Apple already sells a 27" 5K display. It costs $1799 and comes for free with an extra Intel CPU, a Radeon, and 8/256. You’d think if they removed the Intel/Radeon circuitry, RAM, and disk, you should get close to those $1000. 
1 Like
OK, so the Mac Studio is rumored to be this really fat Mac mini. If that is indeed true, judging by the size of that thing, you really have to assume it was designed to handle far more than just one M1 Max.
1 Like
Assuming this rumor is true, I hope there’s something in there to warrant a taller case and not just an extra-big heat sink. Some things that would be nice include:
-
RAM expansion. A few SO-SIMM sockets so you can go beyond what’s built-in to the SoC.
-
Storage expansion. In addition to the built-in storage, a few M.2 slots for additional NVMe storage.
-
A mount-point and SATA connector for a 2.5" or 3.5" drive would be especially nice, but I don’t think that will happen.
For most of us, a hard drive is the only affordable way to get truly huge amounts of storage (think 4TB and more), and that pretty much means a 3.5" drive with a SATA or SAS connection. But I think Apple is going to continue making us use external drives for this.
-
One or two PCIe expansion slots, in order to support GPU expansion or peripherals that you can’t really get in Thunderbolt form (e.g. SCSI or FibreChannel interfaces for high-speed external storage or networking faster than 10Gbit/s).
I think one slot for GPU expansion is a possibility, but other kinds of peripherals are not anything on Apple’s roadmap. But once you’ve got a slot, hopefully Apple won’t try to micro-manage what people are allowed to plug into it.
Of course, there’s no possible way to put all of these in a case like that at once. I’m presenting a laundry list of features, not a product spec.
I’m starting to wonder if this Mac Studio is perhaps the new Mac Pro. It’s clearly geared towards much more cooling that we have seen so far for even the M1 Max. It’s also got more internal room, perhaps for extra memory or flash? Perhaps for PCIe? Or multiple CPUs? I’m starting to think there might not be an M1/2 in a Mac Pro enclosure at all.
On a related note, I really hope those display renderings are not accurate. Looks like no height or swivel adjustment, let alone rotation.
Seriously? This $2.5B company must have at least one mechanical engineer hidden away somewhere who could evolve the case design beyond what was essentially developed 23 years ago for the Cinema Display.
1 Like
Or perhaps the Mac Studio is the new iMac Pro. Makes sense for a pro Mac not to be limited by tight thermals or limited ports due to excessive thinness.
Perhaps, in an Apple Silicon world this is the way the new iMac plays out. The 24" is the iMac and it’s geared towards consumers, home users, and edu — just like the original iMac. OTOH people looking for pro gear (and not willing to shell out $12k for the MP/XDR combo, IOW the “pro” majority) get a Mac Studio and a Studio Display.
Only a few hours to go…
Definitely interesting option to consider. But I do wonder. The Desktop market is the smaller (by far) end of the Mac market. A souped up Mini, yes I can see that. If we get a Studio… I’d be betting that the Pro will die again.
Ah I see Simon makes effectively the same point.
Sadly, it appears that the extra-tall case is just for fans and heat-sinks. The Studio is a really powerful computer and at a fairly reasonable price for the power, but like all other Macs, has zero in terms of internal system expansion.
Looking forward to the iFixit teardown.
Looks like the Studio is indeed at the same time the high-end Mac mini (M1 Max version) and the Mac Pro ( M1 Ultra version). I’m not surprised by the lack of internal expansion. Nothing we’ve seen so far on the Max/Pro front indicated we’d be getting any of that back. Perhaps with M2, but I’m certainly not holding my breath.
To me the big question now is if we’re getting a 27" iMac Pro and what that will look like. At $1999 plus $1599 for the screen, the $3600 Studio setup still leaves quite some room to the 24" iMac, but of course not quite as much to the old 27" iMac Pro at $4999 or even the $5999 Mac Pro.
I also wonder if we’ll see an M1 Pro Mac mini.
It sounds like we still have a Mac Pro to come. We have the M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and now the M1 Ultra. Maybe the Mac Pro will have an Mx UltraPro and UltraMax?
Yes! That was a good guess!
Swivel, yes. Height for $400 more. I guess you have to rotate the base to rotate, though.
I wonder if it could come with something like dual Ultras. I don’t see socketed/exchangeable RAM or flash. Apple never seemed to like internal storage bays or PCIe (proposing external TB instead). I really wonder what else they’d do with that huge case. OTOH, reduce that case to account for no slots or bays and you’re essentially where the Studio is now. Exciting times. :)
Yeah, leave it to Apple to make a minor **** move even with such a great product. A $400 stand just to get height adjustment and yet you still can’t swivel or rotate. For Pete’s sakes, my plastic $650 Dell 4K display has better ergonomics. Really Apple, you used ot be at the absolute forefront of ergonomic design. What gives?
(And no, VESA mount is not an excuse.)
I can see that height should be included…but swiveling the monitor…well, I can’t remember the last time I even wanted to do that. It sits in front of the user…and swiveling it aims it not t the user.
Apple said that there was one more computer to transition and it was the Mac Pro at the end of the announcements, so my guess is the iMac Pro is done for. So is the 27 inch iMac, I would guess, since they can’t be offering a studio + 27 in display for $3600 and having a 27 inch all in one for (probably) 1500 less and roughly comparable specs. I can see a 30 inch iMac starting at 3K?
Not saying there might not be a market for a 27" iMac, but ask yourself why would you need a 27" iMac after seeing this? Especially since you can reuse the Apple Studio monitor (with all of its goodies including the mics, speaker system and the camera) on the next model or purchase/reuse any monitor you’d like.
In the workplace people often need to briefly show something to a colleague. That’s when you swivel over the screen.
It somebody needs a basic 27” iMac, you can essentially do that now with the studio monitor and a Mac mini. If they ever do the mini with an Mx Pro option, that would give some more flexibility as well.
Because a 27 inch screen with an M1 Mac (ie the current 27 in iMac with Apple Silicon) for circa $2500 is essentially the same as a base Studio plus display but more than a thousand dollars cheaper?
Don’t underestimate the lowly M1 Mini. I run a M1 Mini with 8GB memory and a 256GB SSD/ with a 36" LG monitor that I repurposed. It’s more than adequate performance and I don’t really tax the memory. A 16 GB and 512GB model would be even sweeter.
I like the addition of the Mac Studio, though…
1 Like
No, you’re right. It look like they pretty much stuck a fork into the 27" iMac (Pro).
Personally, I’m good with that. I always considered an AIO a more consumer type device for people looking for a simple self-contained package with no fuss. The 24" M1 iMac is that.
People who need power, or lots of I/O, or big screens, are IMHO better off with a Studio. And as you say, for Apple it’s far nicer to sell people a $3600 package rather than a $1799 package.
I guess what I wonder now is what the typical ~$2k iMac buyer is now going to do. Without a higher-end Mac mini, there is a hole in the lineup there.
1 Like