Apple Envisioned New Mac Pro's 'Cheese Grater' Design Years Ago

by

Following the reveal of its much-anticipated Mac Pro redesign at WWDC 2019 on Monday, a handful of reporters met with Apple's marketing chief Phil Schiller and other executives to learn a bit more about the powerhouse machine.

mac pro 2019 verge

Apple's all-new Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR via The Verge

Ina Fried of Axios has provided a few key takeaways from the conversation:

  • Apple's vision for the new ‌Mac Pro‌'s design changed some and it took somewhat longer than it was anticipating.

  • The circular cutouts on the front and back of the new ‌Mac Pro‌ are made by machining out spheres from the solid aluminum chassis. This particular aspect of the design was floating around in Apple's design labs before the new ‌Mac Pro‌ was even on its roadmap.

  • For those who missed the news, Apple is planning a rack-mounted version of the ‌Mac Pro‌ with a different chassis appropriate for a data center. Apple says this version will be available in the fall.

  • The new Pro Display XDR was "front and center" to Apple and is designed to rival so-called reference monitors that can cost over $10,000.

Other tidbits may surface from other reporters who attended this press briefing, in which case we'll update this post.

Related Roundup: Mac Pro
Buyer's Guide: Mac Pro (Caution)
Related Forum: Mac Pro

Top Rated Comments

MacFather Avatar
MacFather
28 months ago
Deleted.
Score: 164 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Saipher Avatar
Saipher
28 months ago
I think it’s a beautiful machine.
Score: 53 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iSuitUp Avatar
iSuitUp
28 months ago
Just for reference, this is the sort of monitors the new Apple Pro Display XDR is set to compete with:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1403557-REG/tvlogic_lum_318g_31_1_true_4k_monitor_4096x2160_10.html

They will sell these to entertainment studios mainly and these won't care about having to pay for a stand for $999, they will probably get the VESA adapter or maybe even get custom adapters to fit exactly what they need so the all outrage about the stand price is ridiculous when you put things in context.

It's like Sunday drivers feeking outraged at the price price of Formula 1 tyres as if they could use the Formula 1 to its full potential in the first place.
Score: 50 Votes (Like | Disagree)
trusso Avatar
trusso
28 months ago
Nope, not with those ports on the front.
Yes, exactly with those ports on the front. :rolleyes:
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
keysofanxiety
28 months ago
This design is over 15 years old and still looks better...

How odd! Before you were complaining about form over function. Now they're giving function over form. The new MP has much better cooling than the 2012. Surely that's important for a real Pro ;)

Mac designs developed under clueless Tim Cook's leadership: 2013 Mac Pro, 2015 MacBook, 2016 MacBook Pro. Form over function. Greed, arrogance and fashion.
Just goes to show where your priorities are: rather than actually wanting Apple to release a product you need or are going to buy, you're just going to find something to complain about instead.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dominiongamma Avatar
dominiongamma
28 months ago
This design is over 15 years old and still looks better...

Classic design that still hold up pretty well
[doublepost=1559664396][/doublepost]
Let the past die.
This design is so much better then hot mess that was shown yesterday
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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