The Case For an Apple Mac Mid-Tower

by David Risley on Nov 27, 2008 | 21 comments

It is hard for anybody to doubt the product marketing capability of Apple. They are about the best I’ve ever seen. That said, not everything they do makes sense to me. And one of the things which doesn’t make sense to me is the fact that their ONLY tower is the Mac Pro – a $2800 machine.

Now, I have a Mac Pro. It is an AWESOME machine. It is a real workhorse and rarely ever hiccups. Extremely dependable and screaming fast. However, you pay through your nose for this machine. It is a high end computer.

When we look a the Apple product line, however, there is nothing with a mid-range price tag that isn’t a notebook computer. That is, except for the iMac. Now, the iMac might be a nice machine, but a lot of people are likely to have issues with the form factor. Most relevant, it has an integrated screen. Essentially, it is a laptop computer with a larger screen that sits on your desk.

So, if you want to use your own monitor, you’re stuck with either the Mac Pro or the fairly puny Mac Mini.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

Why doesn’t Apple release a mid-priced tower? It would use a smaller version of the Mac Pro case or perhaps they could design a completely different, cheaper enclosure. The idea would be that we now have a true Mac that can actually be opened up. You’ll be able to add another hard drive, a second video card, more memory. You’ll choose your OWN monitor to connect to it.

The mid-tower is the most popular form for the computer that exists. You can go to any computer retailer and purchase a mid-tower PC from any brand that you want. Why on earth is there not one single Apple product to compete head on with that market?

The Imac starts at $1,199 for a 20” screen, 2.4 GHz Intel Core Duo, 1GB memory, etc. That’s an awful lot of money for what is essentially a mediocre computer with nice aesthetic appeal. Let’s be generous and say that Apple could quite easily build a quality mid-tower machine and price it about the same as the Imac. After all, there is no screen and that right there will save money for Apple.

What possible reasons might there be that Apple hasn’t done this yet? I’m speculating, but…

They wouldn’t be able to justify a high price tag for it and the lower price would then damage the Apple brand as being a high-end machine.
Too many people would buy it and they’re afraid it will cause problems for Apple as more people have problems with OS X.
They look at all the competition from the PC side of the room in the mid-tower space and simply don’t want to take them on.

I’m grasping for answers. Because, Apple, let me tell you something. There are a LOT of people out there who would LOVE to own a Mac. The problem is they can’t afford it. Now, I understand part of your marketing strategy is to price them high so that they’re perceived as a premium machine. Perhaps the mid-tower would threaten that? I don’t think so. You could still price the machine somewhat high and get away with it. You’re Apple, for crying out loud.

Until Apple releases a midtower, there will continue to be a LOT of people who will stick with the PC simply because they don’t want to use a glorified laptop (the Imac).

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http://harmonylounge.wordpress.com Justin
I’m mostly with ya here Dave. At the same time though, I am still a geek. I still wanna tinker, and for the most part, that isn’t the “Apple way” of doing things. Still, a mid-tower by them would be a smart move. If anyone doubts that they are a premium machine just because they release a mid-tower design, they need to revisit what makes a high end computer what it is.
Sharron Field
UGH! You’re so in love with Apple it hurts me! It’s only an overpriced PC with an Apple logo on it running Unix Dave. It’s not a sacred sybol that you must possess to be admitted into the iAfterlife by the great Jobsweh, god of all things Apple.
I thought you were back on the level when you said “Too many people would buy it and they’re afraid it will cause problems for Apple as more people have problems with OS X.” (Is that an admission of an imperfection?)- But your worship ritual and expressions of undying love for Apple following on from that sent me running for the sick-bucket.
Let’s face it: The reason they’re so expensive is because Jobsweh is so greedy for people’s cash. OK I admit that they are a good hi-end machine; but I can build a good hi-end machine, customised especially for the customer, for half that price. You won’t be able to run osX on it, granted, but Windows and/or Linux can be fun too.
As I said before; a PC is versatile and customisable for the user: A Mac is how Steve Jobs says you must have it, and will never be truly “yours”: It belongs to Jobsweh; and you’ve bought it on permanent loan. If you want to upgrade it, or if you need it repaired, you take it to Jobsweh’s agents who charge you an extortionate fee for doing so, and there is only a very limited amount you can do hardware-wise under the dictats of Jobsweh.
Thanks for another prompt to get a Mac; but I’m sticking to my own-built PCs. May you and your Mac live happily and faithfully as one, for better or for worse, until death do you part. Amen.

