Many Mac loyalists have found themselves growing increasingly disappointed in Apple’s lack of direction for its desktops. However, CEO Tim Cook has now said that “nobody should be worried” about the future of the Mac, as the company apparently has new desktops on its roadmap.
In comments posted to Apple’s employee message board, Cook addressed the concerns surrounding the future of the Mac, with many believing that the product line may eventually be brought to an end as a result of an increasing focus upon portables. Cook insisted that this would not be the case, writing: “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.”
Cook also touched upon why Apple would continue to invest in the Mac, writing: “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.” He added: “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.”
The Mac line has received a notable lack of upgrades over the past few years. The Mac Pro hasn’t received a new model since 2013, while the Mac Mini hasn’t been updated since 2014. Meanwhile, Microsoft debuted its Surface Studio this year to a very positive response, with the manufacturer also claiming that the Macbook Pro’s underwhelming launch had seen a boost to the number of users who had switched to its Surface laptops.
There’s no word yet on how Apple plans to revitalize the Mac, nor when we can expect the company’s next desktop to be unveiled. With Apple having reportedly dumped its dedicated Mac operating system team in favor of firmly focusing upon iOS, we remain sceptical that the tech giant will see fit to reprioritize its efforts and push for the Mac to reach its previous level of popularity. With the emphasis of the company having firmly shifted to portables and services, can the next Mac — whatever it may be — live up to the expectations of those who have been begging for an upgrade?
