As of March 2022, Apple sold two iMac models, the smaller one being suitable for home users due to its less powerful processor and the larger 27-inch one, which is faster and has premium features, powerful enough for demanding users.
When Apple launched the 24-inch iMac in 2021, with a colorful new design and M1 chip, it simultaneously discontinued the iMac Pro, and then, a year later, launched the Mac Studio with its 27-inch Studio Display while ditching its 27-inch iMac.
But the story doesn’t end there. Since its withdrawal, rumors have been circulating that the company intends to launch a new version of its iMac Pro that would also mark the return of the 27-inch iMac.
In this article, we will evaluate the reports, rumors and speculations that can be found on the web, about its release date, price and technical specifications.
27-inch iMac Pro: the latest rumors
Rumors that Apple would revive the iMac Pro have been circulating for years. In October 2021, in a tweet that is no longer online, Dylan, a leaker Apple, tweeted the following details about an iMac Pro:
- Promotion and Mini Led
- Base model 16GB Ram 512GB storage
- M1 Pro and Max
- Dark frames
- HDMI, SD card, USB C
- Similar design to the iMac 24 and Pro Display XDR
- Starting price equal to or greater than $2,000
- Ethernet on standard brick
- Face ID has been tested (not confirmed)
- 1st semester 2022
It’s clear he was wrong, but he wasn’t the only one who thought a new iMac Pro was in the works. According to ApplePro Leaks (via Howtoisolve in January 2023), a version equipped with the M2 Pro and M2 Max processors will be released in 2023.
Even if we choose to ignore these two sources, there is still evidence that Apple is working on a new iMac Pro. In fact, Gurman himself predicted the arrival of an iMac Pro. Unfazed by the release of the Mac Studio and the retirement of the 27-inch iMac, in April 2022 he said he still thought an iMac Pro would see the light of day, but at a later date.
That left only the 27-inch iMac, the Mac Pro, and a still-Intel-powered Mac mini, and that’s unlikely to last long.
What is the release date for the new iMac?
In February 2023, Young told MacRumors that Apple’s plans for a 27-inch ProMotion display (with refresh rates up to 120Hz) have been delayed and will not launch in Q1 2023 as previously planned. However, he did say that this display could be for a 27-inch iMac, or it could be a new Pro Display XDR.
Young isn’t the only one talking about delays. In December 2022, Mark Gurman reported that the iMac Pro has been experiencing timing issues, citing high development costs and chip engineering challenges as the cause. In his first newsletter of 2023, Gurman also wrote that the iMac Pro has been on and off Apple’s roadmap and that he wouldn’t be surprised if it came out this year.
He also indicated that a giant 32-inch iMac is currently being tested and could launch in late 2024.
The launch of a Pro iteration in 2023 seems unlikely.
At what price will it be sold?
As for its pricing, it will likely be aligned with that of the 27-inch iMac, which started at $1,890, as Apple kept the price similar to that of the 21.5-inch iMac when it launched the 24-inch model.
It is also possible that the price will be a little higher, perhaps starting from $2,000.
What design ?
In his newsletter dated July 31, 2021, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman suggested that the new iMac Pro would have a design similar to the current M1 iMac.
It makes sense that the iMac Pro would take some inspiration from this, as it comes in multiple colors, but there’s been no word on which one Apple will use in the future. To differentiate the consumer and professional models, Apple could opt for different color choices, like the iPhone Pro, or stick with what it already offers for its MacBooks, for example.
Another difference we could see on the larger iMac is dark bezels instead of white ones around the display. There could also be a notch, like on the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros. This would allow Apple to extend the height of the display, as it has done with some models.
We’d also like to see the iMac Pro lose some of its “chin.” Based on the iMac and Studio Display teardowns, and given the low power and heat requirements of Apple’s silicon, that doesn’t seem out of the question.
The screen
Display analyst Ross Young and others have said the iMac Pro will have a 27-inch display, which disappoints us.
However, in June 2023, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that he had information suggesting that Apple is developing an iMac with a screen larger than 30 inches. Currently, the 32-inch Pro Display XDR holds that spot.
Next to the 24-inch, with its 4.5K display (4,480 x 2,520 pixels), the 27-inch is only slightly more impressive with its 5K display (5,120 x 2,880 pixels). The 27-inch also doesn’t compare well to other modern displays larger than 30 inches (notably the 32-inch Apple Pro Display XDR in 6K).
In June 2023, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that he had information suggesting that Apple was developing an iMac with a screen larger than 30 inches. A few weeks later, he said that a giant 32-inch model was in testing.
Such a display would certainly make the iMac Pro more attractive to potential buyers. Next to the 24-inch iMac, with its 4.5K (4,480 x 2,520 pixels) display, the 27-inch iMac is only slightly more impressive with its 5K (5,120 x 2,880 pixels) display.
