iMac 24 with M1Pro/Max?

[Barnclos]

What are the chances of getting the new M1 Pro (or even the Max) in a 24” iMac? I’d be happy with 24” screen a bit more power.

The 24” iMac has a 143 W power supply, more than the 96 W and 140 W power supplies in the new MacBook Pros. I appreciate that there’s a larger screen to power in the iMac, but give the XDR specs of the MacBook Pros I wouldn’t be surprised if they had similar power demand.

Considering cooling, I can’t believe that they’d design a new iMac that couldn’t deal with something more powerful than the M1.

My main concern is timing. A higher power iMac 24 risks taking sales from the upcoming iMac 27 so I don’t imagine it would be released until after it’s big brother: mid to late 2022.

 

[BATman.Berlin]

My bet is the 27” will be released with std, pro & max option and at the same time there will be a pro chip option for the 24” in graphite as well. No way they put the max chip into the 24”

 

[FSMBP]

My bet is the 27” will be released with std, pro & max option and at the same time there will be a pro chip option for the 24” in graphite as well. No way they put the max chip into the 24”

I unfortunately agree.

I’d love to get an M1 Pro in the 24” but I’m guessing those are reserved for the iMac Pro.

 

[CWallace]

What are the chances of getting the new M1 Pro (or even the Max) in a 24” iMac? I’d be happy with 24” screen a bit more power.

I would say "none".

If the M1 is not enough for your needs, then wait for the "M2" model coming in (likely) mid-2022.

 

[ZebedeeG]

Well... They did used to offer the i7-8700 & up to 32Gb RAM as a BTO option in the previous 21in iMac, so it wouldn't surprise me if at some point they at least offer the M1 Pro in the 24in model. Especially given the 143W power supply...

But it's pure speculation at the moment, and during the transition period I suspect that Apple will be deploying their chips where they see maximum possible sales and not where the demand may be a little more niche. They of course know how many of their customers felt the need to upgrade the CPU in the 21in iMac - which I suspect wasn't that many because it started to make more sense to get the 27in.

That said I think for those of us who fall firmly into the "consumer" category the standard M1 chip is more than powerful enough.

(I'm writing this on my 24" iMac M1 - it's simply stunning, and if Activity Monitor is anything to go by it hardly ever gets out of first gear!)

 

[James Godfrey]

I would say "none".

If the M1 is not enough for your needs, then wait for the "M2" model coming in (likely) mid-2022.

I doubt an M2 refresh will come that soon tbh, I think late 22 early 23 at the very earliest.

 

[ZebedeeG]

I doubt an M2 refresh will come that soon tbh, I think late 22 early 23 at the very earliest.

Yeah - and it'd probably make sense if we don't see the next generation of Apple silicon until they're completed the transition of the entire Mac range...

(I'm never going to need it myself - but I can't wait to see what goes in the Mac Pro!)

 

[James Godfrey]

Yeah - and it'd probably make sense if we don't see the next generation of Apple silicon until they're completed the transition of the entire Mac range...

(I'm never going to need it myself - but I can't wait to see what goes in the Mac Pro!)

It will likely be a double up of the M1 Max, probably called M1 Pro Max or something along those lines…

 

[Fishrrman]

m1pro and m1max will come in the as-yet-to-be-released large-screen iMac.
Coming soon, as they say, to a dealership near you.

It will take some time if we see those CPUs in the smaller-screen iMac.
My guess is... probably not.
(although we will eventually see an "m2" CPU in the 24"...)

 

[CWallace]

I doubt an M2 refresh will come that soon tbh, I think late 22 early 23 at the very earliest.

Yes it is possible the 2022 MacBook Air will just keep the existing M1.

Apple tended to skip a A-Series SoC / Intel Core generation when it came to the iPad Pro and the Intel Macs so they may continue that pattern under M.

 

[James Godfrey]

Yes it is possible the 2022 MacBook Air will just keep the existing M1.

Apple tended to skip a A-Series SoC / Intel Core generation when it came to the iPad Pro and the Intel Macs so they may continue that pattern under M.