http://kkomp.com Sharron
I’m just testing something now: (OT) It seems that when I comment when I’m logged out my name is hyperlinked to my site; yet when I log in and comment my name is in plain text. – So I’m thinking that, since I’m now logged out of PCMech, I’ll get my name hyperlinked. Let’s see if that’s the case: Clicking submit…
David Risley
Sharron, seriously, grow a clue. Nothing I said in this article warrants the calls that I or anybody else worships Steve Jobs. Your knee jerk reaction every time I mention the word Apple on this site says more about your LACK of knowledge about Apple than about anything else.
> “But your worship ritual and expressions of undying love for Apple following on from that sent me running for the sick-bucket.”
What are you reading, Sharron? Also, I’m not prompting anybody to get a Mac. Again, what are you reading? Sometimes I wonder.

http://kkomp.com Sharron
I was making a contravercial post, all in the best of taste of course; no offence intended and I assume none taken. I’m merely playing devil’s advocate and deliberately over-reacting in the hope of encouraging debate.

Greg
Sharron you need to chill out, Dave didn’t make any outragous statements. He didn’t say anything about how perfect Apple is or anything, he is only talking about a mid tower machine.
Dave is not a mactard! I think your a windowstard.
As for the article, Apple does need to make a midtower. I wouldn’t buy one, because I only want OS X for my pc. Maybe one reason that don’t want to make one is because they are afraid customers will buy the tower and not the imac because they don’t need another monitor and Apple might lose sales, I don’t know, just a thought.

http://kkomp.com Sharron
Apologies; my initial comment appears to have backfired on me to some extent: I have a unique and at times dark side to my sense of humour that I probably shouldn’t use online as it can be misunderstood.

http://www.twitter.com/andrewpearce Drew
Sharron, I’ve got what I’d like to consider to be an extremely diverse sense of humor and I saw none in your post – none whatsoever. I don’t even see the ‘dark side’ to this so called humor.
All of your comments (including the few blog posts you’ve posted here) show some form of intelligence based on the way you write. Unfortunately, you do yourself a serious injustice by writing over the top, excessively over-written comments of total garbage that takes more time to dissect into tangible sentences than it does to actually read it. And to add insult to injury, you often post comments from your narrow minded point of view where you often have little to no experience on the subject, i.e. on a previous Hotmail/Windows Live Mail blog post of Rich’s and now on Dave’s Apple post.
It’s all well and good to double back and blame it on a “dark side” to your “sense of humor”, but when there was nothing even remotely humorous, dark or otherwise, you don’t exactly leave yourself with a leg to stand on.
http://kkomp.com Sharron
In reply to Drew; just because you don’t see 8it doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
I do indeed write over-the-top, excessively over-written comments – at times; although total garbage they are not: They are, rather, points made from an excessively pessimistic/critical point of view. – Not as I actually do see them, but as they could be possibly misconstrued to be.
Here is where the dark sense of humour appears in hoping for an intellectual as opposed to a critical or condemnatory retort:
Example: “The Mac is infallible compared to the PC. – It’s stable, uncrashing, unerroneous, eternal. Never any need to open the case because it never breaks down; it just “works” and it does so well.”
“Stay with your PCs, and by the time you’ve got through 3 the eternal Mac will still be working well and in its original state. Yes; verily I say unto thee go get a Mac: Initially it’ll cost a lot; but 5 years down the line it’ll still be as new, yet the PC won’t. ”
…Or something similar.
Rather than setting myself up as a target for criticism, I’m actually encouraging further discussion and a deeper debate on the subject; although in a lighthearted and jovial manner…But maybe this is so unclear that it’s hidden? Of course not many if any of the PC Mech readers actually know me personally, which is something that I failed to account for. I tend to write as if my potential audience have known me all my life. Maybe that’s not a good idea – but that’s just the way I do oftentimes.
As for my comment in response to Rich’s post; I admit that that was somewhat impetuouos and written without the necessary qualifying experience to do so: OK I boobed there; no biggie.

