After the introduction of the Mac Studio and Studio Display in Apple's product lineup, and with mixed signs of a larger Apple silicon iMac on its product roadmap, will there ever be another iMac Pro?
Five years ago this week Apple launched the iMac Pro – presented at the time as "the most powerful Mac ever made". In March 2021, Apple announced that it was discontinuing the iMac Pro. By that time, the machine had been surpassed by the 2019 Mac Pro, a significant final 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 has said since 2021 that Apple is working on an iMac with a 27-inch mini-LED display with ProMotion, but rumors about this device have faded since the launch of the Mac Studio and Studio Display in March this year. When Apple introduced these two new machines, it lauded their "modularity" and collective positioning between the iMac and the Mac Pro. As such, the location of the Mac Studio in Apple's product lineup aroused suspicion that there was simply no place for a "Pro" iMac anymore. Other reports suggested that Apple had no plans to release an new iMac Pro or an iMac with a larger display anytime soon.
Nevertheless, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that a new iMac Pro model will launch in 2023 alongside a new Mac Pro – a rumor seemingly supported by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Earlier this year, Gurman said that Apple was continuing work on a high-end iMac model:
I also still believe that Apple is working on a larger-screened iMac aimed at the professional market. I'd imagine this will use a variation of the M3 chip, likely an M3 Pro and M3 Max. That would match the chips inside of the MacBook Pro. I don't think the combination of a Mac Studio or Mac mini plus an Apple Studio Display cuts it for many pro users who want more screen real estate.
Beyond a rumor from Young explaining that the iMac Pro will have fewer mini-LED zones than the iPad Pro or MacBook Pro, little else is known about what it could feature. It seems likely that a larger, ~27-inch mini-LED display with ProMotion, M3 Pro and M3 Max chip options, and a slew of ports brought over from the MacBook Pro are on the cards for the iMac Pro based on what we are aware of at the current time.
With Young, Kuo, and Gurman all coalescing around the idea of a new high-end iMac, likely set to launch next year, it seems that the chances of Apple releasing a new iMac Pro are still relatively high, regardless of the presence of the Mac Studio and Studio Display.
