This past Fall, there was a glaring omission in Apple’s refreshed product line. While the world got to see the new MacBook Pro with its Touch Bar, Apple’s desktop line never made an appearance. It’s nothing new, the Apple Mac Pro hasn’t been updated since 2013 and the Mac Mini last saw an update in 2014. However, what was surprising was that the company’s new signature desktop machine, the iMac, was left out of the refresh cycle this year.
Last year, the iMac got a 5K Retina option as well as the base 4K display. Considering that the line didn’t get a refresh, many felt that Apple was moving on from desktops to the more profitable and growing portable computer market. However, in a posting to an employee only messaging board, Tim Cook has stated that Apple’s interest in the desktop business isn’t dead.
“The desktop is very strategic for us. It’s unique compared to the notebook because you can pack a lot more performance in a desktop — the largest screens, the most memory and storage, a greater variety of I/O, and fastest performance. So there are many different reasons why desktops are really important, and in some cases critical, to people.
The current generation iMac is the best desktop we have ever made and its beautiful Retina 5K display is the best desktop display in the world.
Some folks in the media have raised the question about whether we’re committed to desktops. If there’s any doubt about that with our teams, let me be very clear: we have great desktops in our roadmap. Nobody should worry about that.”
– Tim Cook, CEO of Apple.
There is no mention as to what kind of Apple desktop PC we can expect, whether it’s a new Mac Mini, Mac Pro, iMac or all of them together. However, we can feel a bit more secure knowing that they’re on the way.
