I am very excited that finally after 6 years of neglect, you have decided to give to the professional community what they wanted - a customizable, expandable, (hopefully) properly cooled professional workstation.
It can go up to 4 GPUs, 1.5TB RAM, 28 Xeon cores and has 8 PCIe 16x slots for expansion. Wonderful stuff. However...
WTF Apple?
Why does the base model cost USD 5,999 when having these specifications:
A 2013 Mac Pro with the same specifications (albeit a bit older generation processor) costs USD 4,399.
A 2017 iMac Pro with the same specifications (and only one generation older CPU) BUT a faster GPU and a 5k display built in AND a 1TB SSD costs USD 4,999.
Why does the base model have those specifications at all? Who would spend USD 5,999 on a machine that is slower in ALL respects than a 2019 iMac that has a faster CPU, double the disk storage, a 5k display and a mouse and keyboard for only USD 3,399? ECC RAM and the possibility of future expansion is not worth USD 2,600.
Let's not even talk about the pro stand for the new Pro Display XDR at a whopping USD 999...
I get these are targeted at professional people. I would like to think I am a professional having spent the last 24 years writing software for a living and doing some on and off professional photography. But the cost of this machine is prohibitive even for me. To make sense I'd have to configure it better than my current iMac Pro. With some guessing that would mean 128GB RAM, 2TB SSD, 16 core CPU, Dual Radeon Pro Vega II, and probably an XDR display to replace the 5k display I will be losing if I sell the iMac Pro. That will give me 6 more cores, one extra GPU and 1k more resolution in a bit better display for at least USD 12,000 + USD 6,999 (or CAD 25,400, twice the cost of the iMac Pro).
Should I increase my rates? Is that the problem? Or is it Apple that has gone mad?