No the way I see it is…

M1 = Extension of A14
M1 Pro and Max = Extension of M1

- A15 Skipped

M2 = Extension of A16
M2 Pro and Max = Extension of M2

- A17 Skipped

They have already skipped right over the A15, so the M2 is likely going to be an extension of A16… if the next Air was getting M1 they would have launched it already, it’s going to look pretty bad to launch a fully redesigned Air with the exact same internals as 2020 in 2022… it would just be a complete failure.

Honestly don’t expect anything M2 now until late 2022 at the very earliest, and come to think about it, all the lines getting refreshed with M series chips can quite easily run off a 24 month refresh cycle, even the iPad Pro which basically has had hardly any innovation for 3 years now.

 

[CWallace]

They have already skipped right over the A15, so the M2 is likely going to be an extension of A16… if the next Air was getting M1 they would have launched it already, it’s going to look pretty bad to launch a fully redesigned Air with the exact same internals as 2020 in 2022… it would just be a complete failure.

They haven't skipped over A15, though.

M1 Pro and M1 MAX were almost certainly planned to launch at WWDC last June and were delayed due to supply chain issues. And I imagine that the "Mac mini Pro" with M1 Pro and M1 MAX and the replacement for the iMac 5K are running behind for the same reasons and now rumors claim they could launch in 1H 2022 (though Apple might hold them until WWDC 2022 and announce them alongside the Apple Silicon Mac Pro reveal with a new Apple Thunderbolt Display using the same panel as the iMac 5K replacement).

So Apple can still launch "M2" based on A15 in 1H 2022 in a new MacBook Air. And even if they don't do an "M2" in 2022, I am 100% sure a new MacBook Air with an M1 will still be the most-popular Mac of 2022 thanks to MiniLED, new colors and the new design language.

 

[James Godfrey]

They haven't skipped over A15, though.

M1 Pro and M1 MAX were almost certainly planned to launch at WWDC last June and were delayed due to supply chain issues. And I imagine that the "Mac mini Pro" with M1 Pro and M1 MAX and the replacement for the iMac 5K are running behind for the same reasons and now rumors claim they could launch in 1H 2022 (though Apple might hold them until WWDC 2022 and announce them alongside the Apple Silicon Mac Pro reveal with a new Apple Thunderbolt Display using the same panel as the iMac 5K replacement).

So Apple can still launch "M2" based on A15 in 1H 2022 in a new MacBook Air. And even if they don't do an "M2" in 2022, I am 100% sure a new MacBook Air with an M1 will still be the most-popular Mac of 2022 thanks to MiniLED, new colors and the new design language.

Firstly, we don’t know anything 100% about the MacBook Air… all these rumours end up being wrong most of the time, we are now hearing about a notch on the MBA… but we also heard white bezels, we have heard miniLED (yet miniLED has only appeared on Pro devices up to this point and is likely being reserved for pro devices only, considering there has been no rumour of the iPad Air getting it).

I wouldn’t get your hopes up too much… on what’s coming based on rumours and if you are going to believe rumours here is one for you from Kuo who is 74.6% accurate…

Kuo: Redesigned MacBook Air With Apple Silicon to Enter Mass Production in Third Quarter of 2022

Apple plans to begin mass production of an upcoming redesigned MacBook Air featuring an updated, more powerful Apple silicon processor in the third...

www.macrumors.com

Now this is one rumour about when it’s going into mass production I do believe, and why?? Because it makes the most sense… get M1 all done and dusted so all media focus is on M1, M1 Pro and M1 Max… if they launch M2 in early 2022 it would confuse the mainstream media and also the consumer alike with reports of M1 Pro and Max circulating at the same time as M2 reports.

I don’t believe it will feature miniLED though.

-

I expect the MacBook Air will likely get:

Redesign (more colourful)
No notch and white bezels
1080p Cam
13” LCD Retina Display
M2 Chip

I wouldn’t be surprise if we got a 15 inch option too.

You have to remember, Apple are reserving miniLED for Pro devices at this time.

