Apple Broke Its Own Rules for 2 New Macs—And AI Buyers Are Snapping Them Up
Apple’s new Mac mini and Mac Studio are great for hosting local AI models—and saving money.
Apple has predictable habits for releasing new hardware, so it was a surprise when the tech giant revealed new Macs with updated, more powerful chips last week. The refreshed hardware arrived before Apple’s traditional iPhone event, which this year occurs on Wednesday, Sept. 9.
So why did Apple release these machines, the Mac mini and Mac Studio, when they did?
Thanks to a new report we think we
Thanks to a new report we think we understand: Apple’s updated desktop Macs were announced early because they’re selling like hotcakes and Apple wants to sell more of them to eager buyers. These machines are desirable because they’re ideal for acting as hosts for local AI models. According to news site The Information, the sudden AI-driven popularity of the machines caught the Cupertino-based company by surprise. Apple even apparently lacked the necessary enterprise-centric support teams.
Why would anyone want to run AIs locally, though, when enterprise-ready AI systems are everywhere at the moment? Everyone from Google to Microsoft is offering powerful AI services from their giant cloud server farms, with plenty of business-centric tools. And platforms like Amazon Web Services offer powerful developer-friendly AI environments from their data centers.
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The key words are “cloud” and “data centers.” These third-party AI offerings require gigantic computer facilities, which is why they’re offered by deep-pocketed tech giants like OpenAI on a remote-access basis.
If you run your own, less powerful AI
But if you run your own, less powerful AI models on your own hardware, then you remain in control of the entire operation. This means you can train the models with data that no one else can access. It means only you and your staff see the outputs when you query the AIs. It means that if your developers improve the AI algorithms in clever ways, then only you benefit. All of this is useful for intellectual property protection and even, for some companies, for preserving audit trails for sensitive data handling.
Finally, hosting an AI model on your own hardware means you retain control of the cost. Spiralling, expensive AI bills for remote-access services have surprised many companies in recent months, landing some users in the headlines because they owe so much.
Source: www.inc.com
