Since Apple discontinued the iMac Pro in March of 2021, speculations have persisted that the firm may be preparing to bring the heavyweight all-in-one desktop back in some form.
Last year, Apple announced its fresh new 24-inch iMac utilising Apple silicon and a striking new design to suit its quick M1 CPU. Yet Apple still doesn’t have a ‘Pro’ iMac option or a successor for its 27-inch iMac, which still runs on Intel and retains the original iMac design.
It should be emphasised that it’s not known at this time how precisely Apple intends to improve its bigger iMac alternatives. Will Apple replace the 27-inch iMac with a colourful M1 version, and also offer an iMac Pro with more powerful CPUs like the M1 Pro and M1 Max? Or will it just introduce one new 27-inch iMac that is both bigger and more powerful?
We’ve heard virtually little about a hypothetical 27-inch ‘non-Pro’ iMac, but here’s what we do know about the rumoured ‘iMac Pro.’
Date of release
According to recent sources, an iMac Pro is expected to be unveiled at WWDC in the middle of this year. Until now:
According to Young, a mini-LED iMac Pro “may come in June,” and although some feel that the display technology will be more old school, he expects it to be much more spectacular. Think about more than 4,000 individual LEDs in 1,000 zones.
We’ve also heard August or September, or perhaps Q1 of 2022, as possible delivery dates. Only one of the three new Mac models Apple recently applied for in the database of the Eurasian Economic Commission is clearly a new laptop. A new iMac could be announced during Apple’s March presentation. We don’t think that’s probable, and a WWDC launch makes perfect sense.
Design
Apple’s upcoming 27-inch iMac, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, will look a lot like the M1 iMac from 2021. Just like last year when Apple made an enormous design modification to its iMac, there’s no way that this year’s bigger model won’t follow suit. The result will be a brand-new square design.
Apple’s microchips
According to Gurman, this iMac will include Apple ‘Pro’ CPUs since it is a ‘Pro’ model. Apple’s new M1 Pro and M1 Max silicon processors are included in the new MacBook Pro (2021). A 24-inch variant using the basic M1 processor from the new iMac Pro is unlikely to be included in the next model.
Display
The addition of a mini-LED display to the iMac Pro is another major expectation. Ross Young had this to say about the situation:
Tweeted too soon, sorry. Not an external monitor, but an iMac will house the 27″ MiniLED display in Q1’22. It’s possible that we’ll see a monitor in the future. Still a 24Hz – 120Hz variable refresh rate…… Hopefully this clears things up.
In addition to an all-new mini-LED display, Young expects a variable refresh rate like the MacBook Pro, allowing for up to 120Hz ProMotion, much like the MacBook Pro. The MacBook Pro range would be well represented by this, so it makes perfect sense.
Price
The iMac mini’s potential pricing has remained a mystery to this point. The iMac Pro might cost upwards of $5,000 if Apple sticks closely to the existing price structure, according to expert guesses. If Apple were to improve the design and use Apple silicon in the non-Pro 27-inch iMac, the basic model price would almost certainly rise to $2,000.