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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1209879
Will 2020 Finally See the Long- Rumored "xMac"? By Tyler Lacoma With all of 2020 ahead for Apple to surprise us with new products, there's one particularly long-term rumor that the new decade is ready for at last: The xMac. According to The New York Times, Apple is taking a "slow-roll" marketing approach to the new streaming service, especially when compared to what it's been spending on marketing its latest iPhone 11 models. "The what?" many of you might say. "I haven't heard that name in a long time…" others may be thinking. The xMac has been a general term, for many years now, for a future Apple product that will combine some of the aspects of the Mac Pro with more consumer- friendly Macs to create a versatile computer solution that could attract more people to the Apple desk top world. That hasn't happened yet. But with the latest 2019 Mac Pro, there's a new opportunity for an xMac device soon, and now is an excellent time to bring it to market. Here's why we think 2020 could finally be the year we see an xMac device appear. 4. The xMac Fills an Important Market Niche One of the biggest reasons that conversations about the xMac persist is that there's a market niche for the computer that Apple isn't really filling. This empty pocket became even more obvious with the release of the immensely upgradeable and powerful Mac Pro 2019, which can reach prices beyond $50,000 for businesses that want the best of the best (not to mention the ridiculously priced 6K Retina display). But that also left a lot of individual buyers wondering, "I like some of the things this new Mac Pro does, but these prices leave us totally out of the conversation." There's the Mac mini, of course, but the mini is a good example of what these Mac Pro fans don't want. It's portable, not especially powerful, and diffcult or impossible to upgrade. What's missing is a system in between, a Mac that has some of the advantages of the Pro while being priced for the average consumer. Images courtesy of www.idropnews.com