simple one: the iMac Pro just came out and its professional customers are no doubt eyeballing the powerful — if expensive — all-in-one as a replacement for aging Mac Pro hardware. This year’s roundtable discussion of the upcoming Mac Pro was all about assuaging fears Apple’s professional customers might have about the product, and about its future.
“We recognize that they want to hear more from us. And so we want to communicate better with them. We want them to understand the importance they have for us,” Apple’s Phil Schiller said. “We want them to understand that we’re investing in new Macs — not only new MacBook Pros and iMacs but Mac Pros for them, we want them to know we are going to work on a display for a modular system.”
Creative control
The new Mac Pro will be built around the needs of its users, the company claims. Apple reportedly paid close attention to how people actually used the Mac Pro in order to develop the next generation of the high-end computer. In fact, Apple even went as far as hiring a number of creative professionals in order to watch how they interact with Apple hardware.
“Apple decided to go a step further and just begin hiring these creatives directly into Apple. Some of them on a contract basis but many full-time as well. These are award-winning artists and technicians that are brought in to shoot real projects,” TechCrunch reported.
This level of attention to detail is what Mac users expect from Apple and it’s refreshing to see the company devote massive amounts of time and energy toward understanding how its customers use its pro-grade products, in order to tailor them to user demands.
Need an Apple fix now? Don’t despair: Apple sells great MacBooks today, the company just launched a new iPad, and it plans to release as many as three new Macs with custom, Apple guts in 2018.
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