Let’s be consistent. You can’t put the mini at $699 – it doesn’t come with a monitor either. So if you’re going with that evaluation, the Mac line really starts at $1099 (mini plus inexpensive monitor).
And I want to questions the unexamined assumption that there has to be a separate model for each space. Breaking down the price range for each desktop (bare bones to fully-hardware maxed – I just went to the Apple store and selected all the max hardware choices), it looks like this:
Mini: $699 to $1799
iMac 24: $1299 to $2658
Studio: $1999 to $7999
Pro: $5999 to $54,448
A couple of points:
Lots of overlap there
In fact, the iMac 24 peters out just at the moment when a Studio + inexpensive monitor starts to show up (ie, $2400 and up range)
I’m pretty all the cars I’ve ever purchased combined came in at a lower price than the fully kitted out Mac Pro. Whew.
That’s certainly correct, but I don’t see where the supposed inconsistency lies.
Nobody ever argued you could get the full package starting $699. In fact, we know any package (apart from the iMac) will also likely require another ~$200 for KB/mouse and we just ignore that for sake of keeping the argument simple.
No, the point was that no matter if you go for 24" iMac or for a mini plus cheap display, you end up around $1200 whereas the low-end Studio plus any cheapo 4K is going to run you $2399. That is the gap Moren is talking about and I think it’s a valid point.
Now you might argue, well the previous 27" iMac was also about $2399. And while true that negates that the 27" iMac came with a great 5K display, whereas that $2399 Mac Studio bundle will come with a junk display. OTOH if you add a good 5K display (i.e. the Apple StudioDisplay) to that Mac Studio you are now looking at $3700 at the very least. That is far beyond previous 27" iMac territory.
Now sure, the new display is awesome and the Mac Studio will blow any 27" iMac out of the water no doubt, but the point is not really value here, it’s that there just is nothing left for the prosumer on the Mac desktop right now below $4k. And that used to be different. Don’t get me wrong, this is not the end of the world and the new kit is awesome sweetness, but this gap is real and deserves to be acknowledged, at least until Apple closes it, hopefully as soon as WWDC. :)
The rest of my point stands though – you’re assuming that there has to be a model in every space, and Apple is filling a large part of those spaces with configurations:
Of course you can make a mini $1800 by spec’ing it out with a large disk and RAM and 10G Ethernet, but that doesn’t change that you still can’t have a desktop setup with support for 32 GB RAM or two displays below $2399. Indeed, as you say, you can spec up all these machines, but the point is you can’t spec down a Studio to get it to ~$1400.
I think @ace essentially makes the same point in his latest piece. If you get a Mac Studio with Studio Display combo, you’re essentially laying out $500-$700 more than you would have with the 27" iMac. Of course the Studio is better and a separate screen is advantageous to most, but that doesn’t really do anything for the buyer who just doesn’t have those $500-$700 left.
For me personally, I’m surprised at how expensive my ideal setups have become.
Portable: 14" Pro 10/16/16 32/1TB $2899 + $1999 Studio Display → $4898
Desktop: Max Studio 10/24/16 32/1TB $2199 + $1999 Studio Display → $4198
Yikes. Good thing there’s Apple stock in my retirement portfolio.
The discussion is all in what you prioritize. In the $1000-$2300 range, you can get a fully-specced out mini, a midrange iMac 24, or a barebones Studio. I get that they don’t have all the features you think are critical, but that’s kind of what happens when you spend less money.
It appears that Apple Genius Bars and authorized repair shops will be able to change the stand on a Studio Display (for a fee, of course). The article linked below was updated to reflect that.
The ultimate point after all this analysis, is that there is a slot for a Mini (M1 or M2) with the Pro chip, given this slot remains empty for the Pro chip in the desktop range (vs. the laptop range; obviously laptops cannot contain the Ultimate chip’s cooling):
Mini (Plain), $0.7K+ Mini (Pro), $1.2K+ <====== HERE
Studio (Max), $2K+
Studio (Ultimate), $4K+
Then no doubt Apple will effectively do the super-pro offerings, maybe something like:
Mac Pro (Ultimate Dual), $8K+ — two Ultimate chips.
Mac Pro (Ultimate Octo), $16K+ — two Ultimate Dual chips (two stacked somehow for best option).
And those are the starting prices on the MP’s, so clearly they’ll have massive extras to bump that price:
memory upto: 256GB Dual / 512GB Octo
storage upto: 16TB SSD (maybe more) + HDD space
ports: eight TBolt + dual 40 GbE + others (many TB’s needed to handle upto six XDR’s)*
[* For the handful of commercial buyers who would likely afford such a setup, lol!]
