MacQuadra840av

commentzilla said:

j2fusion said:

Or, it could be because of an upcoming patent dispute. I cannot see any other reason why they would want to remove it since it works so well.  

With Intel? Seems odd.

Other sites have more information: 

Back in 2017, when Microsoft began work on Windows 10 for ARM, the company announced x86 app emulation just like Apple. However, Intel threatened Microsoft by claiming that the x86 architecture has proprietary technologies and could not be emulated on other processors without permission.

Although Windows 10 ARM was capable of emulating 32-bit apps from the x86 architecture, 64-bit app emulation was only recently added in an Insider Preview build — which could be related to Intel’s patents. Apple could be getting ready to face a similar dispute with its Rosetta 2 technology.

crowley said:

elijahg said:

michelb76 said:

elijahg said:

Smaller (cheaper) Mac Pro might be the fabled xMac??! We can but dream...

Who said cheaper? One can only hope this is going to be better priced than a hackintosh.

I might be wrong, but I would hope even Apple doesn’t have the gall to charge the same price for the full size Mac Pro as the Mac Mini Pro. 

Wasn't that basically the reason the G4 Cube failed, that it was basically the same price as the PowerMac G4, with no benefits other that a pretty design?

The Power Mac G4 Cube was $200 more than the faster and more expandable Power Mac G4 that was released at the same time.  That is why it failed.  Cost more, did less.

Anything M1 related is low end for Apple.  Any iteration of the M1 would be for improved models of the existing low end 13-inch MacBook Pro, Air, or mini.  The M1 might have 3x the performance of the low end models they replaced, but it is embarrassing that the Intel models offered more memory, more storage, and more features (like multiple external 4K monitors and eGPU support).  I would bet a small percentage of people bought into the M1 Macs just to try them out, but the majority are waiting for much better offerings, hopefully with 4 ports, more memory, more storage, and more features.  Not some stripped down models with less features.

Imagine the horrible reviews they would get with an M1 iMac that only offered 16GB of RAM, 2TB storage, no dedicated graphics, and only two USB-C ports.  Unfortunately, the writing is on the wall...and the next iMac to replace the 27" model will not have user upgradable memory or user upgradable storage.  We will be forced to pay Apple's outrageous prices for memory and storage.  The downside of everything residing on the silicon, including storage, means that if the chip fails, everything is gone and unrecoverable.  

We will see what Apple comes out with next, but it better be a big improvement over the M1 chip and the 'baby' Macs that Apple released.

aderutter said:

SD card slot would be a backwards move that I can’t see Apple taking.

Just like Apple going backwards and re-introducing the scissor mechanism keyboard to replace the failed butterfly keyboard?  The Touchbar is a failure.  Removing the Touchbar also helps reduce the cost of the product.

rcfa said:

TouchBar forever!

As long as there’s a physical ESC key...

Pro Cameras have WiFi built in, and even if not, transferring pictures is done rarely, easily done with a tumbdrive-style adapter. Why waste space on a dedicated slot?

The touchbar has always been a joke.  Good riddance.  How do you know transferring pictures is done rarely?  I am sure photographers do it daily.  The SD slot in prior MacBooks did not take up any space that affected the use of the MacBook.  My 2015 MacBook Pro has MagSafe, Thunderbolt, USB, Audio Out, HDMI, and an SD slot.  None of those ports waste space.  I also don't need dongles.