2013 Mac Pro: What is the cost of a Power Packed Exotic?

The newly revealed, intoxicatingly exotic, Apple Mac Pro, with PCIe flash storage, workstation-class graphics, Thunderbolt 2.0, Intel Xeon E5 processors and USB 3.0; artfully crafted within a body like no other; seems to quietly command a price tag commensurate with the power it portends. The tech media and professionals alike, are abuzz with constrained speculation over the price tag of this Lamborghini without wheels.

Considering the product release history of the company, bringing inspiring technology to mere mortals, I believe a high-end, custom-configured machine, will cost $10K-$15K, Apple material preponderance and all. This is the future of the Apple Pro desktop after all, and they want to make sure media professionals can afford it at present.

Disclaimer: Above blog post image is for illustrative purposes only. Apple has not set a price at the time of this writing. I am not an analyst, nor do I have any insights into how manufacturing actually works for a large company like Apple. I am just an infrequent blogger, reporting on a conspicuous cogitation. Back to the thought...

Coming Later: At What Price?

Judging from recent history, Apple, releases products, even updated ones, at price points the same, slightly higher, or even cheaper than the previous models. For example, look at the newly updated Macbook Airs. They have new Intel Haswell chips, faster PCIe flash-based storage and subsequently better performance in some areas, as MacWorld and Anandtech have shared.

With this precedent in mind, configuring a top of the line current 2012 Mac Pro in the US Apple Store, with the following options (attempting to loosely match what the new 2013 Mac Pro will provide at the high-end, as currently stated on Apple's site):

• Two 3.06GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon (12 cores)
• 512 GB SSD Hard drive
• 64 GB of RAM (the most one can purchase from Apple directly)
• Two ATI cards or One ATI 5870 (the only real difference between the two below)
• Apple Care

Does not go over $10K before tax:

Hmm... :-\

Just take a look those graphics cards, you say?

Serious.

• Yes, the new Mac Pro does have workstation-class graphics. It even parks 2 of those behemoths, standard, against its new thermal core. They may even be AMD's FirePro W9000, a top of the line card, that seems to match the specs on Apple's site. 

• Yes, a hasty Google search does reveal that one card retails anywhere from $3,400 - $4,000.

All of the above is true. Let's not even get started on the high price of Thunderbolt components, PCIe storage, and those Xeon E5 processors.

Even so, with Apple doing in-house hardware design, manufacturing domestically (even considering the relatively high cost of labor in the U.S.) and with bulk orders of components, even those specially modified for the new design (what isn't?), I still believe the total package could still fall within the range of $10K-$15K. Why? If nothing else, to kick-start a practically dead current product line.

As Apple creates more and more products that move away from the typical PC, and closer to a device model, with little user upgradability (like typical modern game consoles, for example), perhaps Apple will also follow their economic model and forsake a little profit, initially, to further market penetration. We have seen Apple drop its price margin before, seeking greater customer purchases. If Apple in the last few years has lost money on the Mac Pro product line anyway, what do they have to lose?

Of course, the above is all speculation. We do know that Tim Cook has been, and is undoubtedly still, regarded as a genius at managing supply chain operations. Him and his team may have already devised a plan to keep margins relatively high, while still securing enough components for cost effective manufacturing.

That's a lot of speculation. What do I really know?

The creative community has waited long enough. Stomachs have been empty. Monday's reveal (scrub the playhead to 52:36) flooded the room with the aroma of power; all the senses are going wild! Tucked napkins around the neck are saturated with pixelated saliva. Apple is in a better position now, more than ever, to have a record year of Mac Pro sales.

Despite all ruminations, however, the question remains: At what cost? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, as the hour glass empties, you will find me dreaming of the shadow-black; night-quiet; power-signifying; media-screaming; jet turbine, known as the new Mac Pro.