Given the stand may seemingly be upgradable somehow, I’m interested in seeing whether the Nano option is any good on these early reviews. (I have decent blinds, but it’d still be interesting to know! ;-) )
There’s been attention given to the consumer, proconsumer, and professional in the Mac Studio discussions. But there are many businesses using the 27" iMac Intel both at the counter and behind the counter and deploying these because of the large screen size, appearance and serviceability. I do not think that businesses will be interested in purchasing the separate component style Display and Mac Studio for obvious reasons.
I guess businesses can keep purchasing the 27" iMac Intel or go to the smaller 24" iMac. Business would need to have some assurances that the 27" iMac Intel would continue to be supported by OS and security upgrades.
Apple has always been a bit blind, irregular and missing when it comes to businesses use of its desktop products. The neglect by Apple to have a 27" M1 Max desktop is symptomatic.
So then tell us, what does an AIO at a counter do where the extra 3" is critical? I get that more is always more, but what specifically at a counter AIO can you not do at 24"?
I think Apple’s absolutely going to do a higher end Mac mini (they’re still selling the high end Intel mini so there’s clearly demand). That backs up my point that they’re filling slots with configurations rather than new models.
Maybe a receptionist who wants larger windows and/or doesn’t want to have to flick between them, but rather see them all at the same time. Even three app windows can fill a screen if you have each with a fair amount of info shown at a time…
eg. Fanstatical has a three-month overview that’s good for seeking available appointment spots, which can take a fair amount of screen real estate. Many use Finder windows in list view with large directories to see various data content considerations or look inside many folders concurrently. Others want two Mail windows so they can work in the inbox, while looking in or filing to another folder/mailbox, instead of having to continually flick between them. Lots of reasons for multi-windows even for basic users, often for basic observation tasks.
EDIT: I should also add that in some places the new colour 24" iMacs may not be seen as “businesslike” in looks by bosses, so they prefer the more constrained looks of the bigger machines. But TBH, I think a Mini with the Studio Display would cover that now though, and might even be easier long term, as you can replace the Mini for a new one, or if one needs fixing, take it to a service centre a lot easier than a whole iMac of any size, lol!
But sure, as ever, some may still prefer the sleek AIO-ness of the iMacs.
When I think about computers behind counters in businesses, it’s really unusual to see Macs at all, and the third-party monitors I see (since I can’t really tell much about the computer) are generally pretty small. 27-inch is unusual, which leads me to believe that most businesses aren’t spending much on those machines. To an extent, I think it’s also helpful that they’re not too big, since they often sit between the counter person and the customer and there’s often paperwork and other stuff that needs desk space.
So if a business does want to go all Apple, the 24-inch iMac seems pretty perfect to me. It’s cheap, plenty powerful, and comes in silver for those businesses (ie, not art galleries or architectural firms) that would feel colors are unprofessional. But of course, if there is a need to go all Apple and large-screen, the Studio Display and Mac mini is the next step up from the 24-inch iMac. Definitely more expensive than the low-end 27-inch iMac and the 24-inch iMac, but that’s today’s tradeoff.
I’m evaluating the new Studio Display. I retired in 2020 during the pandemic. As a former professor, retirement means continuing to write, just doing it at home (and the pandemic sealed that deal). I was always a high end laptop guy. During the pandemic I bought an HP monitor and used it with my MBP. When the M1 Mac mini came out, I realized I could switch entirely to desktop. My son is a graphic designer, and I often hand down my computers to him when I buy a new one.
The HP 27" is good. I bought a Logitech video cam because my writing and research now involves Zoom meetings with people from around the world. I also bought some cheap Creative speakers. Not great, but cheap.
Now I’m looking at the Studio Display. My 75 year old eyes can use the best display possible, and I spend hours a day writing. The video cam is certainly better, speakers probably light years better (I also listen to music sometimes while I write). Maybe it’s just me being decadent, but I’m seriously thinking of buying the Studio Display. I would again hand down the LP display to my son.
So, my (self-indulgent, probably) reasoning is: better display for my eyes, better cam for the many zoom sessions, way better speakers, less cable clutter.
No need for the Mac Studio, my writing and graphic work (I design diagrams and a lot of photo-based figures for my publications) don’t require that much horsepower. Self-indulgence does have a limit.
Had one of the two old 2013 vintage 27" monitors fail that are connected to my 2013 MacPro (128GB ram and 2TB SSD from OWC). The OWC SSD does not allow me to upgrade to latest MacOS so original Apple 1TB has to be installed so Apple can block the firmware to limit it to version 12 of the OS. Then reinstall 2TB SSD.
Then this event happened.
Ordered a new Apple 27" monitor and a mini Ultra with 128GB of Ram and a 4TB SSD. Will try to see old monitor with an adapter until resources allow for a se4cond new one.
Studio Display review from The Verge. Sounds like the webcam needs an update to work properly, which is both surprising and a big deal. Personally, I’m not stressed about the lack of variable refresh rate or local dimming.