bregalad
I don’t think Apple is scared of making a mid-tower for sales or marketing reasons, I think they’re scared of the Wrath of Steve.
His Steveness believes computers should be sealed boxes like iPods. He has stated repeatedly throughout his life that a computer should be just another appliance in your home, something that’s very easy to use and virtually impossible for an end user to get inside and screw up. He has no interest in the small number of people who are capable of building their own PC.
Emperor Steve has also foreseen the death of the desktop computer.
Even with a strong business case I don’t think anyone at Apple is going to go against their visionary leader.
I see the future very differently than Steve does. Apple themselves are tying to push digital downloads over physical media for the future so everyone is going to need a home server of some sort, either a SAN system or an actual tower computer. Then they’ll need something mobile, either a notebook or a handheld that can do more than the iPhone.
1. Powerful desktop computer with multiple hard drives plus a netbook or handheld device.
or
2. SAN system plus a traditional notebook computer.
The only one of those 4 areas where Apple currently has a product is the notebook.
They look like they will probably enter the netbook market some time next year and the iPhone/iPod touch is a big step toward having a handheld with a usable keyboard and screen big enough to see more than a tiny corner of a document at any one time.
Even if they do bring out both a netbook and Newton-sized handheld they’ll still be missing a big piece of the puzzle without that desktop unit.
Frank
My boss has told me that when my current IBM computer comes up for replacement, I can buy a Mac if I want. However, if I had to buy one tomorrow I’d be at a loss. I have a 20″ wide-screen monitor that is big enough for what I do, but I’m not really interested in getting a Mac Mini with its indifferent graphics and slow 2.5″ drive. I don’t need a Mac Pro as I’m not doing high end graphics work and don’t need that kind of power or expandability.
This is a perfect example of exactly the type of sale that Apple is losing by not having a mid-priced tower.
http://www.my2cents4theday.blogspot.com Don
I agree… we need a mid-tower Mac – its long overdue! The iMac is a great machine, but its certainly not for everyone. The Pro, which I can only dream of owning, is too expensive. The Mini is cute, but what a lot of us want is a machine that we can configure as we please, when we please and something that doesn’t limit us in that area as does the Mini and iMac.
You brin out some very ood points, let’s just hope that Apple will take notice and do something about them?
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Adamphetamine
This is precisely the reason why I built myself a Hackintosh. It’s pretty easy to see that Apple has no interest in providing what I want, so I built it. Parts were cheap, my time is not- however I learnt a lot.
And I was an Apple dealer for 15 years.
http://none David M
Apple makes their products reliable by being control freaks. Let the user start meddling with hardware and all you get are problems. You cant have it both ways.

http://none David M
Additionally,
If Apple is doing well, which they are, then whats the incentive to make a less expensive computer which would undercut their more expensive computers? Apple is not in business to provide a service to their customers. Apple is in business ultimately to make a profit for their shareholders. Sorry, that’s capitalism and Apple is a business despite their marketers intentional left leaning image.

http://kkomp.com Sharron
Hmm; I divulge a speculative opinion, but if there is such a distinct difference between the image that they by deliberation portray, and the reality of who/what they are, does that in itself not amount to a con?
I’m not quite sure what they were attempting by being so strict on CRM in their latest products; but they now have another, albeit small, thorn in their side:
http://newteevee.com/2008/11/29/macbook-video-drm-problems-continue-to-make-waves/

Don Dicharry
This may be a bit off base from the Mac mid-tower issue, but for a long time now I’ve heard that Macs are much less vulnerable to viruses, worms, spyware, adware, malware, hacking, etc. One explaination is that Apple has only a small share of the PC market. How factual are these statements?
Are Macs “safer” than Windows based machines or do they depend on an array of protective software just to operate in a “trash” free environment?
Scott Moore
I have a Mac G4, I would like to upgrade to a newer Mac, but
I can’t justify the bucks for what is a second computer besides
my Quad core Vista machine, built for $700 (using my existing
monitor, keyboard, etc.).
The main reason I look for a tower is because it is an
upgradable machine. I make my own PCs, I had the G4 for 5
minutes before I opened it up and rearranged it. To me, getting
a laptop or other, non-standard sealed box is like getting
a lego set that has all the blocks superglued together to make
a building.
And as the other posters suggested, that right there may be
one reason why Apple doesn’t do that.
Scott
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http://www.theseomizer.com/
From the experience of using Apple products, I conclude that they love compactness. Making mid tower can be a great move but I think the reason behind not going with it is that, it may go against the idea of compactness.