An expansion might be possible without significantly increasing the size of the iMac. The 27-inch measured 25.6 inches wide, 20.3 inches high, and 8 inches deep, and Apple’s new design helps make the 24-inch iMac smaller than even the 21.5-inch iMac it replaces (21.5 inches x 18.1 inches x 5.8 inches versus 20.8 inches x 17.7 inches x 6.9 inches).
The new iMac Pro wouldn’t need to be as big as the Pro Display XDR to deliver a 6K display. A 30-inch display with smaller bezels could still accommodate the 6,016 x 3,384 pixels of Retina 6K resolution and a 6K iMac.
To get an idea of what to expect from the iMac Pro, here’s what the Studio Display and Pro Display XDR offer:
- Pro Display XDR: Retina 6K display (6016 x 3384 resolution), 1000 nits (XDR) or 500 nits (SDR) brightness, wide color (P3), True Tone.
- Studio: Retina 5K display (5120 x 2880 resolution), 600 nits, wide color (P3), True Tone
The next iMac will likely have smaller bezels than the 27-inch iMac and iMac Pro, which could help it achieve higher pixel density without having to make the screen much larger.
A rumor from Ross Young in October 2021 followed by a report in December 2021 claimed that Apple would bring a Liquid Retina XDR display with “roughly 1,000 zones and over 4,000 mini-LEDs” to the iMac. That would be fewer than the iPad’s 10,000 mini-LEDs and the MacBook Pro’s 8,000 mini-LEDs, though they would likely be visually indistinguishable.
Technical characteristics
The iMac is generally designed for creative professionals. For good reason, it has a more powerful processor and graphics card than the smaller versions, not to mention its customizable RAM.
So what can we expect from the next generation 27-inch iMac?
Processor
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported in January 2022 that the iMac Pro would feature chips similar to the MacBook Pro’s M1 Pro and M1 Max processors. This rumor appeared before the launch of the Mac Studio, which sold with those same processors.
Now that M2 Pro and M2 Max chips are available in the MacBook Pro, will the same be true for the iMac Pro? Reports suggest that the next iMac will feature M3 chips.
Gurman has repeatedly claimed that Apple will skip the M2 chip and jump straight to the M3 chip for the next-generation 24-inch iMac, and it’s possible that the iMac Pro will make the same jump, though there are no recent rumors about which chip will be used.
Graphics capabilities
As with the processor, we can get an idea of what Apple’s M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 Ultra GPUs could bring to the iMac.
The M1 Pro offers either a 14-core or 16-core GPU (14-core on the entry-level). Apple claims that performance is up to two times faster than the M1 for this chip. The company also claims that the GPU is up to 7 times faster than the integrated graphics on the latest 8-core chip in a laptop.
The M1 Max GPU is even more powerful with its 32 cores. In this case, Apple claims that graphics performance is up to 4 times faster than the M1 chip.
As for the M1 Ultra, which offers a 64-core GPU, Apple revealed that it delivers 80% faster GPU performance than the Mac Pro equipped with the Radeon Pro W69 00X, which is the fastest graphics card offered for the 2019 Mac Pro.
RAM
The M2 Pro supports up to 32GB of RAM while the M2 Max supports up to 96GB of unified memory. That’s less than the 27-inch iMac’s 128GB of RAM.
One limitation of Apple’s RAM is that it won’t be user-upgradeable. The 27-inch iMac had user-accessible RAM slots. With Apple silicon, the RAM, properly called unified memory, is built into the SoC, so it’s not user-upgradeable.
However, Apple offers up to 128GB with the M1 Ultra in the Mac Studio, so there may be adequate RAM allocation in the iMac Pro.
Storage
Also on Twitter, Dylan suggests that 512GB of storage will be available on the new iMac.
If so, it will be a nice improvement over the 256GB in the entry-level 27-inch iMac.
Ports
While the standard 24-inch iMac only has two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, and two additional USB 3 ports on the other models, the 27-inch should have a wider choice of connections (HDMI, SD card, USB C, etc.).
After Apple launched the MacBook Pro with HDMI and an SDXC card slot, rumors suggested that the iMac would follow. The thin body could be an issue, but the brand solved it on the 24-inch model by placing the headphone jack on the side.
We’d like to see the SC card slot, much loved by photographers, make a comeback on the iMac like it did on the MacBook Pro.
New features
The 24-inch iMac features a color keyboard with Touch ID, enhanced audio features including a high-fidelity six-speaker system with force-canceling woofers, and a 1080p FaceTime HD camera.
Will we see the same features on the 27-inch or will we benefit from fixes and additions?
Facial identification
The Big Sur beta contained code referencing a TrueDepth sensor, suggesting that Apple could incorporate the technology into its iMac’s display.
Mark Gurman thinks that we will have to wait a few more years before seeing Face ID appear…
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