Comment by FireBeyond | Hacker News Reader

Comment by FireBeyond | Hacker News Reader

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There is zero way to know that.

When the cheesegrater Mac Pro launched in 2019, I was interested in one. I am also interested in photography. So I loved watching at least 6 or 8 videos from my favorite photography YouTubers unboxing and reviewing their launch day Mac Pro and Pro Display XDRs...

All of which they'd "ordered".

I put that in quotation marks because as I watched and rewatched these videos I noticed something: every. single. one. had exactly the same non-baseline spec: 18 core CPU, 384GB memory, Vega II Duo GPU and an 8TB SSD. And every single one had got the Pro Display XDR with the nano coating and the stand.

And it wasn't a case of "maybe that ships faster", or anything, and besides, that's a $25K setup with the screen.

Also, if you're a photographer, even if you're working on medium format digital, and 100MP images, you in no way shape or form need 384GB of memory, or that GPU - the whole thing was massively overspecced. For me, LightRoom / Capture One and Photoshop all did not break a sweat on my 12 core 192GB W5700X variant (which was mainly specced that way for other reasons).

It was pretty obvious that though they may well have ordered one, that Apple had sent them all a launch day setup, all identically specced. They could substitute theirs when it arrived and send back the other unit, or whatever.

But not one single one of them ever said anything about it.

I think the more interesting part here is you alleging a coverup of Apple supplying a review unit. Why?

I think most YouTube channels actually brag when Apple sends them review units. It’s a sign they’ve made it — their channel is influential enough to have been noticed by Apple. Most channels are happy to let their followers in on that.

My guess for what you’re noticing is that there’s also a (in my opinion kinda gross) trend of influencer types buying expensive kit, doing their review, and then returning within the window. In this case, it doesn’t surprise me that someone would spec out a unit well beyond their needs or means, because they don’t intend to actually pay for it.

> I think most YouTube channels actually brag when Apple sends them review units. It’s a sign they’ve made it — their channel is influential enough to have been noticed by Apple. Most channels are happy to let their followers in on that.

I'd agree with that, generally. It's also true that in the photography sphere, there's a notable segment who are all about being "self-made", somewhat. That they're so successful. Their videos are "look at my new studio I'm constructing", "look at the six digits of gear I'm casually playing with", etc., to the point that for a few of them, people are quite well aware that photography is almost a sideline or hobby to them, and that their career is "YouTuber" (which is certainly valid)... it's the "when do you actually find time to do shoots?" vibe.

> My guess for what you’re noticing is that there’s also a (in my opinion kinda gross) trend of influencer types buying expensive kit, doing their review, and then returning within the window. In this case, it doesn’t surprise me that someone would spec out a unit well beyond their needs or means, because they don’t intend to actually pay for it.

What are the odds that 8 (that I found!) ordered the exact same CPU/memory/GPU/SSD spec?

Was that the top spec, or top spec available for immediate shipping?

In my experience Apple keeps a few different configurations ready for pick up or shipping, and their return policy sounds pretty flexible (though I haven’t personally had to use it for a major purchase).

> What are the odds that 8 (that I found!) ordered the exact same CPU/memory/GPU/SSD spec?

If that's the spec you get when you just max out all the dropdowns, pretty high?

> What are the odds that 8 (that I found!) ordered the exact same CPU/memory/GPU/SSD spec?

Pretty high. What are the odds that 8 devs that bought new MacBook Pros all choose 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD? Both specs are above the baseline config, but they are in stock for same day delivery and worth the extra cost. Upgrading further forces you to either upgrade the CPU too or wait a few more days

See: Vision Pro

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