I think that where Apple sees the profit in this is through the VESA mount. I'm betting that most folks who are going to buy these things are mounting them on something other than a stand. The old method meant they had to manufacture the stand, which was then discarded. Now, they don't have to unless someone actually wants it.
Honestly not sure how I feel about it. I think a stand should have been included and the whole thing priced at $5999. Just get it done with. Then, offer the display
without the stand and with the VESA mount for $5499. Would have created a lot less backlash.
I think there is a just a bit of nit-picking. If Apple announces the display for $7999, they get kudos for announcing a reference display for so cheap. But offer it for $4999 and then another $999 for the stand ($5999 total) and get kicked in the teeth. The specs on this thing are off the charts, and it is very clearly intended for a niche market. Reference displays are not cheap, so this is a bargain. We won't carry this thing in the store, but we will price it for customers, and we will price it with the stand. So, for us, it's $5999. That's a lot, and I'll bet my nickels we don't sell two of them before it is replaced.
But …
Apple does not make any consumer displays. There is no $999 thing that is good enough for the rest of us. As an Apple Premier Partner, we are not aloud to demo any display with Apple gear other than the LG Ultrafine things, which are too good, actually. So, not having an inexpensive Apple display means we can only demo a display that is too expensive for most people, and cannot demo the $300 4k things that we actually want to sell. They have to be "stuck in the back" somewhere.
The ProDisplay XDR at $5999 then seems a bit pompous.
Edit: Something else that just occurred to me: That display's holes are gonna fill up with spiders!
Edit 2: And more. The display mounts to the stand with a magnetic connector. No screws, nuts, bolts, or magic sauce. Just magnets.
