Till March 2022 Apple offered two sizes of iMac. It was the case that the smaller mannequin was extra suited to residence customers as a result of its much less highly effective processor and built-in graphics, whereas the bigger 27-inch mannequin, with its extra highly effective processor and discrete graphics, was meant to be highly effective sufficient for high-end customers like designers and others within the artistic industries.
Apple launched a 24-inch iMac in 2021 that changed what was a 21.5-inch iMac. We hoped following the introduction of that mannequin, which featured a colourful redesign and Apple’s M1 chips, that Apple would additionally replace the 27-inch iMac with Apple’s personal M-series processors. As a substitute Apple launched the Mac Studio in March 2022, a Mac that appeared to take the mantel from the 27-inch iMac because the desktop for creatives. And positive sufficient Apple discontinued the 27-inch iMac on the identical time.
However the story doesn’t finish there. Over the previous few years there have been rumors that Apple had plans introduce a brand new model of the iMac Professional that will additionally mark the return of the 27-inch iMac.
You is perhaps pondering these rumours have been laid to relaxation when Apple discontinued the 27in iMac in March 2022 after introducing the Mac Studio and Studio Show as an alternative. Is there even a necessity for a brand new iMac Professional now the Mac Studio has arrived? We expect there’ll all the time be room for a professional desktop with a big display screen in-built. See: How the iMac Professional might come out of retirement to dominate the desktop.
On this article we’ll consider the studies that counsel that Apple might revive the outdated model with a model new iMac Professional. Learn on to search out out when it might launch and what options it’d provide.
Will there be a brand new iMac Professional? Will Apple convey again the 27-inch iMac?
The rumors that Apple would revive the iMac Professional have been circulating for years. Again in October 2021, in a tweet that’s now not on-line, retired Apple leaker Dylan tweeted the next a couple of iMac Professional:
iMac (Professional)
Promotion and Mini Led
Base mannequin 16gb Ram 512gb Storage
M1 Professional and Max
Darkish bezels
HDMI, SD Card, Usb C
Comparable design to iMac 24 and Professional Show XDR
Beginning worth at or over 2000 {dollars}
Ethernet on brick customary
Face ID was examined (Not confirmed)
1H 2022
— Dylan (@dylandkt) October 30, 2021
Clearly Dylan was incorrect about this prediction, however he wasn’t the one one suggesting {that a} Apple had plans for a brand new iMac Professional.
In line with LeaksApplePro (by way of Howtoisolve in January 2023) a brand new iMac Professional, with M2 Professional and M2 Max processors, will probably be launched in 2023. Nonetheless, LeaksApplePro has been criticised by the likes of Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who known as him a troll. So possibly we should always take that declare with a pinch of salt.
Maybe these two sources can’t be trusted, however they aren’t the one ones making predictions a couple of new iMac Professional. In actual fact, Gurman himself has additionally predicted that an iMac Professional is coming. Unfazed by the discharge of the Mac Studio and the removing of the 27in iMac from the road up following the March 2022 Apple occasion, Gurman wrote in April 2022: “For these asking, I nonetheless suppose an iMac Professional is coming. It simply gained’t be anytime quickly.”
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has additionally made predictions a couple of new iMac Professional, though not since March 2022 when he tweeted that an iMac Professional would ship in 2023.
In July 2022 a report on Macrumors, primarily based on info shared by supply to a discussion board member – so we will’t vouch for its accuracy – steered that “Apple prototyped a minimum of three bigger iMac fashions with Apple silicon chips” in 2021.
Show Provide Chain Consultants analyst Ross Younger has additionally made observations {that a} new 27-inch iMac was coming primarily based on his personal sightings of 27-inch shows. For instance, in October 2021 he tweeted that a 27-inch MiniLED display screen can be utilized in an iMac in Q122.
Nonetheless, Younger later admitted that these sightings might have been in relation to the Studio Show, which subsequently launched alongside the Mac Studio in March 2022.
27-inch iMac Professional: Launch date
The arrival of the Studio Show hasn’t meant that Younger has stopped believing that there’s a risk that Apple has plans for a brand new 27-inch iMac. In February 2023 Younger advised MacRumors that Apple’s plans for a 27-inch display screen with ProMotion assist (with refresh charges as much as 120Hz) had been delayed and it’ll not launch within the first quarter of 2023 as he had anticipated. He did word that this show may very well be destined for a 27-inch iMac, or it may very well be a brand new Professional Show XDR, although.
Younger isn’t the one one referring to delays. In December 2022, Mark Gurman indicated that the iMac Professional had been delayed, citing (as with the brand new Mac Professional) excessive growth prices and difficulties engineering chips as the reason for the delay. In his first e-newsletter of 2023 Gurman additionally wrote that the iMac Professional “has been on and off Apple’s street map”, and that “I might be stunned at this level if it arrives in 2023”.
So a 2023 iMac Professional launch is trying unlikely at this level, although the iMac will probably be 25 years outdated on Tuesday 15 August, 2023. Wouldn’t that be a becoming date to launch a brand new iMac? Sadly, even new 24-inch iMac isn’t anticipated till the top of 2023, or possibly early 2024. See: New 24-inch iMac: Launch date.
