No, my guess is that the Mac Pro and iMac Pro will not be updated in the first round of Apple Silicon releases. Those will come later with a future generation of CPUs.
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iMac 27" ARM - Will it have different speed processor options like Intel (i5 vs i9)
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Yes it will.
This is one reason why a higher-end MBP 13" and Mac mini are both still on Intel.
The chips to replace Intel Macs still being sold will be out by for Mac event for Early 2021 Macs by March 2021.
If I were to guess, I would say that Apple will follow a similar model to the MBA where cores are enabled/disabled.
Not only does this make it easier for them to manufacture a small range of chips, but they can also use 'binned' components for the disabled chip models, and just focus on a generation per year rather than incremental performance changes.
Keep in mind that even with the upgrades on Intel models, the performance improvements are often negligible. We've recently seen scores that are anywhere between 5-15% better, but at a considerable cost - over several hundred dollars. And that's with thermal throttling, too.
And since the M1 is already such an impressive chip, I believe Apple will continue with their annual cycle and keep tandem with the A-series chips.
My predictions for the M-series (Where '1' refers to the generation at the time of release) are:
MBA, MBP 13", Mac mini - M1 (lower-end)
MBP 16", iMac - M1X (mid)
Mac Pro - M1Z (High-end)
I also believe that the lower-end models will continue to have integrated graphics, whilst the mid range and above will have dedicated graphics options from Apple - again, with cores being the differentiator. As for the Mac Pro, I can see a range of MPX modules just like the Afterburner card being produced by Apple, which would also allow for the case to be condensed as per the rumour.
Not only does this make it easier for them to manufacture a small range of chips, but they can also use 'binned' components for the disabled chip models, and just focus on a generation per year rather than incremental performance changes.
Keep in mind that even with the upgrades on Intel models, the performance improvements are often negligible. We've recently seen scores that are anywhere between 5-15% better, but at a considerable cost - over several hundred dollars. And that's with thermal throttling, too.
And since the M1 is already such an impressive chip, I believe Apple will continue with their annual cycle and keep tandem with the A-series chips.
My predictions for the M-series (Where '1' refers to the generation at the time of release) are:
MBA, MBP 13", Mac mini - M1 (lower-end)
MBP 16", iMac - M1X (mid)
Mac Pro - M1Z (High-end)
I also believe that the lower-end models will continue to have integrated graphics, whilst the mid range and above will have dedicated graphics options from Apple - again, with cores being the differentiator. As for the Mac Pro, I can see a range of MPX modules just like the Afterburner card being produced by Apple, which would also allow for the case to be condensed as per the rumour.
I think iGPU will be standard for all Macs going forward.
Apple will redefine what we expect from the iGPU though.
What is a iGPU? It's an integrated GPU on a SoC. Why are they weak? Because their use case requires a certain power consumption. Want more power? Get a separate GPU.
M1's iGPU is the fastest of any iGPU. Reaching performance of a GeForce 1050 Ti on a 10W TDP chip.
It is possible that Apple would design iGPU whose performance is equal to a RTC 20 or 30-series discreet GPU.
Only reason the discreet GPU is modularized to allow quick/cheap deployment on any sort of logic board configuration.
If the M1 can outperform a Core i9 and have iGPU with GeForce 1050 Ti performance then why can't the M1X or even M1Z have better than Threadripper and RTX 30-Series performance?
