iMac Pro Launched Seven Years Ago Today

[MacRumors]

Apple's iMac Pro launched seven years ago today, offering a high-end all-in-one desktop machine to bridge the gap between new Mac Pro models.

In April 2017, Apple uncharacteristically apologised for its approach to the Mac in recent years and pre-announced it was working on a "completely rethought" Mac Pro with a modular design, a new pro-level iMac, and a new high-end external display. At WWDC that year, Apple unveiled the iMac Pro, after years of rumors about a "Pro" iMac. The iMac Pro sought to placate many of Apple's discontented professional Mac users, coming around four years after the launch of the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro, but two years before the current Mac Pro design, which returned to a modular tower design.

Apple presented the iMac Pro as "the most powerful Mac ever made." It featured 8-, 10-, 14-, or 18-core Intel Xeon processor options, a 5K display, AMD Vega graphics, ECC memory, and 10 Gigabit Ethernet, with a starting price of $4,999. It was also the first Mac to contain a custom T2 chip, as well as the first desktop Mac to be available in Space Gray. While it did not have a slot to easily access the memory like the 27-inch iMac, the processor, memory, and storage were not soldered in place and could easily be removed if the display was disassembled.

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. The iMac Pro's position in Apple's product lineup is now effectively held by the Mac Studio and the Studio Display.

Yet after the launch of the 24-inch Apple silicon iMac in April 2021 and the discontinuation of the 27-inch iMac in March 2022, interest in an iMac Pro with a larger display has increased. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman believed that Apple was still "working on a larger-screened iMac aimed at the professional market," a rumor supported by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, as of 2022. Yet other reports claimed Apple has no plans to release a new high-end iMac at all.

Rumors suggest that a larger-screened iMac that could be positioned as an iMac Pro will launch in 2025. In July 2024, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple is still exploring a larger iMac, but it is unclear when it could be released. See our full guide for more information.

Article Link: iMac Pro Launched Seven Years Ago Today

 

[MayaUser]

27" imac i think always outsold the 21.5" imac

 

[zombierunner]

imagine a iMac or iMac Pro with 27-32 inch screen with promotion OLED with m4 pro and max chips ...

 

[RWI]

I will buy any iMac that is 27" (or bigger) and has a black bazel instead of a white one.
I still am working (pretty ok) with my 27" Intel iMac, but am seeing it's limitations more and more.
I just can't seem to purchase the current 24" models although I would really like to upgrade for over 2 or 3 years now.
This (and the lack of a iPhone Mini) is what is making me salty about my lifetime favorite tech brand.
It seems I am no longer on the mind of Apple as a customer "group".

 

[DMG35]

The best iMac Apple has ever made. I loved mine and the Space Gray finish on it was fantastic.

 

[gpat]

Don't mourn this era of Macs, it was almost as dark as the one supervised by Gil Amelio.

Pros could only choose between the trashcan Pro, the butterfly keyboard Pro and the serviceability nightmare Pro (the iMac).

 

[McJobs]

Best looking iMac design. Ever.

Even in the inside.

 

[10anta]

27" imac i think always outsold the 21.5" imac

Perhaps if excluding education sales, otherwise I’d be very surprised, as schools had lots of the smaller units.

I’m not sure there’s a place for a Pro level iMac anymore - it’s an irrational investment compared to a reusable monitor and cheaper upgrade routes on the main computer hardware, especially with Apple Silicon power and power efficiency negating the need for larger enclosures with better thermals for most user workflows. That said, I’d like more monitor options from Apple at different sizes and price points.

 

[opeter]

It was another dead end. Just like the trash can Mac Pro.

 

[sunapple]

I think the Mac Studio makes more sense as a form factor for this type of machine but… why not both?

 

[zombierunner]

I will buy any iMac that is 27" (or bigger) and has a black bazel instead of a white one.
I still am working (pretty ok) with my 27" Intel iMac, but am seeing it's limitations more and more.
I just can't seem to purchase the current 24" models although I would really like to upgrade for over 2 or 3 years now.
This (and the lack of a iPhone Mini) is what is making me salty about my lifetime favorite tech brand.
It seems I am no longer on the mind of Apple as a customer "group".

