64 JULY 2019
GRATED
TECHNOSPHEREApple
recently concluded its Worldwide Developers
Conference (WWDC) in San Jose, California.
This year’s show was immense and featured
insights into iOS 13, the new iPadOS, watchOS,
and tvOS. There was also some discussion
about mac OS and, more importantly, the
announcement of the new Mac Pro coming at
the end of the year.
The Mac Pro is one of those Apple products
that languished for years. The last update
was in 2013 for the cylindrical “trash can”
Mac Pro, an innovative design that was not
at all upgradeable. Various Pro users, or the
subset of Mac users that require powerful
workstations for video editing, animation,
programming and running 3D programs, have
been clamoring for Apple to create a modular
Mac Pro, something similar to the older
“cheese grater” Mac Pro desktops of the past.
Be careful what you ask for
Apple finally acquiesced and It seems they
took the “bring back the cheese grater”
requests to an extreme. The new Mac Pro
looks more like a cheese grater than even
the original desktop Mac Pro that inspired it.
I can’t help but feel the sarcasm in the way
it’s designed; it’s so flamboyant and in your
face. The 2019 Mac Pro looks like a kitchen
gadget—a giant cheese grater in chrome and
stainless steel.
Apple’s designers explain that the design
is necessary for expansion and for the
tremendous amount of airflow needed to cool
the various CPU and GPU components. There
are three large impeller fans and one giant
blower that circulate the air.Apple is also releasing a new 6K Retina
Display to accompany the Mac Pro. The
display is similarly styled, with the lattice-
grate pattern on the rear.As someone who has closely followed and
appreciated Apple design for its subtlety
and nuance, the new Mac Pro looks brutal
and unsettling. I don’t know if it is the lattice
design of holes or the shiny stainless steel
tubes that make up the handles, but the
new Mac Pro looks a little scary. Like the
performance it promises, the pricing of
the Mac Pro is off the charts and while it
will appeal to serious professional users
clamoring for a supercomputer, most users
will be satisfied with the iMac Pro or even a
decently upgraded iMac.For Mac users needing a future-proof,
expandable, and customizable option, then
the Mac Pro is built for that future.Capitulation
What was evident from the latest WWDC
and Apple’s announcements is the change in
Apple’s approach to products. The companyhas pivoted away from forcing products
they think customers will like (i.e. Apple TV,
HomePod), and is giving users the products
that they are asking for. This was evident
when they released the new Mac mini and
MacBook Air last year and the return of the
iPad Pro. With Apple seeking to maintain
sales and with the rate of iPhone adoption
plateauing, the company needs revenue
from other sources. Listening to customers
and giving them what they want or have
been asking for ensures goodwill as well
as profit from users looking to replace their
ageing devices.Same goes for iPadOS, which is a fork of iOS
designed to make Apple’s tablet a better
computer. Let’s face it, porting a smartphone
OS on a larger screen device is never a
good idea—the large space in between app
icons, the poor implementation of apps
designed for much smaller displays and for
use without a keyboard and a mouse. Like
it or not, computers need keyboard and
mouse support and iPad will be getting this
(albeit in Accessibility Mode for mice and
trackpads). This is a huge step forward. The
iPad will also be able to mount and interact
with external USB drives, which is a simple
feature that can greatly improve the user
experience on these devices and make them
work more like computers.The announcements at WWDC reflect Apple’s
increasing openness to listen to what users
want and give them what they are asking for.
And in the case of Mac Pro, Apple is once
more reclaiming the very high end of the
performance market and putting the rest of
the industry on notice..
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