27-inch iMac Professional: Design & Colours
In a July 31, 2021 e-newsletter (subscribers solely) Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman steered that the brand new iMac Professional could have “an identical design to the present M1 iMac.”
It is smart that the iMac Professional will borrow a few of its design inspiration from the 24-inch iMac. Apple gives the 24-inch iMac in a number of shade decisions, however there haven’t been studies on what shade decisions Apple will use for the iMac Professional. To create a differentiation between the buyer and professional ranges, Apple might resolve on completely different shade decisions as with the iPhone Professional, or persist with the standard silver like that on the 27-inch iMac or House Grey like on the discontinued iMac Professional.
One other distinction we might see on the bigger iMac is darkish bezels fairly than a white border across the display screen. Learn: Why we’re dissatisfied in by the brand new iMac design. There can also be a notch as there’s with the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Professional. This might permit Apple to increase the peak of the display screen because it has with these fashions.
We’d additionally prefer to see the iMac Professional lose a few of it’s ‘chin’. Based mostly on teardowns of the iMac and the Studio Show, and the low energy and warmth necessities of Apple silicon, a chinless iMac Professional may very well be doable.
The following giant iMac Professional will most likely look nothing like the present 27-inch mannequin (proper) and extra just like the 24-inch iMac (left).
Apple
27-inch iMac Professional: Display screen dimension & know-how
Show analyst Ross Younger and others have acknowledged that the iMac Professional could have a 27-inch show, which we’ve got to confess to being dissatisfied by. A bigger show would definitely make the iMac Professional extra enticing to potential consumers. Subsequent to the 24-inch iMac, with its 4.5K show (4,480 x 2,520 pixels), the 27-inch iMac solely seems barely extra spectacular with its 5K show (5,120 x 2,880 pixels). Nevertheless it’s not solely the 24-inch iMac that the iMac Professional will probably be in comparison with – the 27-inch display screen additionally doesn’t evaluate notably favourably with many fashionable shows which can be bigger than 30-inch (together with the 32-inch, 6K Apple Professional Show XDR). We wish to see a 32-inch show on the brand new iMac Professional.
Gurman has predicted that the 27-inch iMac might see its show dimension improve by an identical quantity to the 24-inch iMac: “I completely nonetheless imagine {that a} bigger, redesigned iMac to interchange the Intel 27-inch fashions is en route. Apple growing the display screen dimension of the smaller mannequin from 21.5-inches to 24-inches appears to point that the 27-inch mannequin might see a dimension improve as nicely,” he wrote.
A bigger show may very well be doable with out growing the scale of the iMac considerably. The 27-inch iMac measures 25.6-inches extensive, 20.3-inches tall, and 8-inches deep, and whereas Apple’s new design helps make the 24-inch iMac smaller than the 21.5-inch iMac it changed, there isn’t that a lot of a distinction in dimension (21.5-inches x 18.1-inches x 5.8-inches (with the stand) vs 20.8-inches x 17.7-inches x 6.9-inches).
The brand new iMac Professional wouldn’t truly must be as huge because the Professional Show XDR to supply a 6K show. A 30-inch show with smaller bezels might nonetheless accommodate the 6,016 x 3,384 pixels for Retina 6K decision and a 6K iMac.
Show know-how
LeaksApplePro made feedback in December 2022 that indicated that the iMac show will probably be of decrease high quality than a brand new 27-inch LED mini show that’s set to be launched alongside the new Mac Professional. After all, the principle drawback with this rumor is that Mark Gurman has warned in opposition to listening to this specific Apple watcher.
It’s doable that the display screen of the iMac could also be extra similar to the standard of the present 27-inch Studio Show, which lacks ProMotion and HDR, however these are each options that will be useful to a iMac Professional person. Apple has added these options to its different Professional gadgets–iPhone, iPad, MacBook, we’d prefer to see them right here too.
To get an thought of what we might count on with the show within the bigger iMac, if Apple takes is past the Studio Show we will take a look at the way it compares to Apple’s Professional Show XDR.
- Professional Show XDR: 6K Retina show (6,016-by-3,384 decision), 1,000 nits (XDR) or 500 nits (SDR) brightness, extensive shade (P3), True Tone
- Studio Show: 5K Retina show (5,120-by-2,880 decision), 600 nits, extensive shade (P3), True Tone
The upcoming bigger iMac is prone to have smaller bezels than the 27-inch iMac and iMac Professional, which might assist the show attain a better pixel density with out having to make the show a lot greater. A rumor by Ross Younger in October 2021 and a follow-up report in December 2021 claimed that Apple will convey a Liquid Retina XDR show with “round 1,000 zones and over 4,000 mini-LEDs” to the iMac. That will be fewer than the ten,000 mini-LEDs within the iPad and the 8,000 mini-LEDs within the MacBook Professional, although it might seemingly be visually indistinguishable as a result of dimension and viewing distance.
The 27-inch iMac has a nano-texture glass possibility (proper) that does a greater job of resisting glare and reflections.
