Steve Jobs Considered Killing Apple's Professional Products

Steve Jobs considered killing Apple's professional line of products, according to Ken Segall, author of Insanely Simple and the creative director of the Think Different ad campaign.

Segall notes that of late professional users have felt jilted by Apple. He cites the Mac Pro which hasn't been updated in years, the 17-inch MacBook Pro which has been discontinued, the update to Final Cut Pro which fell short of expectations and requirements, and Aperture which hasn't seen a major update in years.

Here's what Segall says in response to the question, "Would Apple ever even think about saying goodbye to the pro market?"


I hope you’re sitting down for this, but Steve Jobs did in fact once consider that very option. This was back in the days when iMac had established itself as a global bestseller. During one of the agency’s regular meetings with Steve, he shared that he was considering killing the pro products. His rationale was as you might expect: consumer products have an unlimited upside, while pro products are aimed at a niche market that eats up major resources.

Segall suggests that while Apple won't be killing its professional products, its thinking about the pro market has changed. He likens the new direction to the difference between Final Cut Pro 7 and Final Cut Pro X. Apple is creating products that are more user friendly and whose fundamentals have been rethought. Take for example the new Mac Pro which is powerful but may require a lot of external expansion via Thunderbolt rather than internal upgrades. While this may alienate some pro users it might also bring new users into the fold.

Of course, there will always be users who feel Apple is walking away from the pro market; however, Segall believes that in truth "Apple is walking to a place that's entirely new - and asking the pros to walk with them".

Read More [via Marcus]