I recently got the 24 inch iMac after years of waiting ... I was using 2015 iMac and just had to switch. While the 24inch screen is not ideal ... after a week of using its my eyes adjusted to the new size. The base M4 chip is surprisingly good, I got 24gb ram ....it's plenty for Final Cut ...... performance wise I am happy ... The Touch ID on the keyboard is just amazing

I might use this for maybe 2-3 years and then get a Mac Studio and studio display ..

 

[brofkand]

I think the Mac Studio makes more sense as a form factor for this type of machine but… why not both?

The market for desktops is a lot smaller now than it was even in 2017, they don't need as many SKUs.

 

[brofkand]

2013 was the year Apple admitted they had no idea what their Pro users need when they released a Mac Pro that absolutely nobody asked for, and it hasn't gotten any better.

 

[lk400]

Apple's iMac Pro launched seven years ago today, offering a high-end all-in-one desktop machine to bridge the gap between new Mac Pro models.

In April 2017, Apple uncharacteristically apologised for its approach to the Mac in recent years and pre-announced it was working on a "completely rethought" Mac Pro with a modular design, a new pro-level iMac, and a new high-end external display. At WWDC that year, Apple unveiled the iMac Pro, after years of rumors about a "Pro" iMac. The iMac Pro sought to placate many of Apple's discontented professional Mac users, coming around four years after the launch of the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro, but two years before the current Mac Pro design, which returned to a modular tower design.

Apple presented the iMac Pro as "the most powerful Mac ever made." It featured 8-, 10-, 14-, or 18-core Intel Xeon processor options, a 5K display, AMD Vega graphics, ECC memory, and 10 Gigabit Ethernet, with a starting price of $4,999. It was also the first Mac to contain a custom T2 chip, as well as the first desktop Mac to be available in Space Gray. While it did not have a slot to easily access the memory like the 27-inch iMac, the processor, memory, and storage were not soldered in place and could easily be removed if the display was disassembled.

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. The iMac Pro's position in Apple's product lineup is now effectively held by the Mac Studio and the Studio Display.

Yet after the launch of the 24-inch Apple silicon iMac in April 2021 and the discontinuation of the 27-inch iMac in March 2022, interest in an iMac Pro with a larger display has increased. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman believed that Apple was still "working on a larger-screened iMac aimed at the professional market," a rumor supported by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, as of 2022. Yet other reports claimed Apple has no plans to release a new high-end iMac at all.

Rumors suggest that a larger-screened iMac that could be positioned as an iMac Pro will launch in 2025. In July 2024, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple is still exploring a larger iMac, but it is unclear when it could be released. See our full guide for more information.

Article Link: iMac Pro Launched Seven Years Ago Today

I guess 7 year anniversaries of one off and discontinued products are newsworthy!

 

[RealE]

Rumors suggest that a larger-screened iMac that could be positioned as an iMac Pro will launch in 2025. In July 2024, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple is still exploring a larger iMac, but it is unclear when it could be released.

I don't know if I can wait another year with my old Intel iMac. Might cave for the smaller 24" white bezel only option.

 

[djgamble]

The best iMac Apple has ever made. I loved mine and the Space Gray finish on it was fantastic.

It was about this time when I did the maths and figured it was significantly cheaper to buy a 2018 Mac Mini and pair it with an eGPU (in my case one with a Vega 64).

My long-term plan was to upgrade the GPU every few years. However Apple moved away from using Intel CPUs paired with AMD GPUs (and had its whole hissy fit with Nvidia about its own poorly conceived plan to have a Mac 'pro' that was more like an overpriced Mac Mini as their decision to not have a proper expansion port locked you into a very specific Nvidia CPU). This left a bit of a gap as Apple Silicone wasn't quite ready for prime time in the beginning and I liked the luxury of having a decent GPU.

I ended up getting a 2012 Mac Pro from a friend and popping the Vega 64 in there. That's still my computer when I wanna play games that require a decent GPU. Will eventually buy into Apple Silicone as they are now ridiculously fast. However there was a sweet spot for a moment when those 2012 Mac Pros were the king.