The iMac never got a notch as the brand recognition is already there with white bezels and the chin which will hold true for the MBA also, white bezels and white keyboard.

The MacBook Pro got the notch because from the front it looks like any other laptop, the notch screams apple.

 

[alectrona6400]

with all these arm chips running so cool while having wonderful scaling, i do wonder what the mac pro's gonna be like. that's a whole desktop so i'd imagine apple could go all out for the top of the line model

 

[CWallace]

I agree rumors are all over the place and often contradict each other. However, I have seen a general trend stating that Apple wants to move everything they can to MiniLED while they wait for MicroLED to mature to the point it is cost-effective for their products.

Kuo's sources have traditionally been in the supply chain for displays, so if I am inclined to give credence to anything he says, it would be about displays, and right now he is saying MiniLED for the next MacBook Air and it will have a notch so I am inclined to give that credence.

I absolutely disagree Apple added the notch to the MacBook Pro to stamp their new "design language" on the machine. If that was the case, we'd have had a notch on the 24" iMac, the 2021 iPad Pros and the 2021 iPad Mini. I firmly believe it is there because the other option was have the entire top bezel that thickness and they weighed the two and decided that using space for system bar items (which generally do not use the entire system bar) was the better tradeoff as it offered more usable screen space below it. And as Apple does know that many application menu bars do use the entire menu bar, that is why they set full-screen to start below the notch so no application menu bar items would be hidden.

I believe Apple would make the same decision with the MacBook Air in order to thin the top bezel so I therefore also believe that given the same choice - notch or thick bezel - Apple will choose notch and that is another reason why I am willing to give Kuo's rumor credence.

I believe the the 24" iMac did not get a notch because it has a thick(er) top bezel required to anchor the panel in the case so they were able to keep the camera module in the bezel. If Apple could have thinned the top bezel so much that a notch was needed, they might have decided to do it or they might have gone with the thicker bezel since it is not as noticeable on such a large display.

 

[toddzrx]

I would say "none".

If the M1 is not enough for your needs, then wait for the "M2" model coming in (likely) mid-2022.

Wrong.

Given Apple’s past of providing multiple Intel chip choices in the iMac lineup, I see no reason why they wouldn’t offer the Pro in the 24”. I’d be surprised if they offered the Max.

 

[CWallace]

Wrong.

Given Apple’s past of providing multiple Intel chip choices in the iMac lineup, I see no reason why they wouldn’t offer the Pro in the 24”. I’d be surprised if they offered the Max.

Time will tell.

 

[Abazigal]

Not impossible, though Apple seems to be marketing the iMac at users for whom the M1 chip would suffice in terms of performance. Seems like it would simply get updated to the M2 chip next year alongside the MBA.

 

[MrMister111]

What do people think (I know we can’t predict Apple plans), on the newest iMac 24” if the M1 Pro and/or M1 max will come to it, and when?

I’m debating on getting a new iMac as fits me better than a MBP/laptop as happy with iPad Pro for what I need/use.

I’m just a little disappointed that Apple didn’t have option of M1 Pro/Max in a desktop computer. It’s a desktop and the M1 is great for mobile applications in my opinion. They could have given the iMac a little more grunt. Or do you think the M1 Pro/Max will be reserved for the more “pro” 27” iMac when it comes?

I know what will happen with my luck, get M1 and then month later the M1 Pro/Max option comes along. And I know you can always just wait and wait.

 

[EugW]

Considering cooling, I can’t believe that they’d design a new iMac that couldn’t deal with something more powerful than the M1.

The low end 24" iMac has less robust cooling than the upper end tiers of the 24" iMac.

I'm not sure why this would be the case unless they thought it might be useful to put at least the M1 Pro into it. Or is it perhaps related to the additional ports on the higher end models?

What do people think (I know we can’t predict Apple plans), on the newest iMac 24” if the M1 Pro and/or M1 max will come to it, and when?

I’m debating on getting a new iMac as fits me better than a MBP/laptop as happy with iPad Pro for what I need/use.

