The new iMac Pro is amazing, but you shouldn’t buy it
How the once ingenious Apple has stopped innovating
Apple has stopped innovating. What was once a shining beacon of design and industry-defining ideas has been reduced to an unimaginative corporation.
That’s not to say Apple devices are not made well. Their phones don’t explode like Samsung’s, and their computers are of the highest quality. Yet all of Apple’s products end up being overhyped, impractical and overpriced.
At its Worldwide Developers Conference this year, Apple announced two new MacBooks and the redundant Homepod speaker (a discussion for another time). And then the bomb dropped, or rather, the Apple fell from the tree.
The iMac Pro. A sleek all-in-one tool boasting a 5k screen and the promise of a minimalistic workstation. Unlike previous Apple computers, the iMac Pro is full of industry-leading hardware, unavailable to the average PC enthusiast.
Here’s a quick run down:
- CPU: Intel Xeon up to 18 cores
- RAM: up to 128GB
- Graphics: new Radeon Pro Vega GPU allowing for 1 billion colors
- Ports: SD card slot, headphone-jack, four USB 3.0, four USB-C and a 10GbE ethernet port
All these components make the iMac Pro the most powerful Apple computer ever made.
So, what does this mean for you and me?
Should you go and buy an iMac Pro right away? Not quite, for three reasons:
- It’s not available until December.
- It starts at $6,750 for the lowest end model.
and
3. Despite all its high-end tech, the iMac Pro is a redundant product.
Why looks can be deceiving
It may seem like I’ve contradicted myself. I previously claimed that Apple lacks innovation and is creating impractical computers. Yet here they are, having just released this magnificent beast of a machine. But looks can be deceiving.
Let’s break down the reasons why not to buy the iMac Pro:
1. It’s coming out in December. The tech industry moves at a feverish pace, and releasing the iMac Pro in December is too late. Not only is this going to give competitors a chance to produce and distribute similar devices, but it also reduces the iMac Pro’s novelty.
2. The price. For comparison, here are some PC options that compete with the lowest- and highest-end iMac Pros:
With the LG Ultrafine 5k monitor included, the total price for the low-end PC equivalent comes to a similar cost of the base iMac Pro at $4528.09, and the high-end equivalent at a whopping $12,304.
While the iMac Pro might seem like a good deal (especially considering it comes with a keyboard and mouse), let me share my third point:
3. Lack of modularity and upgradeability.
The ridiculously powerful features of the iMac Pro can only be used to their full capacity by professional video editors and people working with VR who need high-end, high-performance software.
The people who need computers like the iMac Pro also need the ability to change out parts when needed to keep up with hardware developments. This is why the iMac Pro is redundant.
People who only require aesthetic machines are not the ones who need the super powered iMac Pro.
And this leads me to my main point…
How Apple has stopped innovating
The iMacPro is a money-grabbing scheme by Apple wrapped in a sleek matte black aluminum frame. The device showcases Apple’s refusal to innovate (which began earlier with its removal of the headphone jack) by simultaneously managing to be un-upgradeable, overpriced, and on a release schedule that falls short of competitors in the market who are already putting out powerful and high quality machines.
Who is the iMac Pro for then?
Those with money to spend, a love for the newest thing, and people too impatient to wait for the modular Mac Pro.
The new iMac Pro looks great, and I’d love to play around with it if I had the chance. Would I buy one? No. But if I was offered one for free, I wouldn’t say no.
