With the introduction of the Mac Studio and Studio Display to Apple’s lineup, and mixed signs of a larger Apple Silicon iMac, will there ever be another “iMac” Pro on the product roadmap?
Five years ago this week, Apple launched the “iMac” Pro – billed at the time as “the most powerful Mac ever made”. In March 2021, Apple announced that the “iMac” Pro would be discontinued. At that point, the machine had been surpassed by the Mac Pro 2019, a major recent update for the 27-inch iMac, and the first Apple Silicon Macs. In April 2021, Apple introduced the 24-inch “iMac” as its first all-in-one desktop Mac with an Apple silicon chip. Apple discontinued the Intel-based 27-inch iMac in March 2022, leaving the junior iMac with an entry-level chip as the only all-in-one in Apple’s lineup.
Display Supply Chain Consultants analyst Ross Young said that Apple has been working on an “iMac” with a 27-inch mini-LED display with ProMotion since 2021, but the rumors of this device have died down since the launch of the “Mac Studio” and the Studio Display in March this year faded year. When Apple introduced these two new machines, it praised their “modularity” and shared positioning between the iMac and the Mac Pro. Therefore, the position of the “Mac Studio” in Apple’s lineup raised the suspicion that there simply wasn’t room for a “Pro” “iMac” anymore. Other reports suggest that Apple has no plans to release a new “iMac” Pro or an “iMac” with a larger display anytime soon.
Still, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes a new “iMac” Pro model will launch in 2023 alongside a new “Mac Pro” — a rumor apparently backed by Bloombergis Mark Gurman. Earlier this year, Gurman said Apple is continuing work on a high-end iMac model:
I also still believe that Apple is working on a larger-screen iMac aimed at the professional market. I would imagine this will use a variation of the M3 chip, probably an M3 Pro and M3 Max. That would match the chips inside the MacBook Pro. I don’t think the combination of a Mac Studio or Mac mini and an Apple Studio display will suit many professional users who want more screen real estate.
Aside from a rumor from Young explaining that the “iMac” Pro will have fewer mini-LED zones than the iPad Pro or MacBook Pro, little is known about what it might offer. It seems likely that a larger, roughly 27-inch mini-LED display with ProMotion, M3 Pro, and “M3 Max” chip options, along with a suite of ports inherited from the MacBook Pro, are on the cards for the “iMac” Pro stand based on what we are aware of at this time.
With Young, Kuo, and Gurman all banding together around the idea of a new high-end “iMac” likely to launch next year, the odds of Apple releasing a new “iMac” Pro still seem relatively high , regardless of the presence of the Mac Studio and Studio Display.