 

[green_diyos]

Rumors suggest that a larger-screened iMac that could be positioned as an iMac Pro will launch in 2025. In July 2024, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple is still exploring a larger iMac, but it is unclear when it could be released. See our full guide for more information.

I suspect that the challenge here from day 1 is still the parts price for a 32" 6K display.

For over 5 years the 2019 32" 6K Pro Display XDR 32" has been sold for $5k.

It needs to be ~$1k for it to hit $1,799 MSRP larger screen iMac base model that is based off of a $599 2024 Mac mini M4 3nm 16GB 256GB.

By comparison Dell's 32" 6K display is currently

- $2,130 on Amazon
- $2,050 on BH

Another feature I'd want to see is the return of Target Display Mode so that it can be used as an external display when plugged with a different Mac like say a 2034 Macbook Pro 16" M14 Pro 0.5nm.

I'm still sticking to my 2012 iMac 27" 2.5K Core i7 22nm as I dont want a smaller 24" display.

Although I saw a deal for a brand new Apple Studio Display 27" 5K for ₱55,990/US$955 on Facebook Marketplace. Just dont know if it a scam or stolen goods.

 

[Regulus67]

The best iMac Apple has ever made. I loved mine and the Space Gray finish on it was fantastic.

And it came with 1TB SSD in the base config 🥰

 

[neomorpheus]

imagine a iMac or iMac Pro with 27-32 inch screen with promotion OLED with m4 pro and max chips ...

my wallet just got a heart attack imagining the prices of those. 😂

Pros could only choose between the trashcan Pro, the butterfly keyboard Pro and the serviceability nightmare Pro (the iMac).

And when Apple realized that it was a “mistake “ to use magnets to secure the flat panels, they started gluing them, so you would have an even harder time accessing the components to upgrade them.

 

[neomorpheus]

And it came with 1TB SSD in the base config 🥰

Could be remembering wrong, but it wasnt a ssd, was a spinning drive with a small ssd as cache, the so called Fusion drive.

 

[HJM.NL]

Another example of a segment Apple didn’t gave much love and another dead end.

It would be really stupid for Apple to come up with a new iMac 27” or iMac Pro. Give us a good Apple monitor for a reasonable price and the Mac mini is a better alternative.

 

[Regulus67]

Could be remembering wrong, but it wasnt a ssd, was a spinning drive with a small ssd as cache, the so called Fusion drive.

Yes, your memory is faulty.
It has two SSD slots, like the Mac Pro 2019. You can even use the Mac Pro SSD upgrade kit in the iMac Pro

iMac Pro

Mac Pro

My Disk speed test

 

[CharlesShaw]

I guess 7 year anniversaries of one off and discontinued products are newsworthy!

I enjoy these anniversary pieces. They're a chance to reflect on how things were and how much has changed, with comments from entitled users for whom there will never be anything good enough.

 

[Parowdy]

2013 was the year Apple admitted they had no idea what their Pro users need when they released a Mac Pro that absolutely nobody asked for, and it hasn't gotten any better.

Hasn’t gotten any better? So that’s why Apple developed their own power efficient chipsets to put them in small enclosures and have them perform the way the trash can should have?
Is that also why they offer 3 desktops and 1 AIO and very powerful laptops that can easily connect to multiple external displays AND still perform blazing fast?

To say „it hasn’t gotten any better“ in the face of M4 Mac mini and Mac Studio‘s is wild. Yes, accessibility and upgradeability have taken a hit and upgrade prices remain ridiculous, but take a look at the market response towards the M4 mini and compare that to the trash can and say nothing changed again.

 

[jayryco]

I am hoping there will be a large screen iMac Pro in the future - the all-in-one form factor of iMac is incredible and I'm part of the customer base who does not want a Mac Studio or Mac mini with a separate display, and the current iMac is too small and lacks the power for heavy pro workflows.
Surely they could make it work with the M series chips while keeping costs reasonable? I mean they produce those chips in bulk and stick them in all their products, it can't be as complex as it used to be where each different Mac model would have completely different internals, right?