Apple also makes some suggestions as to what to get. You’ll want more than the base 32GB of RAM to make full use of the six memory channels (why Apple didn’t start at 48GB is baffling), but you’ll want to avoid maxing out the memory if bandwidth is crucial — the higher latency of 128GB LR-DIMMs could hurt performance. Likewise, you may see a negligible benefit from the Afterburner card if you work with 4K, 30FPS ProRes 422 video files on a 28-core system, but it could make all the difference if you’re working with 4K or 8K ProRes RAW footage.

The Pro Display XDR paper, meanwhile, is finer-grained. You can learn how Apple fights blooming (the glow when LED zones are larger the pixels of smaller details) using the backlighting and timing controller, and understand just what a given reference mode will do to your picture. As before, Apple dishes out advice. Some of it will be obvious to creatives — don’t use True Tone if you need absolute color accuracy — while others are more specific. You won’t keep the screen at 1,000 nits forever if you work in an office hotter than 77F, for instance.

These probably won’t sway you toward the Mac Pro or Pro Display XDR if you weren’t already inclined to get either. You’ll very likely know if you’re the target audience. These could help you get the right configuration if you’re in the market, though. This could also be intriguing if you just want to know how Apple handles common challenges, such as putting PCIe cards in the right slots.

The webcam is capped at 30 frames per second when you’re using the full 4K resolution, but Logitech touts automatic light adjustment with HDR as well as tilt adjustment. You should be properly exposed and in-frame even in a dimly-lit production studio. You can also expect dual noise-cancelling mics. And no, you don’t need a Mac Pro to use it — it’ll technically work with other Macs, if not as elegantly.

The 4K Pro Magnetic Webcam is available now through the Logitech and Apple websites for $200. That’s a lot for a webcam (even the C930e is $130), but something tells us Logitech isn’t concerned. If you or your employer can afford a Pro Display XDR, the cost of this webcam is chump change.

On the new Mac Pro, the updated Final Cut Pro X offers support for multiple GPUs and up to 28 CPU cores. Apple says that translates to rendering that’s up to 2.9 times faster and transcoding that’s up to 3.2 times faster than on the previous-generation 12-core Mac Pro. With the Pro Display XDR, Final Cut Pro users will be able to view, edit, grade and deliver video with 1,000 nits of full screen sustained brightness, 1,600 nits peak brightness and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. They’ll also be able to take advantage of Apple’s Afterburner hardware to play up to 16 streams of 4K video or work in 8K resolution with support for up to three streams of 8K ProRes RAW video.

As part of the Final Cut Pro 10.4.7 update, the companion apps Motion and Compressor are also getting Metal upgrades, including improved playback and accelerated graphics. All of the app updates are free to existing users and available today.

And even though the MacBook Pro is Apple’s premium notebook line, the only ports you’ll find on it are USB-C and a headphone jack. There aren’t any memory card slots that pro users actually need, and you can forget about HDMI and Ethernet. Apple expects you to rely on dongles entirely. Meanwhile, Windows PC makers like Dell and Lenovo are crafting sleek machines that somehow manage to fit in those ports. While there’s an aesthetic simplicity to sticking with USB-C, is that really worth making life more difficult for a large segment of your customers?

Apple’s emphasis on design over usefulness is exemplified by the iPad Pro, one of the most attractive devices the company has ever made, but also one that’s been held back severely by iOS. The company’s mobile OS was just fine when the iPad was being positioned as more of a consumption device. But its clunky multitasking and lack of a genuine file system makes it difficult to treat the iPad Pro as a genuine notebook replacement. Thankfully, Apple is going to fix those issues with iOS 13 and its iPadOS fork later this year, but until then, the iPad Pro is like a Ferrari with the handling of a go-kart.

And we can’t forget the previous “trash can” Mac Pro. Apple was so obsessed with making something that looked unique and fashionable, it dropped the ball when it came to expansion and thermal performance. You know, the things pro users actually care about. The company eventually apologized for that machine, and promised a more useful follow-up. That’s the modular Mac Pro the company just announced. It’s a return to a more traditional desktop tower design, and while that might seem regressive from a design perspective, it comes with some useful changes, like PCIe expansion slots and “Afterburner” to speed up 4K and 8K video editing.

Now before you rush off to the comments, I’m well aware that professionals have completely different needs than mainstream consumers. They won’t balk at paying $5,000 for a monitor if it can get a bit closer to reference screens that cost upwards of $40,000. And they won’t blink an eye at the new Mac Pro’s $5,999 starting price — something that can easily scale north of $30,000 depending on what you plug in there.

If that investment means they can get renders and high-resolution editing done faster, it’ll be worth it. But no matter how I look at it, I can’t see the professional justification for a $999 monitor stand, especially when you can get decent rotating mounts for $32. And judging from the reaction at WWDC, it’s clear that even some of Apple’s most devoted users are beginning to question its wisdom.

To say Apple’s WWDC 2019 keynote was jam-packed would be an understatement. Apple offered its usual previews of the next versions of iOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS, but it also broke some new ground. The iPad now has its own operating system, for starters. There were also meaningful updates to the HomePod and a new privacy-focused sign-in. And of course, there’s the not-so-small matter of the redesigned Mac Pro — Apple has finally shown its long-in-the-making workstation. It’s a lot to take in. Never fear, though, as we’ve boiled things down to a short video that gives you the gist of Apple’s many, many announcements.