Don't really care about the "Pro" moniker but a 32"+ iMac is something i'm very interested in. If it is a bit more capable with a faster chip than the current iMacs I'm not complaining, but an iMac is more of average work horse for me rather than a race horse. If I wanted a "Pro" device, I'd get a Mac Studio with an external screen.
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Apple Developing iMac Pro With M5 Max Chip
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this would not be comparable. Mac Pro userbase need expansion slots for I/O over PCI-E
Does your iMac still work?
If so, you can do a screen mirror or extend to it and still benefit from it. I recently replaced my 2018 15" Intel MBP with an M4 MacBook Air 15". My old MBP still works so every now and then I turn it on and use it as a screen extender. Works fine for what I do, reading/writing code.
It's a bit of a workaround but still better than nothing I suppose.
I have the studio now and have previously owned multiple iMacs. I'd be happy to see this come to fruition, as much as I love the studio, there's also upsides to the iMac.
What will happen now is all those (like myself) that waited for years for a new 27"+ iMac and instead bought a Mini and a monitor won't buy this iMac because they've finally bit the bullet on the Mini set up. Then Apple will cancel the iMac again and when the Mini buyers are ready to update their systems again the iMac won't be around lol.
There has to be a value proposition for the iMac to thrive. The previous 27" was a bargain and why people yearn for it's return.
But I highly doubt this rumoured M5 Max iMac will be anything but expensive.
But I highly doubt this rumoured M5 Max iMac will be anything but expensive.
We need a 27" with a Pro chip not just a Max. As you say though even with a Pro they will price it at least £500 more than what would be acceptable and use the price of the Studio to justify it.
Yep. If Apple sold a standalone display with the same specs as the nice, bright 4.5K display the current iMac M4 comes with, you can bet it would retail for $899-999. This means they're throwing in a base-model Mac plus a Touch ID Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse for $300-400.
The iMac is (and has been) a bargain up front but fraught when it comes to upgrade time since you can't reuse that nice display. If you could, I'd have a new Mac Mini plugged into my previous iMac M1 right now.
I'd bet money that if/when they do offer a larger screer iMac "Pro", they'll keep that design out there for at least 5 years, which is long enough to start capturing people whose older Mini and iMac setups are starting to age out.
At least when the Studio goes obsolete you can still use that really pretty display you bought for something else.
iMacs without target display mode are disgustingly wasteful.
I was hoping for TDM with my 2012 iMac 27" + 2019 MBP 16" on macOS Tahoe but that isn't possible.
My iMac's over a dozen years 12hrs daily use. Time to retire it already.
The whole Mac mini / Studio vs iMac discussion misses a few points
1) Most third party monitors simply don't look as good as what you can get from Apple (either from as the Studio Display or in the current iMac) from an aesthetics standpoint
2) The iMac includes key peripherals like a speaker, webcam, keyboard and pointing device - many people don't want to buy these from a third party, or separately from apple
3) Spec-ing a complete solution from Apple (keyboards, trackpad, monitor, computer) costs more than an equivalently powered iMac (based on current pricing)
The challenge Apple will have is the screen size and pricing. A lot of people on here seem to be asking for a 30" or 32" screen size with this device. A monitor of that size, with Apple's required resolution and whatever other upgrades people want (like 120hz), along with a quality webcam and quality speakers (both required in today's environment where people are doing video calls) would seem to cost a lot of money. I don't see Apple making a bunch of different displays at different price points to satisfy different requirements.
What Apple could do is simply bump the current iMac screen size to 27 inches (or introduce it along with the 24 inch) and also add this new iMac Pro at 30" or more. That would seem to satisfy the most users. But for some reason, Apple has been hesitant to dive all into creating a bunch of iMacs at this stage.
In terms of Apple's overall strategy, Mac mini and Mac Studio seem to be popular on here, but I see few of them in the wild. The issue is that for most users, laptops are as powerful as these machines, so I don't think the average user sees an advantage in getting a desktop setup. For me, my dual computer setup (laptop and M3) works great, mainly because the M3 iMac by itself cost just about as much as an Apple Studio Display - and it included a keyboard and trackpad.
1) Most third party monitors simply don't look as good as what you can get from Apple (either from as the Studio Display or in the current iMac) from an aesthetics standpoint
2) The iMac includes key peripherals like a speaker, webcam, keyboard and pointing device - many people don't want to buy these from a third party, or separately from apple
3) Spec-ing a complete solution from Apple (keyboards, trackpad, monitor, computer) costs more than an equivalently powered iMac (based on current pricing)
The challenge Apple will have is the screen size and pricing. A lot of people on here seem to be asking for a 30" or 32" screen size with this device. A monitor of that size, with Apple's required resolution and whatever other upgrades people want (like 120hz), along with a quality webcam and quality speakers (both required in today's environment where people are doing video calls) would seem to cost a lot of money. I don't see Apple making a bunch of different displays at different price points to satisfy different requirements.
What Apple could do is simply bump the current iMac screen size to 27 inches (or introduce it along with the 24 inch) and also add this new iMac Pro at 30" or more. That would seem to satisfy the most users. But for some reason, Apple has been hesitant to dive all into creating a bunch of iMacs at this stage.
In terms of Apple's overall strategy, Mac mini and Mac Studio seem to be popular on here, but I see few of them in the wild. The issue is that for most users, laptops are as powerful as these machines, so I don't think the average user sees an advantage in getting a desktop setup. For me, my dual computer setup (laptop and M3) works great, mainly because the M3 iMac by itself cost just about as much as an Apple Studio Display - and it included a keyboard and trackpad.
Now that I have a Studio with a M4, my reaction is, meh. I also got used to the freedom is choosing the monitor.
Or, what if Apple made the computer portion detachable so you could upgrade the system every few years, and simply use the monitor as a standalone with a laptop? And to take that further, allow two monitors and two detachables to be combined, to double the computing power. This would be the best of all worlds as they would have a new standalone monitor for MacBooks, an iMac with detachable computer guts (iPac), and a Mac Pro when two iPacs and monitors are connected……a win win for everyone.
I bought 4 of the Intel units - all refurbished. Various chips - 8, 10, and the maxed out 18 core. The first one (18 core) was from Apple. I was crushed when they were discontinued. While they're not as quick as the newer silicon versions, they still pretty decent. We've got AppleCare on 2 of them, and until I'm absolutely forced out with them, I will wait and see if they actually revive the iMac Pro. I was never a fan of the Mac Pro, and much prefer the AIO format.