I’m just a little disappointed that Apple didn’t have option of M1 Pro/Max in a desktop computer. It’s a desktop and the M1 is great for mobile applications in my opinion. They could have given the iMac a little more grunt. Or do you think the M1 Pro/Max will be reserved for the more “pro” 27” iMac when it comes?

I know what will happen with my luck, get M1 and then month later the M1 Pro/Max option comes along. And I know you can always just wait and wait.

But what do you plan on doing with it? The M1 iMac is already twice as fast as my 2017 Core i5-7600 27" iMac, and I have no complaints about performance from my 2017. I do mainly office applications and light photo editing in Photos, and occasional exports of small simple h.265 HEVC videos, etc.

 

[CWallace]

What do people think (I know we can’t predict Apple plans), on the newest iMac 24” if the M1 Pro and/or M1 max will come to it, and when?

I am inclined to say "no" because I believe they could be reserved for a 27" "iMac Pro".

 

[MrMister111]

The low end 24" iMac has less robust cooling than the upper end tiers of the 24" iMac.

I'm not sure why this would be the case unless they thought it might be useful to put at least the M1 Pro into it. Or is it perhaps related to the additional ports on the higher end models?

I do wonder why Apple have done this. I know everything costs and if it’s not needed, but 1 more core GPU and it has 2 fans, strange. Love to get an answer from Apple on this.

But what do you plan on doing with it? The M1 iMac is already twice as fast as my 2017 Core i5-7600 27" iMac, and I have no complaints about performance from my 2017. I do mainly office applications and light photo editing in Photos, and occasional exports of small simple h.265 HEVC videos, etc.

General day to day stuff, basic photo and video editing of 4K.

I am inclined to say "no" because I believe they could be reserved for a 27" "iMac Pro".

Yeh that’s what I’m thinking. And the M2 won’t be a long while, as they wouldn’t want to step on the M1 pro/max.

 

[EugW]

And the M2 won’t be a long while, as they wouldn’t want to step on the M1 pro/max.

M2 will be significantly slower than M1 Pro/Max. I'm guessing maybe 5-15% faster than M1. However, it may get (a cut down version of) ProRes acceleration I'm thinking.

 

[hirsthirst]

I do wonder why Apple have done this. I know everything costs and if it’s not needed, but 1 more core GPU and it has 2 fans, strange. Love to get an answer from Apple on this.


General day to day stuff, basic photo and video editing of 4K.


Yeh that’s what I’m thinking. And the M2 won’t be a long while, as they wouldn’t want to step on the M1 pro/max.

You could do all that fine on my late-2014 16GB iMac. I’m only thinking about upgrading that one as I don’t want to be 2+ OS versions behind, but it still runs great on the basics.

 

[EugW]

General day to day stuff, basic photo and video editing of 4K.

You could do all that fine on my late-2014 16GB iMac. I’m only thinking about upgrading that one as I don’t want to be 2+ OS versions behind, but it still runs great on the basics.

Yup. M1 Pro is already overkill for this workload. M1 is more than good enough.

If there is a need for a new machine, then I would recommend an M1 or M2 with 16 GB RAM... unless you want 27" and Apple decides to implement the 27" without an M1 or M2 option and only offers them as Pro machines.

I have the same workload on my primary 2017 iMac Core i5-7600 and I don't plan on upgrading for many years... unless my kids decide they want to seize control of that iMac. However, as a pre-emptive manoeuvre, I have set up a 2010 iMac Core i7-870 for them to use. Even this 11 year-old 2010 iMac is fine for mainstream business applications and light photo editing. The 2010 is not very good for h.265 HEVC, though. It's fine on the 2017 iMac since the latter has hardware HEVC acceleration built-in.

If Apple decides not to offer M1/M2 in a larger iMac, one reasonable option might be the M1 Pro 8-core (6+2). That would be lower cost than the full M1 Pro, but offer distinct performance advantages over the M1. In fact, that's what I'm considering getting for a future Mac mini to replace my old 2007 Mac Pro. I don't need the extra performance, but I leaning away from the M1 because it's still got the old case and it's short on ports.