IDG
The 27-inch iMac used to ship with customary glass on the entrance of the show, however (for $300) Apple supplied a nano-texture glass that supplied a matte-like end and did an excellent job of slicing down glare. Apple will most likely proceed to supply this with the brand new iMac Professional. As you’ll be able to see above, it dramatically cuts down on the gloss and glare.
27-inch iMac Professional: Processor
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported again in January 2022 that the iMac Professional would have “related chips to the M1 Professional and M1 Max processors inside the MacBook Professional.” That rumor got here earlier than the launch of the Mac Studio, which did ship with M1 Professional and M1 Max chips, so it appears seemingly that Gurman’s supply was referring to that machine.
Now that there are M2 Professional and M2 Max chips out there within the MacBook Professional (and the Mac mini has gained an M2 Professional) will the iMac Professional ship with M2 Professional and M2 Max? There are rumors suggesting that this gained’t be the case: studies counsel that the subsequent iMac will ship with M3 chips. Gurman has repeatedly claimed that Apple will bypass the M2 and transfer straight to the M3 chip for the subsequent era of the 24-inch iMac and it’s doable that the iMac Professional will even make the identical leap, though there are not any latest rumors about what chip will probably be used.
It’s additionally not clear what chips will probably be used within the new Mac Studio, which continues to be transport with M1 Max and M1 Extremely chips. There’s some confusion about how Apple will differentiate the Mac Studio and Mac Professional if the new Mac Professional additionally ships with Max and Extremely chips, identical to the Mac Studio. Maybe the iMac Professional will solely provide the Professional chips, leaving the Max for the Mac Studio and the Extremely for the Mac Professional.
27-inch iMac Professional: Graphics
Assuming that the iMac Professional shipped with the M2 Professional chip we might count on as much as 19-core GPUs. If Apple does use the M2 Max within the new iMac Professional we might see as much as 38‑core GPUs. Learn: What to anticipate from Apple’s M2 Professional, Max, Extremely and Excessive processors.
Now we have reviewed the MacBook Professional with M2 Professional and located that “the M2 Professional MacBook Professional has some critical GPU energy”.
27-inch iMac Professional: RAM
The M2 Professional can assist as much as 32GB RAM whereas the M2 Max can assist as much as 96GB Unified Reminiscence. That is lower than the 128GB RAM that was supported by the 27-inch iMac. This may very well be a disappointment to customers.
One limitations of Apple’s RAM is that it’ll not be person upgradable. The 27-inch iMac had RAM slots that have been user-accessible. With Apple silicon RAM – correctly known as Unified Reminiscence – is constructed into the SoC, so it’s not person upgradable.
Nonetheless, Apple gives as much as 128GB with the M1 Extremely within the Mac Studio, so it’s doable that there will probably be an satisfactory RAM allocation within the iMac Professional.
27-inch iMac Professional: Storage
Dylan’s October 2021 tweet additionally steered that there will probably be 512GB storage as customary with the brand new iMac (Professional).
That will be an enchancment on the 256GB supplied by the entry-level 27in iMac previous to it being retired. However it might comply with the sample of the 16-inch MacBook Professional which has 512GB and 1TB choices for the usual machines (and 8TB as a construct to order possibility).
27-inch iMac Professional: Ports and enlargement
The 24-inch iMac comes with two USB 3 ports, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a headphone jack. After Apple launched the MacBook Professional with HDMI and an SDXC card slot, rumors steered the iMac would comply with go well with. The skinny enclosure may very well be a problem, however Apple solved that situation on the 24-inch mannequin by placing the headphone jack on the facet. Apple might place the SD slot equally to keep away from making the iMac thicker. W
For all however the entry-level 24-inch iMac, Apple positioned the ethernet port within the energy adapter brick. The identical energy adapter is probably going for use for the bigger iMac as nicely.
The ethernet-equipped energy adapter will most likely be customary with the bigger iMac Professional.
Apple
27-inch iMac Professional: Different options
The 24-inch iMac has improved FaceTime cameras that makes use of the M1’s ISP to offer higher picture high quality. That very same FaceTime digital camera implementation is predicted for the bigger iMac Professional as nicely.
We’d prefer to see the digital camera additionally assist Face ID. True Depth references have been noticed in macOS Massive Sur indicating that this was one thing Apple had checked out. Nonetheless, no Mac has but arrived with assist for Face ID. If it doesn’t have Face ID, the brand new iMac could have Contact ID constructed into the keyboard, that being supplied with the 24-inch iMac and the Contact ID keyboards.
27-inch iMac Professional: Value
As for the value, it would seemingly fall in keeping with the pricing of the 27-inch iMac, which began at $1,799 since Apple stored related pricing to the 21.5-inch iMac when it launched the 24-inch mannequin. It’s additionally doable that the value will probably be a bit greater, maybe beginning at over $2,000, which might be extra in keeping with Apple’s worth improve for the higher-end MacBook Professional.
A better worth is probably going outdoors the U.S. the place Apple has been growing costs in keeping with the trade charges.
