Steve Jobs Once Considered Killing Apple's Pro Products

Ken Segall, the creative director behind the Think Different campaign and author of Insanely Simple, a book about his experiences creating advertising for Apple, writes in a blog post about Apple's "evolving view of 'Pro'" that Steve Jobs once considered killing Apple's entire line of Pro products.

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.

2013_mac_pro
Jobs eventually decided to keep the pro products around, but in recent years Apple has been shifting its pro products. For example, the company completely revamped its Final Cut video editing suite, slashing the price and making it significantly simpler to use pro features -- though a vocal group of Final Cut Pro users were unhappy with the changes.

The Mac Pro has gone three years without a significant update, though Apple will, as promised, release a completely redesigned Mac Pro later this year that is unlike any professional machine Apple has made before.

Segall goes on to argue that Apple is pushing 'pros' in a new direction, saying that making software powerful and easy-to-use for more customers is more important than making software that is simply powerful. He says that "Apple is walking to a place that’s entirely new" with its new products, while "asking the pros to walk with them."

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

iPhone Foldable Display Said to Feature iPad-Style 4:3 Aspect Ratio

Friday March 28, 2025 3:44 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming "iPhone Fold" will feature a foldable screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio, according to a Chinese leaker who previously leaked the book-style device's display dimensions. The Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station claims that Apple will adopt a "roughly" 4:3 aspect ratio on the inner display in order to achieve consistency between the outer display, as well as to ensure parity...

Top Rated Comments

kbt1020 Avatar
152 months ago
Steve would have never allowed... wait
Score: 103 Votes (Like | Disagree)
emaja Avatar
152 months ago
Isn't a good CEO supposed to consider just about any option?
Score: 70 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AngerDanger Avatar
152 months ago
He says that "Apple is walking to a place that's entirely new" with its new products, while "asking the pros to walk with them."
We're fine with the walk; it's the fact that we're blindfolded and stepping on rakes that gets to us.
Score: 59 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dulcimer Avatar
152 months ago
It still looks like a trash can or an air purifier.

And this matters because…?
Score: 56 Votes (Like | Disagree)
blacktape242 Avatar
152 months ago
SO happy that didnt happen!

APPLE NEEDS PRO products!!!!!!!
Score: 50 Votes (Like | Disagree)
d0mth0ma5 Avatar
152 months ago
Pro is needed for the R&D that trickles down to the consumer products later. Need both to drive each other.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)