Apple’s latest Mac Pro, unveiled at the Worldwide Developers Conference, is targeted towards professionals in industries such as audio engineering, color grading, video transcoding, code compiling, animation, compositing 8K scenes, 3D rendering, and data analysis. However, after testing the machine and speaking with professionals in these fields, it seems that many of them are not interested in purchasing the Mac Pro. This is not because the Mac Pro is a bad device, but rather because Apple’s other computers, particularly its laptops, have improved significantly.
Zach Passero, an editor, animator, and visual effects artist, has been a loyal Mac Pro user for over a decade. He was skeptical when the M1 Max chip was announced but found that the 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Max performed just as well as his older desktop. Passero still loves the Mac Pro but can’t justify buying the new one when his laptop is so capable. Vikram Bodicherla, a staff privacy engineer at WhatsApp, also switched to the MacBook Pro with the M1 Max and finds that it meets all his needs. Kevin Ford, a documentary filmmaker, switched to the MacBook Pro with the M2 Max and finds that it can handle all his editing, color correction, and graphics needs, even while traveling.
The release of the Mac Studio, a smaller and less expensive version of the Mac Pro with similar performance, further complicates the decision for professionals. The Mac Pro offers powerful performance but lacks modularity compared to previous models. The new Mac Studio offers similar performance in a more compact chassis and at a lower price point. The primary advantage of the Mac Pro over the Mac Studio is its PCIe expansion slots, which allow for additional storage, IO, or peripherals. However, the lack of support for external GPUs limits the usefulness of these slots for graphic professionals.
Many professionals find that the performance and capabilities of their laptops, such as the MacBook Pro with M-series chips, meet their needs without the need for additional expansion or modularity. The Mac Pro’s expandability is no longer a major selling point for them. The double ethernet port on the Mac Pro is seen as a useful feature for certain scenarios, but not a necessity for most professionals. Additional storage is also not a major concern, as professionals rarely hit the storage limit, even with large amounts of data and code on their computers.
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Overall, while the Mac Pro offers impressive performance, many professionals in industries targeted by Apple see no need to invest in the machine when their laptops are already capable of handling their workloads. The price difference between the Mac Pro and the Mac Studio, as well as the lack of significant advantages in terms of expandability and storage, make the Mac Pro a less appealing option for these professionals.
